Washington County Sheriff's Office, Maryland

This is the Offical Facebook Page of the Washington County Shierff's Office, Washington County, Maryland. This facebook page is for informational purposes only, this facebook page is not continually monitored. To report emergencies dial 9-1-1. Before you post on this page, please review the following Terms of Use.

This page should not be used to report crimes in progress or emergencies. If you have an emergency, dial 911 immediately. If you are reporting a crime in progress that is not an emergency, please call the WCSO at (240) 313-2100. To reach the duty officer, please call (240) 313-2170.

If you post information on this page regarding criminal activity, you COULD become a witness, for any criminal proceedings that result from information you provide. Keep in mind, information can be provided anonymously.

"Friending" between the Washington County Sheriff's Office and facebook users does not indicate an endorsement of content on that user's facebook page.

Posts and Comments by other facebook users on the Washington County Sheriff's Office page are not to be considered the opinion of the Washington County Sheriff's Office , nor does the Sheriff's Office endorse any third party comments on this page unless explicitly specified.

The Washington County Sheriff's Office reserves the right to remove any posts, or comments that are deemed to be offensive in nature. This could include uses of profanity, threats, or any posts or comments that could be potentially damaging to members of the public. Posts that could endanger law enforcement officers will also be removed. The Washington County Sheriff's Office also reserves the right to remove any user's posting ability if there are repeated violations of these Terms of Use, or if the offense is severe.

Comments that are deemed to be "off-topic" will be removed. Please keep all comments relevant to whatever post they are a part of.

Comments or replies that contain any hyperlinks will be removed, regardless of the nature of the link.

Comments that are deemed to be racially charged will be removed. No comments will be allowed that promote racisim. Racially motivated comments could result in immediate removal of a followers posting ability.

Facebook users who post about their involvement in any criminal activity may be subject to criminal prosecution.

HISTORY of the WCSO

The first elected Sheriff of Washington County, Maryland was George Hershey who served from 1777 to 1780. There have been 79 Sheriffs in the history of Washington County to date. One of the more interesting chapters in the unbroken chain of Sheriffs is the term of Sheriff George Swearingen who began his term in 1827, however it was ended prematurely when he was arrested, convicted and hung for the murder of his wife in 1829.

In 1838, the Maryland Constitution was changed to provide for a separate County Tax Collector, thus relieving the Sheriff of that responsibility. In 1850, the Sheriff's term of office was reduced to two years. It remained a two-year term until 1946 when it was increased to four-year terms. The four-year term remains in place today.

The present Sheriff, Douglas W. Mullendore, is in his third term as Sheriff. He has been with the Sheriff's Office since January, 1982. He came up through the ranks within the Sheriff's Office and was first elected Sheriff in 2006.