Officials offer few details about death of state employee in Annapolis office building

State officials are releasing few details about the death of a state employee inside a state government office building in Annapolis 10 days ago.

Police and emergency medical crews were called to the Attman-Glazer building at 45 Calvert St. in Annapolis for reports of an employee who was found dead.

Johnathan Medlock, assistant secretary for the Department of General Services, confirmed in an email that an employee of the agency “was found deceased” in the building sometime between noon and 2 p.m. on Feb. 9.

Medlock referred questions about the incident to the Maryland State Police, who are handling the investigation.

In an emailed statement, Ron Snyder, a spokesperson for the state police, confirmed that Maryland Capitol Police were called to the Calvert Street building “for the report of an unresponsive individual. EMS personnel arrived and pronounced the individual deceased.”

Snyder, in his email, did not release the name or age of the individual and offered no details on where or how they were found.

“Officers from the Maryland Capitol Police requested the assistance of the Maryland State Police, who have assumed control of the investigation,” Snyder wrote in his email.

“Cause and manner of death is pending the results of an autopsy by the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner,” Snyder wrote, adding: “Police do not believe there is any threat to the public.”

The building where the incident occurred is about three blocks from the Maryland State House and is closer to a handful of other state and Anne Arundel County government buildings. It is home to the Maryland Office of Budget and Management including the office suite used by Budget Secretary Helene Grady.

Also in the building is the Department of Service and Civic Innovation, the agency created last year by Gov. Wes Moore to lead his signature service program; the offices of the Maryland State Ethics Commission; Assessment and Taxation for Anne Arundel County; and the Public Employee Relations Board. More than a dozen state agencies also have satellite or legislative offices in the basement of the building.

Neither Medlock nor Snyder would answer specific questions regarding the reported death. It is unknown where the person died or who made the initial discovery. Neither agency identified the deceased beyond confirming that the individual was a state employee who worked for the Department of General Services.

Department of General Services Secretary Atif Chaudhry. File photo by Bryan P. Sears.

In an email sent to Department of General Services employees on the day of the incident, Secretary Atif Chaudhry announced the death of the state worker but did not name them.

“It is with a heavy heart that we share this news,” Chaudhry wrote. “As any information pertinent to you all becomes available, we will be sure to share it.”

The email contained no additional details. It referred state employees to crisis services through Anne Arundel County, the state’s Employee Assistance Program and the 988 Suicide and Crisis hotline, which offers free, confidential support 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

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