Lusby, MD— The Calvert County Sheriff’s Office (CCSO) is committed to sharing as much information as we possibly can without jeopardizing the ongoing investigation into the nooses that have been located at the Dominion Cove Point facility.
This updated release includes actions taken by the CCSO, Kiewit and the North America’s Building Trades Union and is supported by Dominion.
Kiewit and the Trades Union continue to work aggressively, with the full support of Dominion, to assist the CCSO in identifying the person(s) that are responsible for these acts. CCSO personnel have been told repeatedly that nothing less than the safest work environment for everyone working on the Cove Point job site is acceptable.
Kiewit has trained all of the workers on the Cove Point site on Kiewit’s zero-tolerance policy for any object that has the potential to offend someone. Kiewit also asked all of the workers to fully cooperate with the CCSO investigation and to report any information they may have regarding the nooses.
Kiewit management held meetings with all workers to review the established procedures in reporting and securing areas if inappropriate objects are discovered. The CCSO and construction safety staff increased their visibility on site to provide additional surveillance.
The Building Trades Union has committed to convening meetings on the jobsite with its local union leadership and the craft workers to ask their assistance in finding the responsible individuals and to make sure everyone understands the types of actions and attitudes that are unacceptable.
In addition, the Trades Union has increased the reward to $250,000.00 for any member that provides information leading to the identification of the responsible individuals.
The CCSO asks that anyone with information that may assist the investigation contact Detective DeFelice at 410-535-2800 or defelinb@co.cal.md.us.
Sheriff Mike Evans stated: “Due to the nature of these events in our community we will investigate this as if it were a crime. We do not typically see these types of things in our County and as a community we will stop it.” Although no one has come forward to file a complaint it is fair to say that this act is offensive in nature to our entire community.
Lusby, MD – A fifth hangman’s noose was discovered Wednesday, Dec. 7 at the construction site at the Dominion Cove Point Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) Plant in Lusby, police reported. According to Captain Steve Jones, the Calvert County Sheriff’s Office liaison officer for Dominion, two employees of Kiewit Construction discovered the noose shortly before noon. The first noose at the site of Maryland’s largest construction project was discovered back in April. Kiewit is currently offering a $100,000 reward for information that would help identify the perpetrator.
Incidents at construction sites involving the mysterious placements of hangman’s nooses—regarded as an offensive symbol due to its association with the Ku Klux Klan—have been occurring for several years. Earlier this week, two nooses were discovered by an electrician at a large project at the Washington, DC Wharf. News reports indicate investigators identified a “subcontractor employee” believed responsible for the incidents and the construction company immediately fired the individual. In 2001, a similar incident in Seattle prompted a lawsuit by an offended laborer.
Jones told TheBayNet.com that investigators are trying to determine if there might be a connection between the incidents at Cove Point and other similar recent incidents at other large construction sites. Jones stated that no outside law enforcement agencies will be getting involved in the Cove Point probe, however he stated that he has been in contact with the Federal Bureau of Investigation about the incidents. “We have an open line of communication,” Jones said.
At this time no suspects have been identified. Anyone with information on the incidents that might aid investigators is asked to contact Detective Nicholas DeFelice at 410-535-2800 or email defelinb@co.cal.md.us.
Contact Marty Madden at marty.madden@thebaynet.com
Lusby, MD – On Dec. 7 at approximately 11:50 a.m. the Calvert County Sheriff’s Office was notified by a representative of Kiewit Construction that a noose had been located on the construction site at the Dominion Cove Point LNG facility in Lusby. This is the fifth such noose that has been found on this site.
The sheriff’s office was contacted immediately upon the noose being located. The noose was collected and placed into CCSO property for evidence. Kiewit construction is cooperating fully with CCSO detectives who are investigating these cases. Numerous CCSO resources have been deployed to assist with the investigation which is still ongoing.
Anyone with information on this incident is asked to contact Detective Nicholas DeFelice at 410-535-2800 or defelinb@co.cal.md.us.