By Bryna Zumer
Baltimore Sun
HARFORD COUNTY, Md. — The Harford County Sheriff’s Union said a Department of Emergency Services employee threatened to kill deputies during a traffic stop, and is upset that County Executive Bob Cassilly ’s administration continues to employ the worker.
“Retaining an individual who harbors such open hostility toward Law Enforcement sends a clear message that threats of violence against our Deputies are tolerated by the current Administration,” Union president Gerald Eaton wrote in a letter posted to social media Thursday.
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It’s the latest scuffle between the Sheriff’s Office and Cassilly’s administration, which have regularly clashed in court battles and issues like the relocation of the county’s mobile command center.
Cassilly replied in a statement that the union’s letter is a “smear campaign,” saying every employee “is entitled to due process” and that the Sheriff’s Office never provided the “incendiary” body cam evidence despite repeated requests from the administration for their investigation.
“This employee does not, and never has, dispatched police – a fact that is well-known to Mr. Eaton,” Cassilly wrote. “The employee in question was arrested in November during off-duty hours and pled guilty to a DUI and failure to stop for police. Following her arrest, she placed herself on leave for six weeks. Her case was heard on January 21 and she is awaiting sentencing.”
County Council President Pat Vincenti, who is challenging Cassilly in this year’s county executive race, also issued a statement saying he is “embarrassed and outraged by County Executive Cassilly’s blatant lack of concern and his continued attacks on the men and women of law enforcement.”
He urged Cassilly to “ensure this dispatcher is never again on the other end of a 911 call or on the radio while first responders are fighting to save lives.”
Cassilly’s spokesperson declined to identify the employee involved, saying the incident is a personnel matter, but Sheriff Jeff Gahler identified her as Nadene Smith.
Smith, 42, of Reisterstown, was charged Nov. 18 with trying to flee from police, driving while intoxicated and related charges after an incident off of Route 7 in Aberdeen, according to online records. She is scheduled to be sentenced March 12.
Gahler called the union’s letter “a powerful statement” and said Smith should be removed from her duties immediately.
In one of the selected clips from the deputy’s body-cam footage that the Sheriff’s Office shared, Smith is seen saying: “I’m a f***ing dispatcher.”
The deputy replies: “Well, you don’t act like one.” Smith retorts: “F*** you.”
In another clip, she is seen saying: “I hope somebody blows your f***ing head off. That’s why nobody likes cops now.”
The Sheriff’s Office told The Sun that a formal Maryland Public Information Act request must be filed before they would release the entire body-cam footage.
The Sheriff’s Office also said in their statement that the camera footage had not been previously released because “the court case had not been adjudicated until her plea was entered on Jan 21, 2026, but complete transcripts were previously provided to Harford County Administration.”
Editor’s Note: Footage of this incident was released by the Harford County Sheriff’s Office on Jan. 29.
Have a news tip? Contact Bryna Zumer at bzumer@baltsun.com, or on X as @brynazumer.
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