Posted on 06/12/25
| News Source: FOX45
Baltimore, MD - June 12, 2025 - The Carroll County Sheriff's Office has declined an invitation to participate in an honor guard ceremony at Camden Yards due to the Baltimore Orioles' policy prohibiting firearms in the ballpark. Sheriff Jim DeWees said he canceled his deputies' participation because the Orioles would not allow them to carry their guns during the event.
"I think the decision is just blatantly ignorant," DeWees said, expressing his frustration with the Orioles' policy, which he believes puts his deputies at risk.
"First of all, our policy is when you're in uniform, you have a loaded firearm with you. And so, regardless of where you go, deputies, law enforcement, we're targets the second we leave our homes in uniform. And people expect us to be able to take action," DeWees said.
The Orioles, in response, stated that "the safety of our fans is of the utmost importance" but declined to provide further details regarding their security protocols and procedures.
DeWees noted that the Orioles offered an option for deputies to carry unloaded firearms, but the offer was declined. "Regardless of whether we're there to present colors or not, we're in uniform, we're law enforcement officers regardless of where we're at. And we require our deputies to have a firearm," DeWees said.