Police may have investigated Leopold opponents at taxpayers' expense

BALTIMORE - As the civil rights director for the state attorney general’s office, Carl O. Snowden defends the rights of all Marylanders, yet he now feels Anne Arundel County Executive John Leopold may have violated his own rights by allegedly using officers to try to dig up dirt on him at the taxpayers’ expense.

"It not only covered me, but also my ex-wife and my children.  For whatever reason they were looking to see the contents of the divorce decree," said Snowden.
    
Police officers also investigated a former councilman and a political opponent.

ACLU Attorney David Rocah says the so-called “enemies’ list” may go well beyond that.

"Because of the information we now know, we are filing additional public records requests today on behalf of additional individuals to find out the full scope of exactly what was going on," said Rocah.
    
For his part, Snowden worked for Leopold’s predecessor and has never run against him for a political office, but he has a pretty good idea why he may have been targeted.

"I think because I've been a strong critic of his.  I was one of the first ones to point out he was one of the first county executives in 31 years to de-fund the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Breakfast.  He, as a delegate, voted against naming the airport after the late Thurgood Marshall and he stopped meeting with the NAACP after he was elected to office.  All of those issues are why I ended up on his enemies' list."

Reached by telephone, Leopold’s attorney said it would be inappropriate to comment on anything pertaining to the indictment while it’s pending in court.