Christmas Eve Stories from the Cecil County Police Blotter

As families gathered to celebrate Christmas in the 1970s, Cecil County Police Officers continued their never-ending job, patrolling the roads and answering calls, while others shared gifts, good company, and delicious meals.  Although the demands on law enforcement can be high on holidays, with officers juggling calls, a glance at the police blotter reveals that there is sometimes a lighter side.

Santa Speeding Across Cecil County

In the early 1970s, one Maryland State Police sergeant, Steve Landbeck, orchestrated a little holiday tradition for several years.  As people settled in with their families on Christmas Eve, things generally quieted down for first responders. But an urgent flash would break the silence of the night on the police radio. A tooper out of the North East Barrack was in a high-speed chase.

As the drama unfolded, the pursuit continuing up Route 40, a description was put out for other units rushing into position to back up the North East car.  It went something like this. It was a shiny red vehicle moving fast. Moments later came the driver’s description: a heavy-set man with a white beard in a red suit. Soon, something would follow about hearing sleigh bells and ho-ho, ho. The radio broadcast played out over several minutes as additional details eked out.

In time, Sargeant Landbeck advised 10-22 (disregard).  The fleeing vehicle was only the jolly old fella and his sleigh coming into Cecil for his annual visit on a busy night with lots to do. The reindeer were there, and the sleigh was loaded with gifts for boys and girls around the county, the state trooper reassuringly reported.

That became a Christmas Eve tradition for many years as Steve orchestrated his little radio play, and once the broadcast kicked off, parents had their children listen to the scanner.  After the 10-22 went out on the airwaves, children across the county knew Santa was on his way.  He was here and they had better hurry off to bed so they could wake up early on Christmas morning for gifts from Santa.

St. Nick Makes Quick Escape in Dark Parking Lot

In the county seat, another case unfolded on a Christmas Eve watch decades ago.  Elkton Police Officer Marshall Purner prowled the streets on the holiday shift when dispatch radioed early on that quiet evening that someone had broken into a vehicle at Cecil Lanes.  The bowling alley was having a party for children, and while all the merriment distracted everyone, a perpetrator forced entry into a car, taking holiday gifts.

Upon arrival at the scene, Officer Purner started the investigation.  A witness observed a suspicious person—a man in a Santa Claus outfit dashing through the dark parking lot.  He was carrying stuff in some sort of hurry when he jumped into a vehicle and sped from the scene.   Those details were dutifully recorded, and with that information pointing to a primary suspect, Marshall was on the trail as he issued a “be on the lookout” alert for the getaway car and the red-suited suspect.

With all Cecil County patrol cars on the road Christmas Eve, now keeping an eye out for the fleeing vehicle occupied by old St. Nick, they soon executed a stop, pulling it and the driver over.  It was a fellow officer, Patrolman Joseph Zurolo, playing Santa for a group of kids at the Bowling Alley.  Having finished bringing joy to a group of Cecil County youngsters, the merriment and gift-giving taken care of, Santa dashed off to make his holiday rounds.  So, he made a hasty departure from the party, rushing through the parking lot.

Of course, he had nothing to do with the incident, but it made for a unique discussion back at the police station and several laughs on a Christmas Eve long ago, the calls documented for all time in the old Cecil County Police Blotter.

Also See

Marshall Purner Went From Big City Policing to Keeping the Peace in Cecil County

From Weather to Crimes, Police Blotter Gives Glimpse of Bygone Elkton