While test driving a motorcycle from a Harley Davidson dealership in late May, Prince George’s County Sheriff John Carr lost control of the vehicle, hit a curb and went airborne, he said in an interview Monday. Carr broke his wrist in three places and tore some of the ligaments — injuries that prompted him to visit two hospitals and undergo emergency surgery, he said.

But immediately following the injury, the sheriff’s chief of staff, Tracy Brown, said only that Carr, 49, was “involved in a minor motorcycle incident” in response to questions from The Banner.

“He did not require treatment at Shock Trauma and is not hospitalized,” Brown wrote in an email on May 31.

Over the following two weeks, however, questions about the extent of Carr’s injuries began to circulate after he wasn’t seen at the sheriff’s office.

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Brown did not immediately respond to another email questioning the sheriff’s whereabouts, sent on June 16. The following day, the sheriff’s office posted an image to social media containing “a message from Sheriff John D.B. Carr” that said the sheriff’s office “remains fully operational and continues to serve the community without interruption.”

In response to follow-up questions, Carr sat down this week for an interview with his right arm in a cast. He was test riding a motorcycle from a dealership in Fort Washington, which the sheriff’s office has partnered with in the past, he said.

Asked about the initial description of the incident as “minor,” Carr said he underwent brief emergency surgery in Baltimore, and that his family encouraged him to take more time to rest afterward.

“They were like, ‘Hey, you’re always ripping and running, you’ve always been in the community, you know, you’ve got to let your work speak for itself and deal with that,’” Carr said.

During the nearly 40-minute interview, Carr also offered his views on his first term as sheriff one day before the primary election. The union representing his deputies has endorsed his opponent, Ron Oliver, who is a department veteran and member of the union’s executive board.

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Carr, who joined the agency in 2002, spoke about his efforts to address domestic violence, the formation of a specialized team to serve psychiatric petitions and other initiatives, especially those partnering with local organizations to address social issues.

“You can’t just serve orders and lock people up and think you can be part of the community,” Carr said.

But the agency is also facing challenges, namely a massive backlog of thousands of evictions yet to be served, an enforcement function that’s reserved solely for the sheriff’s office. The backlog has been a problem members of his administrative staff attributed to court processing delays, staffing shortages and other issues.

Carr said the sheriff’s office currently has 393 full-time employees, including sworn and civilian.

“How do you cover a county of one million with just that?” Carr said.

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