Council Raises Pay For Seasonal Officers, Safety Aides

BY BETHANY HOOPER STAFF WRITER

OCEAN CITY – Officials this week voted to increase starting pay for seasonal officers and public safety aides.

In a work session Tuesday, the Council agreed to a favorable recommendation from the Ocean City Police Commission to increase the starting pay rates for seasonal police officers and public safety aides (PSAs) and to implement signing and retention bonuses.

City Manager Terry McGean said the changes were meant to attract more candidates to seasonal positions within the Ocean City Police Department.

“We are still behind where we were last year in recruiting,” he said. “I think it’s very important. If council chooses to approve these rates, I want to do it as quickly as possible, so it has the biggest impact on recruiting.”

As approved, the starting rate for new seasonal officers would increase from $19 an hour to $19.57 an hour, while the rate for return seasonal officers would increase to $19.96 an hour.

“If we have a PSA who comes back in his second year as a seasonal officer, we pay him at the seasonal officer rate of $19.96 an hour,” McGean explained.

He added that the department would also offer a $500 signing bonus upon graduation from the academy and a $500 retention bonus for officers who remain at the department through the Oceans Calling Festival.

“Officers who fail to graduate will not receive the signing bonus, with the exception a seasonal officer fails to graduate but elects to become a public safety aide,” he noted. “They would receive the public safety aide signing bonus.”

McGean noted the starting rate for PSAs would increase from $15.91 an hour to $17.39 an hour, while the rate for return PSAs would increase to $17.74. The department would also offer a $250 signing bonus after 80 hours worked and a $250 retention bonus for PSAs who remain through the Oceans Calling event.

“If you look at what other jurisdictions are paying, we are well above everyone else,” he said.

McGean told officials this week he was tasked by the council to work with the police department on a plan to insti- tute pay raises and incentives with the goal of attracting seasonal candidates. He said officials looked at pay rates in neighboring jurisdictions and developed new pay rates.

“We looked at what all other municipalities and local jurisdictions are paying as close as we can to what’s an equivalent position,” he said. “We’re a little bit unique in that our seasonal police officers have firearms and in a lot of other jurisdictions they do not.”

The results of those discussions were presented on Monday to the police commission, which voted to forward the proposed changes to the Mayor and Council with a favorable recommendation.

Council Secretary Tony DeLuca, however, shared his concerns regarding seasonal officer pay. He noted the new rate represented a 2.9% increase.

“I just think the seasonal officer increase of 2.9% doesn’t seem sufficient,” he said.

McGean agreed but noted that the proposed bonuses would help.

“The idea of the signing bonus essentially does that,” he said. “So a $500 signing bonus is equivalent to about a $1 an hour, and the $500 retention bonus is equivalent to another $1 an hour on top of that.”

After further discussion, the council voted unanimously to increase pay rates for seasonal officers and PSAs and to implement signing and retention bonuses.

Juvenile Linked To Graffiti

OCEAN CITY – The Ocean City Police Department has identified the suspect associated with a series of graffiti taggings discovered in the area of 33rd Street that occurred during the evening hours of January 18, 2023. The suspect has been identified as a 17-year-old juvenile male from Bishopville, Maryland.

On Jan. 19, 2023, officers were dispatched to a hotel in the 33rd Street area in reference to a malicious description of a property call. Graffiti had been spray painted in several spots of the property. During the investigation, officers located matching graffiti at a nearby business. Officers were able to work with local businesses to review video footage which provided officers with a description of the suspect and vehicle involved. Officers learned that a similar graffiti incident had occurred in Worcester County involving the same suspect.

Officers conducted a detailed investigation and were able to identify the suspect involved. Since the suspect is a juvenile, this case has been referred to the Department of Juvenile Services for charges and restitution.

Graffiti cases can often be overlooked and quickly covered by property owners. However, these cases can cause hundreds or thousands of dollars worth of damage to private and public property.

The Ocean City Police Department encourages the business and residential community to report any incidents of graffiti to the department. In addition, you can report graffiti incidents online to the Public Works Department at oceancitymd.gov.

Serious Assault Sentence

OCEAN CITY – A Seaford, Del., man, charged with first-degree assault last summer after allegedly stomping his girlfriend in the head while she laid on the ground during a domestic dispute, pleaded guilty this month and was sentenced to 10 years, all but five of which were suspended.

Around 9:30 p.m. last July 23, Ocean City Police Department (OCPD) officers were dispatched to a hotel at 25th Street for a reported assault that had already occurred. Upon arrival, officers located a female victim at 25th Street with a large amount of blood on her. Officers observed the victim had a head wound that had been gushing blood, according to police reports.

Officers also observed a large pool of blood on the pavement in the area where they located the victim. Ocean City EMS was dispatched to treat the victim because of the severe laceration, according to police reports. The victim reportedly told police she had lost consciousness at some point during the altercation and woke up on the ground with blood gushing from her head.

Officers met with a witness who had called 911. The witness reportedly told police he heard two people arguing, which caused him to walk in the direction of the disturbance. The witness told police he observed a suspect, later identified as Darrin Deshields, 37, of Seaford, Del., kick the female victim while she was already on the ground and then walk away, according to police reports.

Ocean City EMS arrived on the scene and advised the victim’s injuries were not consistent with her falling down, as she originally told officers. When asked what had happened, the victim reportedly told police she was okay and nobody had assaulted her. When pressed further, the victim told officers her boyfriend, later identified as Deshields, had not assaulted her and maybe it was “some other guy,” according to police reports.

The victim reportedly told police Deshields got mad at her because she left the motel room. She reportedly told police she left the room to call a phone repairman who had not fixed her phone to her satisfaction and Deshields became mad because she had left the room and was talking to another male.

While officers were interviewing the victim, they observed Deshields walking through the motel parking lot and detained him. The witness was brought over and positively identified Deshields as the suspect he observed stomping the victim while she was on the ground, according to police reports.

Ocean City EMS advised the victim should be transported to the hospital because of the severity of her injuries, but she denied further treatment. Deshields was arrested and charged with first- and second-degree assault. Along with his sentence, Deshields was also placed on supervised probation for three years.

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