Police Department Staged Historic Moment

Sergeant Lela Singleton, Chief Devan Martin, Recruit Edwine Toussaint, and Recruit Jasmine Chase.

Local news outlets rushed to cover the City of Seat Pleasant's announcement earlier this week that for the first time in history, four female officers were employed by the Seat Pleasant Police Department all at once. Jonathan Rizik, a digital producer for WTVM-TV, was one of the first to write about the seemingly newsworthy event. His articles on social media and elsewhere disappeared hours later when DBlastMedia reported the historic moment was a publicity stunt. Finance records show the city paid Julie Parker Communications a large sum to arrange the spectacle meant to draw attention from contraversy surrounding the police department.

Police Chief Devan Martin and other employees have been the focus of intense public scrutiny since dozens of body-worn camera videos surfaced online showing unconstitutional searches, false arrests, and abuse. Inside sources say Chief Martin was determined to create fanfare by hiring females, regardless of the applicant's suitability for policing.

The women hired were Sergeant Lela "Candi" Singleton, Officer Andrea Durant-Smith, Recruit Jasmine Chase, and Recruit Edwine Toussaint. Lela Singleton resigned from the Prince George's County and Mount Rainier police departments to avoid termination. Durant-Smith, involuntarily resigned from the Cambridge Police Deparment after failing field training twice. She did not attend the press conference. One of the recruits used drugs while attending the police academy.

Investigative journalist Shabazz Washington says Chase and Durant-Smith previously worked at Six Flags America in Bowie, Maryland. Chief Martin hired a half dozen people from the amusement park where he worked on the weekends.

Chief Martin has earned a reputation for hiring misfits including drug dealers, insurance scammers, sexual harassers, police impersonators, and former cops terminated for misconduct.

DBlastMedia reached out to the City for comment but received no response.

-------Update-------

The women officers no longer work for Seat Pleasant. Sergeant Lela Singleton went to work at another agency. Officer Andrea Durant-Smith failed field training and was forced to resign. She is now working for the Edmonston Police Department. The other two women quit.