No charges for State Police nominee in road-sign case

HARRISBURG - Gov. Wolf's embattled nominee to head the Pennsylvania State Police will not face criminal charges or fines for removing road signs near his Harrisburg-area home that were critical of him, a central Pennsylvania prosecutor announced Thursday.

But Cumberland County District Attorney David J. Freed told reporters that everyone involved in the incident - from acting State Police Commissioner Marcus Brown to the retired trooper who erected the road signs and then videotaped the top cop removing them - "should have known better."

Freed noted that the furor stemmed from a feud between Brown and critics upset over his decision to wear the state police uniform even though he did not attend the agency's academy. The trooper "set the bait, and Brown took it hook, line, and sinker," he said.

"When you look at it in hindsight, there is an element of Keystone Kops," Freed said.

The road-sign incident was another public-relations setback for Brown, who already was facing obstacles to his nomination.

The union representing state troopers on Thursday reiterated its call for Wolf to withdraw Brown's nomination.

But a spokesman said the governor continues to support Brown and believes he is the best choice to lead the state police. He has said he chose Brown for his lengthy career in law enforcement in Maryland and his commitment to making the organizations at which he worked more racially diverse.

Brown was not available for comment.

In March, the retired state trooper planted the two critical road signs along a public roadway in a suburb of Harrisburg.

The signs read, "Marcus Brown didn't earn it!" and, "Marcus Brown don't wear it!"

The retired trooper then videotaped Brown taking them down, placing them in his car, and driving away.

After the incident became public, Brown acknowledged he had "made a mistake and an error in judgment" in removing the signs, but said he was reacting to an invasion of his family's privacy. He said the signs were visible from his children's bus stop.

The local police chief who first investigated the matter said a person caught tampering with signs could be charged with theft by unlawful taking or disposition, a misdemeanor. He turned over his findings to Freed, who concluded that Brown's intent was not to commit a theft but to protect his family.

It later emerged that the police chief, also a retired state police captain, had himself posted critical comments online about Brown.

In yet another twist, this one after several days of scrutiny over the road sign incident, Brown reported receiving a handwritten, anonymous letter with racially offensive language in his mailbox. The letter read: "No n- lover will wear my uniform."

The letter was signed "didn't-don't," an apparent reference to the fact that he "didn't" go through the academy, and that his critics "don't" want him to wear the agency's gray uniform.

Freed said Thursday that his office is still investigating the letter.

Even with the sign controversy behind him, Brown's future remains in limbo. He has yet to be confirmed by the Republican-controlled Senate, where top senators have raised questions and concerns about his nomination.

Brown's hearing has not yet been scheduled, although it is widely expected to occur when legislators return to the Capitol early next month.