60 N. PARKE ST | ABERDEEN | MD | 21001 (410) 272-2121 - NON EMERGENCY | 911 EMERGENCY
COMMAND STAFF
UNDER REVISION
Chief Henry Trabert
Henry Trabert, a 26-year veteran of the Aberdeen Police Department began his career as an Aberdeen Police Officer in January 1986. He obtained every rank recognized by the department and held positions in Patrol Operations, Administrative Services, Criminal Investigations and SWAT. He was appointed as Interim Chief of Police in October 2010 and sworn in as Chief of Police in June 2011.
Chief Trabert earned an Associate of Applied Sciences Degree from Harford Community College in Criminal Justice and his Bachelor and Master of Science Degrees from Johns Hopkins University in Management. Chief Trabert is also a graduate of the FBI National Academy class #238 and has attended many police executive and leadership training programs.
Chief Trabert is currently a member of the Maryland Chiefs of Police, NAACP, FBI National Associates and the Aberdeen Chamber of Commerce. He serves on the Maryland Municipal League Hometown Emergency Preparedness Committee and the Criminal Justice Advisory Committee for Harford Community College.
Major David Swain (Deputy Chief)
Deputy Chief David Swain joined the Aberdeen Police Department in 2005.
After serving 8 years in the United States Marine Corps, including 3 overseas deployments, Swain attended the Baltimore Police Department Academy in 2003. Upon completion of the academy, he spent 2 years in patrol with Baltimore City. He lateraled to Aberdeen in 2005, spending his first year in patrol, earning the Aberdeen Officer of the Year Award and an award for leading the department in criminal arrests in his first year.
Deputy Chief Swain’s work in narcotics led to the formation of the Department’s Special Operations Unit in 2006. Swain was assigned to the unit and spent a year investigating narcotics and gang activity. Swain then earned the rank of Detective and was assigned to the Criminal Investigations Division spending 2 years investigating crimes from ranging from thefts to homicides.
In 2009 Deputy Chief Swain was promoted to Corporal and was assigned as the supervisor for the Special Operations Unit. In 2010 Swain was assigned to Patrol as a shift supervisor and worked all 3 shifts.
In 2016 Swain was promoted to Sergeant and was assigned as the Administrative Sergeant and later assigned to Patrol Supervisor on the Midnight and Day shifts until being promoted to Lieutenant in 2017. From 2009-2017 Swain was the Commander of the Department’s Honor Guard. Since 2013 Swain has been a firearms and Taser instructor.
Deputy Chief Swain has a bachelor's degree in criminal justice administration and attended the Northwestern University School of Police Staff and Command class #478.
Captain C. William Reiber - Patrol & Field Operations Commander
Capt. C. William Reiber began his career as a police officer in 1999 as a member of the 30th graduation class of Maryland Transportation Authority Police. In 2006, after 7 years of police service, Capt. Reiber began his career with the Aberdeen Police Department. As a lifelong Harford County resident, who grew up in Edgewood, joining the APD fulfilled a childhood dream of serving residents of Harford County. In July 2006 Reiber was assigned to the Patrol Division tasked with providing proactive uniformed police services. In August 2007 Reiber attained the title of Detective and was assigned to the Special Operations Unit, a Unit tasked with conducting proactive criminal investigations and gang suppression. Reiber served in that capacity until April 2010 when he became a Detective tasked with investigating personal and property crimes as a member of the Criminal Investigations Division. In August 2011 Reiber was promoted to the rank of Detective Corporal responsible for directly supervising the Special Operations Unit. In March 2015 Reiber was promoted to the rank of Sergeant and assigned to the Patrol Division as the Midnight Shift Supervisor. In May 2015, Reiber earned the rank of Detective Sergeant where he was responsible for supervising members of SOU/CID. In April 2017 Reiber earned the rank of Lieutenant and currently commands the patrol and field operations division.
Currently, Capt. Reiber is the Department’s lead Public Information Officer responsible for the timely and accurate dissemination of information used to inform the public and members of the media about matters of public safety. Under his leadership, the Department has created a series of highly interactive social media initiatives aimed at promoting community involvement and inclusion. Lieutenant Reiber is a certified police instructor who has trained hundreds of law enforcement officers from around the state in drug interdiction and proactive criminal enforcement. Capt. Reiber has served as a member of the Aberdeen SWAT Team, Honor Guard, Crisis Intervention Team, and Retirement Committee, and serves as the head of Department Recruitment.
Lieutenant Douglas Reitz - Patrol Commander
Lt. Douglas Reitz began his career in Law Enforcement in February of 1986 as a Maryland State Police Cadet assigned to the Commercial Vehicle Enforcement Division.
In July of 1988, he entered the Maryland State Police Academy as part of the 97th Recruit Class. He served the citizens of the State of Maryland for 26 years as a Maryland State Trooper in various assignments both in uniform patrol and investigative capacities. His assignments included service at the Forestville, Rockville, Prince Frederick, and Westminster Barracks. Lt. Reitz spent a large portion of his State Police career in Westminster where he functioned as Road Patrol, Patrol Supervisor, Shift Commander, and CID Supervisor. Lt. Reitz received many awards from various entities during his long and distinguished career. The most remarkable of those accomplishments was being elected Trooper of the Year for the Department of Maryland State Police in 1996.
After retiring as a Sergeant from the Maryland State Police, Lt. Reitz became Chief of Police for the North Middleton Township Police Department in South Central Pennsylvania. He served in that capacity from April 2012 until June 2016. During his time in North Middleton Township, Lt. Reitz was nominated as Vice President of the Cumberland County Chiefs of Police Association. He also commanded the South Central Task Force Law Enforcement Strike Team comprised of officers from 8 counties. He also served as a member of the Cumberland County SRT Board.
In July 2016, Lt. Reitz was hired by the Town of Mount Airy (MD) as their 1st Chief of Police. He was responsible for starting one of Maryland’s newest Police Agencies. Since its inception, the Mount Airy Police Department under his leadership grew to a Department of 12 sworn and two civilian positions, responsible for all law enforcement functions for a town of almost 10,000 residents. As a result, the Mount Airy Police Department became recognized as a well-respected law enforcement agency.
Lt. Reitz became a member of the Aberdeen Police Department in May of 2023 and is assigned as the Patrol Division Commander. Lt. Reitz is also a graduate of Johns Hopkins University and holds a B.S. and M.S. Degree in Management.
Lieutenant Shannon Persuhn - Criminal Investigations & IA Commander
Lt. Persuhn began her public safety career in 1999 as a police dispatcher and 911 call taker for the Harford County Department of Emergency Services. She later graduated from the Harford County Sheriff’s Office Training Academy and began working for the Aberdeen Police Department in 2007. Persuhn worked as a patrol officer until 2009 when she was selected for a position in the Special Operations Unit, specializing in narcotics interdiction and gang suppression. Persuhn was assigned to the Harford County Narcotics Task Force in January 2011, a multi-jurisdictional unit responsible for investigating mid to upper-level drug trafficking crimes. Later that year Persuhn was promoted to the rank of Corporal and served as a first line supervisor in the Patrol Division before returning to the Special Operations Unit as the supervisor. In 2015 Persuhn achieved the rank of Sergeant and was assigned to the Patrol Division as a shift supervisor for four years. She was selected for the Detective Sergeant position and transferred to the Criminal Investigation Division in July 2019. While serving in that capacity she supervised detectives responsible for investigating major crimes and felonies, such as homicides, rapes, and robberies. Persuhn also worked as an investigator, handling both criminal investigations and internal affairs investigations. In July 2022 Persuhn was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant. She is the first female officer in the history of the agency to achieve the rank of Sergeant or Lieutenant. Persuhn currently serves as the Commander of the Criminal Investigation Division.
Lt. Persuhn earned an Associates of Applied Sciences Degree in Criminal Justice and graduated summa cum laude from Eastern Gateway Community College. She has been a Public Information Officer for the department since 2013. Persuhn previously served as Chairman of the Awards Committee and Goals Committee and was a member of the Aberdeen Police Department Honor Guard.
Lieutenant Thaddeus Tomlinson - Administrative Commander
Lt. Tomlinson began his career as a Police Cadet with the Maryland Transportation Authority Police Department in the summer of 2006. In the summer of 2008, Lt. Tomlinson entered the police academy and later graduated in December of the same year.
In 2009, Lt. Tomlinson lateraled to the Annapolis Police Department and in October of 2012, he was hired by the Aberdeen Police Department.
From 2012-2014, Lt. Tomlinson was a patrolman where he focused on proactive enforcement, investigations, and training. In 2014, Lt. Tomlinson was assigned to the Criminal Investigations Division where he worked major crimes with a team of seasoned investigators. During this appointment, Lt. Tomlinson worked many cases with allied Local, State and Federal Law Enforcement Agencies, as well as Child Protective Services, the Child Advocacy Center and Adult Protective Services.
From 2014-2020, Lt. Tomlinson was selected to be a member of the Harford County Municipal SWAT Team. As a part of that appointment, Lt. Tomlinson attended and successfully completed the Baltimore Police Department’s SWAT School, the Basic and Advanced SWAT School through the National Tactical Officers Association and the Team Leader Development Course through the National Tactical Officers Association. In 2018, Lt. Tomlinson was promoted to rank of Assistant Team Leader and took on responsibilities regarding training, mission preparation and mission execution.
In 2016, Lt. Tomlinson was promoted to the rank of Corporal and was assigned to the Midnight Shift.
In 2017, Lt. Tomlinson was promoted to the rank of Sergeant and was re-assigned to supervise the Criminal Investigations Division and the Special Operations Unit. While in this position, Lt. Tomlinson was responsible for all major crime investigations in the City of Aberdeen and managing the confidential investigations of the Special Operations Unit. In 2019, Lt. Tomlinson returned to the Patrol Division as a shift supervisor where he lead a patrol shift until he was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant in 2022.
Lt. Tomlinson has worked a variety of cases throughout his career and has received numerous awards related to Valor, Life Saving, Unit Citations, and Investigative Successes.
