Councilman calls for Frederick sheriff to recant claims after second on-air attack
Jul. 13—Frederick County Councilman Kai Hagen is calling on Sheriff Chuck Jenkins to recant claims the sheriff made on radio Friday that allege the councilman interfered in a second traffic stop involving a Black motorist last October.
During a second live interview in recent weeks with WFMD radio, Jenkins (R) alleged Hagen (D) inserted himself into traffic stops involving Black drivers to ensure police weren't committing wrongdoing. Hagen admitted to stopping by a sheriff's deputy conducting a traffic stop June 20, but vehemently denied his or his wife's involvement in an Oct. 17 traffic stop the sheriff alleged Friday.
He's calling for the sheriff to publicly retract his comments.
"[The sheriff's accusation] is baseless and unsupportable," Hagen said in an interview Monday. "I know I'm innocent. I know I wasn't there."
During Friday's radio show, Jenkins said the driver of a white Toyota Prius pulled over along U.S. 15 behind a sheriff's deputy who'd stopped to help a motorist change their tire Oct. 17. A female passenger in the Prius reportedly told the deputy they stopped to make sure the deputy wasn't "harassing" the driver with the flat tire, Jenkins said. The driver of the stopped car was Black, Jenkins said.
Jenkins said the woman in the Prius reportedly blew the deputy a kiss and gave him the middle finger before they drove away.
The sheriff could not definitively say the driver was Hagen. Rather, he said the deputy was "almost positive" the driver of the Prius was the councilman. Jenkins on air said he felt it was "beyond a reasonable doubt."
Jenkins, through a sheriff's office spokesman, declined an interview Monday regarding his comments about the October stop.
"He feels like everything he has to say is in the interview he did with WFMD this past Friday," spokesman Todd Wivell wrote to the News-Post.
During the radio show, Jenkins said the deputy recently came to the conclusion the Prius driver was Hagen after seeing the councilman's photo in the newspaper. The sheriff suggested the woman in the Prius was probably Hagen's wife, adding he did not know for sure.
Jenkins then launched into an on-air attack of the councilman, accusing him of creating an "unsafe situation" and putting others in danger Oct. 17. The sheriff described Hagen as "unfit to serve in office."
Hagen has since stated on Facebook that he and his wife don't own a white Prius and he's never driven one. That night, Hagen said, his wife worked and they later had a guest over for dinner.
The Friday incident came nine days after Jenkins appeared on the same radio station and harshly criticized Hagen for interfering in a June 20 traffic stop. Hagen did not deny that incident. The councilman called in to the station and said he stopped to make sure the driver, who was Black, was all right after a deputy pulled him over. The councilman later issued an apology to the deputy and driver.
Hagen said he and his wife have received ugly messages and threats since the sheriff's radio appearances.
"This is completely unhinged," Hagen said of Jenkins' behavior.
Hagen wants to see the sheriff set the record straight.
"If he honestly appreciates the seriousness of these false accusations, he will take seriously his responsibility to make sure they are absolutely corrected," Hagen said.
Follow Mary Grace Keller on Twitter: @MaryGraceKeller
