Maryland State Police superintendent’s traffic stop last only 8 seconds

How long does a traffic stop take when you’re the acting superintendent of the Maryland State Police?

In the case of a recent stop of Lt. Col. Dalaine M. Brady, about eight seconds.

The Banner requested body and dash camera footage of Brady being pulled over by a trooper on Jan. 20. Footage shows the officer was in the median on Interstate 95 near the Maryland House travel plaza in Aberdeen using a radar gun toward oncoming traffic. He pulls out behind Brady’s Ford Edge and pulls her over a short distance away.

What happens next is hard to discern. The trooper is standing at the passenger side door, his body camera facing down as he leans in to speak to the driver.

“Hello, how you doing?” the trooper asks.

What Brady says back can’t be heard over the ambient traffic noise on the highway, but it takes only a second before the trooper responds.

“How are you, ma’am? No problem. You have a great day OK. Yes, ma’am. You have a great day.”

Maryland State Police spokeswoman Elena Russo issued a statement saying that the “driver of the vehicle was identified as” Brady, but did not say how.

Russo said Brady was not issued a citation after the trooper had taken “into account the totality of the circumstances.” The statement did not elaborate on what circumstances were taken into account.

“Lt. Colonel Brady appreciates that her fundamental duty is to serve the community, be constantly mindful of the welfare of others and to uphold the law,” Russo said. “She regrets both being inattentive to her speed and the disruption she caused to the trooper’s patrol duty.”

Former superintendent Col. Woodrow “Jerry” Jones retired at the end of last year, and then-Gov. Larry Hogan announced in November that Lt. Col. Roland Butler would serve in an acting capacity starting Jan. 1. But Butler, as well as Lt. Col. Norman W. Dofflemyer, retired themselves. Brady, who was chief of the support services bureau, took over.