Federal Judge Dismisses Ridgely Police Lawsuit
Caroline County, MD - A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit filed by eight former Ridgely Police Department employees. The ruling came on Friday, September 25, 2026, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland.
Judge Brendan A. Hurson granted requests to dismiss from the Town of Ridgely and from the Caroline County Sheriff's Office. He dismissed all of the federal claims and directed the clerk to close the case.
The lawsuit was filed on August 13, 2025. Former Ridgely Police Chief Jeffrey Eckrich was the lead plaintiff.
It named the Town of Ridgely, three town commissioners, several town staff members, and a former Ridgely officer. It also named Caroline County Sheriff Donald Baker Jr. and Deputy Sheriff Rodney Helmer.
According to the lawsuit, the trouble started in early 2024. The plaintiffs said false claims were made against Chief Eckrich and passed along to the Maryland Office of the State Prosecutor, which opened an investigation.
In March 2024, the town suspended the department's employees with pay. The town then signed an agreement for the Caroline County Sheriff's Office to provide law enforcement, starting April 1, 2024.
On May 1, 2024, the employees received termination letters that took effect July 1, 2024. The Office of the State Prosecutor closed its investigation that July, finding not enough evidence of criminal activity to move forward.
The plaintiffs said their rights to due process were violated and that their reputations were harmed. At this early stage, the judge treated the plaintiffs' claims as true and then looked at whether the law supported them.
The judge found that suspending the employees with pay did not violate their due process rights. The judge also found the firings were tied to the town's choice to use the sheriff's office, which was a budget and administrative decision.
The judge found the town's public statements about the suspensions were not shown to be false. The remaining federal claims, including conspiracy, failed for similar reasons.
The judge declined to rule on the state law claims and dismissed them without prejudice. That means the plaintiffs could file those claims again in state court.
Sheriff Baker shared the following statement after the ruling: "We are pleased that this federal lawsuit has been dropped and resolved in our favor. While lawsuits are unfortunately a reality of modern law enforcement, we remain steadfastly committed to transparency, accountability, and serving the residents of Caroline County. We are grateful to our legal team for their hard work in securing this outcome, and we look forward to continuing our focus on protecting and serving our community without this distraction."
