Harford’s top cop says Aberdeen police won’t get to expand their jurisdiction into the county unless they work alongside his deputies.

Aberdeen Mayor S. Fred Simmons said last week that he is seeking permission from the Maryland State Police to send his officers outside their borders into Perrywood Gardens, which he says is beset by drug dealers and gang members pushed out by the city’s aggressive policing.

But Harford Sheriff Jesse Bane said the state police likely won’t give Aberdeen permission to move without consulting the Sheriff’s Office first, and he wasn’t ready to give the city free rein.

“I cannot at this point give blanket authority to the town’s officers to go out into the county and enforce laws,” Bane said.

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Both the county and city could be hamstrung by questions of liability — for example, which agency would be responsible if an officer or a citizen were hurt, he said.

Bane advocated forming task forces for joint efforts, with terms vetted by both agencies’ lawyers.

If state police consult him on deputizing Aberdeen’s police to tackle crime in Perrywood, Bane said he’d have to warn them that they’d be dealing with Simmons, too: The mayor prides himself on wearing a badge and riding with his police officers, observing arrests and raids firsthand.

Simmons said he’d rather take his own aggressive stance on crime in Perrywood Gardens, rather than the larger-scope prevention and rehabilitation approach favored by the sheriff.

“In the short run, it’s a military solution; it’s not social,” Simmons said.

“At this point, I’m at a loss to figure out anything other than incarceration,” Simmons added. “I understand it being a social problem, but we can’t go to war with our military, then stand on the brink and say, ‘It’s a social problem.’ ”

msantoni@baltimoreexaminer.com