Ex-Baltimore officer pleads guilty to ‘remarkably stupid’ doctor’s note scheme

A former Baltimore Police officer will not spend any time in jail after admitting Wednesday to submitting fraudulent doctor’s notes and getting paid for time that he missed at work.

Harrison Brandon, 28, of Northeast Baltimore, pleaded guilty in Baltimore Circuit Court to misconduct in office and received two years of probation. He served more than five years with the department and resigned last year while under investigation.

Circuit Judge Jeffrey Geller also ordered Brandon to complete 120 hours of community service during his first year on probation, saying the former officer needed to repay the city for the hours he stole. Brandon already paid $469 in restitution to make up for the compensation he received for time he did not work.

Describing Brandon’s actions “remarkably stupid,” Geller said his fraud undermined trust in the Baltimore Police Department.

“The amount of money is relatively small,” the judge said. “The bigger problem is the breach of public trust.”

Between Aug. 31, 2024, and March 23, 2025, Brandon submitted five medical slips to excuse absences and get paid for time he missed at work, prosecutors alleged.

Brandon, prosecutors reported, got paid for two out of the five days.

Assistant State’s Attorney Kimberly Rothwell asked Geller to sentence Brandon to 30 days in jail and 18 months of probation.

Defense attorney Jerry Tarud asked the judge to impose probation before judgment, a special sentence that allows a defendant to wipe a conviction from their record if they successfully complete probation.

Tarud said his client was caring for his elderly grandparents at the time. Brandon submitted the fraudulent doctor’s notes on days when he needed to help his grandmother but couldn’t take off work, his attorney said.

Brandon graduated from Patterson High School in 2017. He held several jobs, including working for a temp agency at the Port of Baltimore, before he became a police officer in 2019.

“Judge, he had a career,” Tarud said. “Twenty-eight years, and that was all destroyed in a decision-making of only a few seconds.”

The defense lawyer said his client accepted responsibility by resigning from the force and pleading guilty. Brandon, he argued, wasn’t a public safety threat and was unlikely to reoffend.

“Thirty days in jail is a bit much since he’s lost just about everything,” said Tarud, who added that his client has been “punished enough.”

Brandon’s grandmother died after he was indicted, but he still cares for his grandfather in the Ellwood Park/Monument neighborhood. After resigning, he now works in security at ShopRite.

On Wednesday, Brandon told the judge that he chose a different path than the friends from his childhood whom he lost to violence or incarceration.

He apologized.

“I’m very sorry. I understand what I did was 100% wrong,” Brandon said. “I lost everything.”