Steuart Pittman, Jr. is the County Executive of Anne Arundel County, Maryland. A farmer and horse trainer who founded the Retired Racehorse Project, he was first elected in 2018 and re-elected in 2022.
Case
DHS says ICE officers fired defensively when a driver rammed vehicles and drove at them in Glen Burnie, Maryland. County police corrected DHS on where an injured passenger was; the driver said he drove away fearing he would be shot.
Role at the time: County Executive of Anne Arundel County
Statement summary
In a statement, Pittman said the fact that federal authorities "lied about what happened in front of the cameras in Minneapolis" makes "all of us question what happened in the absence of cameras here in Glen Burnie".
“The fact that federal authorities lied about what happened in front of the cameras in Minneapolis makes all of us question what happened in the absence of cameras here in Glen Burnie.”
The reference point includes DHS's public account of the Glen Burnie shooting. Pittman says federal statements about Minneapolis lead him and others to question what happened in Glen Burnie, which casts doubt on the account without saying whether the shooting was warranted. Condemns loses because he does not condemn the Glen Burnie shooting itself.
Role at the time: County Executive of Anne Arundel County
Statement summary
In a statement to the press that he reprinted in his January 2 weekly letter, Pittman said federal law enforcement operating "without the traditional notification of local police and often without identification" is "a recipe for violence", said "We do not know the facts of the case yet", and said the county would investigate the shooting as it does all shootings in the county.
“This is exactly the kind of incident that I and my peers across the country have dreaded. We have federal law-enforcement operating in our jurisdictions without the traditional notification of local police and often without identification. It is a recipe for violence, and that is what we experienced in our county today. . We do not know the facts of the case yet, but will be investigating it as we do all shootings in our county. ... All that really matters in this case is that all government employees, including myself, adhere to the law, learn the facts, and uncover the truth.”
The reference point is the officers' decision to fire and DHS's account of it. Pittman criticizes the conditions of federal operations in the county but says the facts of the shooting are not yet known, so his conclusion depends on the pending investigation. Condemns and defends both lose because he takes no position on the shooting itself.
Statement dates: December 24, 2025 to January 8, 2026
Statement dates: December 24, 2025 to January 8, 2026
Statement dates: December 24, 2025 to January 8, 2026
