DC Cop Getting a Pass for Drugs, Guns Should Raise Major Questions

I’m not anti-cop by any stretch of the imagination. I happen to know for a fact that there are good cops out there. I was raised by one, may he rest in peace. I’ve known plenty in my life. I’ve known a bunch that were on the opposite end of the spectrum, too, though most are somewhere in between the angels and the devils, like most people.

But what bothers me is how police often get preferential treatment on things. Cops often look the other way when one of their fellow officers are driving too fast or roll through a stop sign.

Of course, this kind of thing bothers me far more.

A D.C. police officer once celebrated as a community leader was pulled over and detained in Prince George’s County with guns and drugs inside his car — but is only being cited for traffic violations.

Metropolitan Police Chief Pamela A. Smith confirmed Thursday the detention of Officer Maleek Isaiah Loggins, 22, which had taken place the day before in District Heights, Maryland.

She said his police powers have been suspended as the D.C. department conducts its own investigation into the incident.

MPD said Officer Loggins worked as a patrol officer. He became a sworn officer in March 2024.

A Prince George’s County police report obtained by The Washington Times said Officer Loggins was pulled over at about 3:20 p.m. after authorities witnessed him “committing traffic violations” near the intersection of Pennsylvania Avenue and Silver Hill Road.

The report said Officer Loggins was ordered out of the car, and a search of his vehicle turned up a Glock pistol with a 10-round magazine, and a Draco handgun — which mimics the look of an AK-47 — with a 24-round magazine.

Authorities said Officer Loggins also had 27.5 grams of marijuana in his car, which falls short of the 1.5 ounce criminal threshold for marijuana possession in the state, as well as a digital scale.

The report said the MPD officer was detained, handcuffed, and processed for multiple traffic-related offenses, and then released pending further investigation.

Now, let’s break this down.

First, I get that the drugs were below the threshold, but in case you don’t have the conversion of grams to ounces handy, it was only short by less than a gram. Maybe it’s just me, but that could be a scale calibration issue. Either way, the law is the law.

But because the law is the law, we have to remember that possession of a firearm by someone who uses drugs–even marijuana, mind you, regardless of state laws on the subject–is a felony. 

“Tom, that’s a federal charge. Local cops can’t file those charges unless there’s a corresponding state law.”

That is true, and I haven’t bothered to look to see if Maryland has one, which is where Prince George’s County is, has one.

But they do have a magazine capacity limit of just 10 rounds. The Draco had a 24-round magazine. They had grounds to charge him.

Except for the fact that he’s a cop and they get special treatment. The laws don’t apply to someone like him as they would to you or me in Prince George’s County.

So, they just wrote him a traffic ticket and sent him on his way.

These are the gun control laws that we’re all supposed to follow. These are the laws we’re assured are absolutely essential to keeping us all safe. But they don’t apply to law enforcement officers because they’re better than us. They get different rules because they’re special.

Well, I’m not walking around with marijuana in my vehicle, much less an amount that’s a skooch under the legal limit and trusting my badge to keep me out of trouble.

What happened here should raise a lot of questions, including why laws that are supposedly so essential aren’t applied to everyone equally. Unfortunately, no one in Maryland or DC will be interested in asking those.