mr. leopold. >> leadership starts from the top.t is apparent with the indictments that are currently slated against the county executive, he is a failed leader of anne arundel county. it is time for him to step aside and his department heads also have failed the citizens of anne arundel county, and they too should step aside and allow people that can come in and, again, put this ship right back on its course. reporter: the fire chief issued this statement to wjz, it would be inappropriate for me to discuss specific labor- related issues as we are in the middle of the labor negotiations process. this commission is dedicated to delivering world-class service. >> we need to let them know what's going on in anne arundel county government. reporter: the indictment says leopol pold he kept files on his political enemies. leopold denies wrongdoing. >> i'm confident when all of the relevant facts are known, we will prevail. reporter: his office said the indictment is no distraction, showing this picture as a business-as-usual event he atte

mr. leopold announced a public access television show called the department keeping people better informed of county services. mike hellgren, wjz 13 eye witness news. >>> john leopold is scheduled to be arraigned this month. >>> a traveler through del less tries to pull one over on customs agents. a dc man arriving from japan claimed to have three cartons of cigarettes but an x-ray revealed he had 900 backs hid hidden in the luggage. they were seized. the man was released. >>> a baltimore county police officer is involved in a crash trying to make a traffic stop. sky eye chopper 13 is over the scene at route 40 and 68th street in rose dale. the officer's car crashed in to a transit van. the drive was trapped. the officer wasn't seriously hurt. the vehicle pursued left the scene. >>> cooler today but above normal. outside now it's sunny with a few clouds. wjz has weather and traffic together. bob has the updated weather. >> anything is cooler than 74, which is what he had yesterday. it got up to 57. now, with just basically sunny skies. 55 now, it's cooler to the west. oakland only at 38. t

mr. leopold used private

mr. leopold does not want to talk about it. brad bell, abc 7 news. >> of next, you may want to rush to the cherry blossoms early. find out why getting there could be difficult. >> the blossoms are getting a bit of a head start because of the warm weather. >> the washington redskins got themselves a safety today. the wizards make a trade sending guys will west. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ [ male announcer ] virtual wallet can help you be that person who's good witmoney. see what's free to spend. move money with a slide. save with a shake. feel good about your decisions. >> virginia tech officials are considering an appeal in a wrongful death lawsuit against the university. >> is today a jury decided the campus was negligent in the massacre that left 33 people dead. the state attorney general's office is discussing legal options. they halted the university for delaying letting students know about the shooting. >> unemployment dropped to 351,000 last week. the steady decline coincides with the best three months of hiring in two years. between dec

mr. leopold was spying on his opponents. >> reporter: the aclu is demanding access to what they're calling indicted anne arundel county executive john leopold's enemy's list. prosecutors say he asked for a security detail to keep on political opponents? >> it's expressly forbidden by the law. and to have a top-ranking government official expressing this is outrageous. >> reporter: and two police officers want leopold to step down. the head of the police union. >> anne arundel county will become, once this spreads, the laughingstock of the country. >> reporter: this comes after a no confidence vote from the fraternal order of police. >> like anybody, i think i was surprised to see 100% of the members to vote that way. >> reporter: leopold has denied wrongdoing. he says, i continue to work well with the f.o.p. and its members. and i continue to have full faith and confidence in all police department members. >> if there is any basis for the published reports of the chief turning a blind eye, a blind eye, to the county administrator's alleged shenanigans, then i say "shame on the chief." >> r

mr. leopold's pee bag for years. >> reporter: they describe a culture of fear, where leopold's power was unchecked and those in his security detail were care scared to cross them. >> they complained. sir, i have issues with this. sir, can we do something about this? and seems the response was, well, just make sure you keep him happy. >> reporter: the security detail for county executive started 14 years ago, under janet owens. she has called the allegations against leopold, unconscionable. >> it's just horrifying because i have great respect for all of the security people that i had and that's an intimate relationship. and if you respect, you know, sworn police officers, how do you do that? it's just beyond my comprehension. >> mr. leopold has kept to his public schedule and told wjz again that the allegations ever flatout false and he has no plans to step down. >> with all of the evidence and all the facts are known, the people will have a complete understanding of what's involved in this case. >> reporter: no trial date has been discussed, but they will talk about it tonight. >> now th

mr. leopold says there is no crisis, far from it. he praised his police and fire chiefs, but union leaders say they are at their breaking points. firefighters and police unions in anne arundel county overwhelmingly voted they have no confidence in their leadership, days after the scathing misconduct indictment against county executive john leopold. and some citizens are fed up, too, after the state prosecutors lured allegations that leopold's security detail was driving him to sexual encounters and keeping tabs on his lovers and political opponents. >> we have police officers driving this grown man around. what a waste of limited resources! it's an embarrassment, i think, to me as a county resident. >> reporter: but leopold appears unfazed. his office sent us a picture of him on the job, business as usual, on the police and fire chief no confidence vote, leopold told us the chiefs have done an excellent job maintaining public safety, despite fiscal challenges and will continue to do so with the understanding the county must live with

mr. leopold has no intention of setting down. legal experts are saying that fighting an inditement can be distracting and draining, but there is precedent staying in office, that is what sheila dixon did. mike hellgren, eyewitness news. >> and leopold is scheduled to be in court later on this month. >>> baltimore police make a major bust in a gun ring in a quest to get the illegal guns off of the street. police arrested these three people after seizing 16 guns, ammunition, cocaine, and even bullal proof vietnams. police are saying it is a collection that would have brought in $30,000 on the streets. police will go after similar rings this weekend. >>> growing fears of a dogfighting ring in anne arundel. authorities found a second badly injured pit bull from where another dog lied last month. now, the investigation is underway. andrea fujii with the story. >> reporter: despite the bite marks and gaming wounds. princess could not stop kissing steven williams last week. >> she is the sweepest -- dog you will ever meet. she did not m

mr. leopold said he has no intention of stepping down. experts say fighting an indictment like this can be distracting and emotionally draining. mike hellgren, wjz eyewitness news. >> leopold is scheduled to be in court later this month for an arraignment. >>> a major gun ring out of the hands of bad guys. detectives arrested these three people after seizing weapons from their homes and storage units. a bullet proof vest. it would have brought money on the streets. >>> growing fears of a dog fighting ring with a second bad pit bull found miles from where another dog was found a month ago. andrea fujii explains the investigation is under way. >> reporter: he's recovering tonight. animal control wants to find the people responsible for injuring her and another dog. despite bite marks, couldn't stop kissing steven williams when he found her and took her to animal control. >> she was the sweetest dog. she didn't mind one bit what we had to do to clean her. >> reporter: she was found on richie highway about five miles from where another injured

mr. leopold's behalf. >> we need to know what the chief of police knew and when he knew it. >> frankly, the chief of police has a lot to answer for here. >> leopold has denied any wrongdoing. >> reporter: and he said the truth would come out in court proceedings. he did not respond to our question for -- request for comment today. >>> the aclu has announced today that it is requesting even more files they believe the county executive ordered on other politicians and their families, both democrat and republican. >>> a city police officer, killed in a friendly-fire incident. now police say they are making major changes. officer william torbit responded to a fight. he likely fired the bullet that killed a man in the crowd. he was actually working in that club that night. he -- and that man was killed when -- and torbit was killed when another officer opened fire. several officers, not knowing he was a police officer. the new charges include restrictions on who can work in plain clothes. >>> an unusual incident, an accident causes major headaches for drivers on part of the beltway. only now are

mr. leopold regularly misused his protection squad for his own personal and political benefit. it insist loose used sworn ann arundle officers, regularly requiring them to check, place, and distribute campaign signs, often several times a day, throughout the 2010 campaign season. leopold is a republican who served as county executive after serving 20 years in the assembly. he's long been dogged by allegations of impropriety. including activity in a parking lot two years ago. >> i see act activity going on in a car and i don't think it's proper. what kind of act itivity? >> it looks like sexual activity to me. >> leopold has always denied and wrongdoing and said opponents want to drag his name through the mud. but emmett david is taking the allegations seriously, saying mr. leopold frequently districted these same drivers to drive him to commercial parking lots and wait for him while he entered another vehicle and engaged in sexual activity with another county employee. the indictment said when he was in the hospital, leopold required an additional police officer to work overtim

mr. leopold's pee bag for years. this is the antithesis of the situation we're in. it shouldn't have happened. i think the officers were very upset about it. i think they brought this through the chain of command and were told, hey, keep him happy. keep him happy, and that's inappropriate. >> reporter: he said the indictment is a bigger part of the contention between the officers and their leadership. they said they've been understaffed for years. and their complaints have fallen on deaf ears. they said leopold's attitude to do more with less has destroyed morale. in a statement police chief james teare said quote i continue to work with the fop and its members. our current membership will include quality of life initiative and initiative that's transparent to the public, media and profession. i'm honored to serve as recount recount police cleveland continue to have full faith and confidence in all police department members and our crime fighting strategy. they're asking the council to create a committee that would have oversight of the police department that -- he

mr. leopold are you there?> yes, i am. >> what is your reaction to this news from the state prosecutor? >> the state prosecutor has had his opportunity to present his side of the story. i look forward to my side of the story being heard. in the court of law, all sides have the opportunity to present evidence and argument, as opposed to the grand jury process, which can be manipulated and sold solely by the state prosecutor. i would ask my fellow citizens to reserve judgment then. ask that they be patient as the process takes force. there is only one proper forum for these issues to be discussed. and i look forward to my side of the story being heard. >> does that mean you are denying any of these charges? >> i think that the proper form to have all of these issues aired is in the court system. and i look forward to the opportunity to doing it there. >> why do you think this came up at this particular time? >> again, there is a lot of information that will come out in the course of the trial. and i look forward

mr. leopold's tea bag for years. >> reporter: corporal atkinson, head of the fraternal order of police, describes the culture of fear, where leopold's power was unchecked and those in the security detail were scared to cross him. >> complaints were made. they said, i have concerns about this. sir, i have issues with this. sir, can we do something about this? and it seems, well, the response was, make sure you keep him happy. >> reporter: the security detail started 14 years ago, under janet owens. she has called the allegations against leopold, unconscionable. >> it's just horrifying because i have great respect for all of the security people that i had. and that's an intimate relationship. and if you respect, you know, sworn police officers, how do you do that? it's just beyond my comprehension. >> reporter: mr. leopold has kept to his public schedule and told wjz again that the allegations are flatout false and he has no plans to step down. >> with all of the evidence and all the facts are known, the people have a more complete and full understanding of what all is involved in this case. >> tha

mr. leopold's pee bag for years.tion was put through the chain of command and nobody did anything. >> i will be asking a lot of detailed questions from people who may have been involved through this process. >> as far as the no vote of confidence shame on the police department. i think the county checktive and sheriff have done a good job. >> the allegations, it's a huge distraction and i'm sure people already concerned about leadership and decision making. >> reporter: leopold kept to his schedule and told wyz -- wjz the indictment is no deinstruction. despite all the calls for him to step down he says he will not do so. mike hellgren, wjz news. >> the fraternal order of police want to take away some power and approve the hiring and firing of the police chief this has one man was killed and another critically injured in an aggravated assault. the men were beaten and it happened outside an elementary school around 10:00 tonight. the man who survived is in critical condition. we have a crew on the scene gathering more

mr. leopold says he has no intention of stepping down. >> legal experts tell us at best fighting an indictment like this is time consuming and distracting. there is precedent for staying on the job. sheila dixson did so. mike hellgren, wjz 13, eye witness news. leopold is scheduled to be in court for an arraignment this month. >> a newborn baby is discovered dead in the trunk of a car. denise koch is live with the latesten the investigation. >> the gruesome discovery was made at a mobile home park. the car had been parked in front of a trailer home on halloween point road. the residents includes twins and a boy. a resident of the trailer had allowed the car to be used by someone else several weeks ago. it is not clear how the baby died, autopsy is conducted by maryland's medical examiner. >>> no arrests have been made in the case. >>> baltimore gun distribution ring is busted up. federal and local authorities charged three people following a raid. wjz is live, weijia jiang has more on what the arrests mean. >> reporter: detectives say it was one man arrested on a hands gun charge in january, t

mr. leopold, we obviously know what is going on there with the indictment and i think they speak for themselves. this has to do with the chief and his ability to lead the department. >> they say he has neglected staffing issues and are not meeting national standards for a meeting national standards for fire engines and ladder companies. >> he started a policy of rounding out units. there was a pecking order and we believe there is no need to do that. we were able to get that stopped and to continue to provide the service we provide on a daily basis. >> the day today function of the department look great and we do a great job. the men and women do a great job every day. unfortunately, we do not have the support of this administration and specifically the fire chief to make these things continue. that is what we need. we need a leader. >> the former police officer and police union president and former police chief says no- confidence vote prove a lack of faith that those in leadership positions will do what's right. >> this sends a strong signal -- you are really saying we don't have confidence a

mr. leopold. what are your statements about the indictments? >> the state prosecutor has developed at his side of the story. i look forward to my son of the story being heard. in a court of law, both sides have the opportunity to present evidence and an argument as opposed to the grand jury process which can be manipulated solely by the state prosecutor. walloon be inappropriate for me to comment on the allegations, the citizens of the county can look to my decades long tenure and know theat i place their interests above everything else. i would ask them to be patient with the judicial process. >> you do not want to go into the specifics, but you're basically denying the misconduct in office delegations and the misappropriations allegations? >> the only proper forum for these issues to be discussed is in the courts. i am very confident that once all the facts are known that we will prevail. >> while the indictments are out there, what do you want to tell your constituents as far as your effect and as as county executive? will you continue in of

mr. leopold's behalf. >> we need to know what the chief knew and when he knew it. >> frankly the chief of police has a lot to answer for here. >> leopold has denied wrongdoing. the county executive has said the truth will come out in the court process. mike hellgren, wjz eyewitness news. >> the aclu is requesting more files it believes the county executive ordered on other politicians and their families both democrat and republican. >>> we continue to follow this morning's breaking news in afghanistan, where a military helicopter has crashed overnight. we have video just into the newsroom. the chopper crashed into some houses near the afghan capitol of kabul, killing 12 turkish soldiers on board and two young girls on the ground. it is unclear what caused the helicopter to go down. >>> a lawyer for the soldier accused of sharing classified information with wikileaks wants those charges dismissed. bradley manning spent another day in court at fort meade yesterday. the military prosecutor says he downloaded and sent thousands of documents and cables to the antiscreesy website. the judge did

mr. leopold's enemy's list needs to end. it cuts across party lines and also includes an anne arundel county police sergeant and former county employee. >> reporter: the aclu believes the spying scandal, involving john leopold is much bigger than first thought. leopold was accused of directing police to use the state criminal database, to dig up dirt on his political foes. and the aclu is demanding to know what information leopold may have collected on a growing list of people. >> literally, theft of taxpayer dollars. >> reporter: now including annapolis mayor, josh cullen. the process has now been destroyed. >> and delegate don dwyer. aclu attorney, david roca. >> picking up dirt on an opponent is definitely not a legitimate law enforcement purpose. >> reporter: the pressure mounts as the police chief refuses to answer under oath before the council. >> i do not want to break the law. so i do not want to answer. >> his failure and unwillingness to do that is shameful, embarrassment. improper, and in my opinion, renders him u

mr. leopold is scheduled for mid- june. of course, that could all change very shortly. reporting live, mike hellgren, wjz eyewitness news. >> mike, thank you. >>> according to court records, leopold will be arraigned on march 26th. >>> an anne arundel county man is arrested after several complaints he was exposing himself to women. the alleged incident took place on the main campus in arnold. police say this man, jacob bovia, pretended to expose himself to several women, while using fake private parts. now, he's charged with three counts of indecent exposure, and two counts of disorderly conduct. >>> a volunteer county firefighter is hurt, after parts of a tree falls on him during the rescue. these are pictures that they sent us. 22-year-old michael murphy was at the scene of a serious accident in lutherville, trying to rescue the driver. when a tree limb, came down, hitting him on the head. he was taken to the hospital and has since been treated and released. murphy is also a career firefighter. >>> a harford county school is evacuated because of a suspicious odor. it h

mr. leopold says his county is running smoothly, that it's business as usual. but some who represent county employees say there can be no business as usual, with an indictment this scathing. [ sirens ] >> reporter: two police unions are lashing out at anne arundel county executive john leopold, saying the politician under indictment for his security detail needs to go, along with the police chief for failing to stop. >> never mind the mind-boggling charges against him. he cannot function as the chief executive of this county any longer. >> the national head of the international is outraged at allegations leopold's protection staff had to drive him to sexual encounters and clean up his urine. >> that power has gone to his head. nobody is above the law. >> reporter: his comments follow the fraternal order of police. >> reporter: despite the unanimous vote by 500 members, the county executive says he is not leaving his post. >> ultimately, i think it's going to come down to the citizens taking a stand and making this situation better. >> reporter: the indictment a

mr. leopold frequently asked these officers to drive to a location where he engaged in sexual activity with another county employee. the indictment says when he was in the hospital, leopold required an additional police officer to work overtime to prevent one girlfriend from meeting up with his live-in partner. the state says that cost the county thousands of dollars and was an abuse of public trust. >> reporter: of course their leopold is considered innocent until proven guilty. we should also note this is the same prosecutor's office that brought the indictment against former baltimore mayor sheila dixon. >> all right, mike. thank you. complete coverage continues with vic carter in the newsroom. and more from john leopold himself. >> reporter: just a short time ago, county executive leopold called in and i spoke with him about the indictment against him. >> the state prosecutor has had his opportunity to present his side of the story. i look forward to my side of the story being heard. in a court of law, all sides have the opportunity to present evidence and argument, as opposed to the gr

mr. leopold are allegations and do not prevent him from continuing to serve as anne arundel county executive. a conviction would be another matter. reporting from annapolis, jackie bensen, news 4. >>> a prince george's county council member caught speeding last week will no longer be driving her government-issued car. yesterday, the county took away karen toll's car. last week, an officer clocked her going more than 100 miles per hour on the beltway. but she only received a warning. tolls has apologized and said she plans to enroll in a driver improvement class. the police department ril conduct an executive review to determine why the officer only gave her a warning for speeding. >>> metro's general manager is speaking out about a controversial ad targeting president obama posted at a metro station in arlington. the ad in question is posted at the end of the platform at the clairendon metro film. it promotes a film called sick and sicker" created a a libertarian group that opposes the health care law. it includes a profane way to tell the president where to go. yesterday the general manager