Investigators say Crawford set fires at the homes of people he had conflicts with across Charles, Howard, Prince George's, and Montgomery County from 2011 through 2020. Surveillance video shows him pouring gallons of gasoline right before using a stick wrapped in cloth to set the fire. >> This evening we have a breaking news update. New Haven's former police chief was officially charged today. Karl Jacobson turned himself into state police. This comes after city officials say he admitted to stealing thousands of dollars from the department fund. >> In two different states, two former police chiefs are facing serious criminal consequences. One, a former police chief in Maryland, has been sentenced to decades in prison for a series of arson attacks. The other, a former police chief in Connecticut, has been arrested after admitting to taking city funds for personal use. These cases are not connected by department, investigation, or location. They are connected by rank. Both men once held the highest position in their departments. Both were entrusted with authority, discretion, and public trust. And both are now at the center of criminal prosecutions. Thin blue lies, baby. In Maryland, a former Laurel police chief was sentenced to 55 years in prison after pleading guilty to multiple counts of arson. Prosecutors say the fires were set intentionally over several years. Homes, vehicles, and personal property were targeted. Investigators describe the acts as calculated and retaliatory, not accidental. Court records show some of the victims were people he knew personally. Each fire created the risk of serious injury or death. Authorities say this was not a single incident, but a repeated pattern. At the time these crimes were being committed, the person responsible was someone trained to investigate crimes, not commit them. >> Laurel's top cop sentenced in some high-profile arson cases in Montgomery County, but as DC News Now's Mary El I mean Yamaris Acevedo discovers, he's been torching homes of enemies for years. >> Yeah, well, over a 10-year span, former Laurel Police Chief David Crawford was targeting people he had issues with, including his very own stepson by setting their homes on fire. He's currently serving two life sentences in Howard County, and today in Montgomery County, a judge sentenced him to 55 years. >> It's to finally have closure on the case is like a what? True godsend. >> Justin Shusterman says he feels relief after his stepfather, former Laurel Police Chief David Crawford, was sentenced to 55 years for setting fire to two of his homes in Clarksburg. >> I definitely forgive him. But at the same time, I don't think he he's capable of rehabilitation. >> The fires happened twice at their townhome on Majestic Elm Court in September 2016 and again in 2017, and then at their home on Peppervine Drive in November 2020. >> I didn't suspect him. Um yeah, even with all the petty arguments and just back and forth over the years that occurred. >> Shusterman was not the only victim. Investigators say Crawford set fires at the homes of people he had conflicts with across Charles, Howard, Prince George's, and Montgomery County from 2011 through 2020. Surveillance video shows him pouring gallons of gasoline right before using a stick wrapped in cloth to set the fire. >> If he didn't get a promotion from you and it it was overlooked, you would become a target. If he had a dispute with you over some school board matter, you would become a target. >> Crawford was previously sentenced to life in prison in Howard County, and on Friday he received an additional 55-year sentence in Montgomery County for first- and second-degree arson. Crawford will serve his 55-year sentence concurrently with his two life sentences in Howard County. Reporting in Rockville, Maryland, I'm Yamaris Sassine, DC News Now. Now to the woman >> The Maryland case is extreme. Fires, prison sentences, decades behind bars. But it's important to understand something here. Abuse of authority doesn't always look the same. Sometimes it's violent and obvious. Other times it's quieter, hidden inside budgets, paperwork, and access that most people never see. And that brings us to Connecticut. In Connecticut, a former New Haven police chief was arrested and charged with larceny. Prosecutors allege he took approximately $85,000 from city-controlled accounts. The funds were meant for law enforcement operations and youth-related programs. According to investigators, the former chief admitted to taking the money for personal use. The alleged conduct occurred while he was still in a position of authority. This case does not involve physical violence, but it does involve public trust and public money. >> This evening we have a breaking news update. New Haven's former police chief was officially charged today. Karl Jacobson turned himself into state police. This comes after city officials say he admitted to stealing thousands of dollars from a department fund. But now new documents show that problem was much worse. Fox 61's Tim Lato is live at City Hall with what the mayor is now saying. Tim. >> And that's been an upsetting and shocking day for the mayor and his staff. Mayor Justin Elicker just left a few minutes ago. And now he says that only today he found out that former police chief Karl Jacobson allegedly stole tens of thousands of dollars more than he admitted to and that it all stemmed from a gambling problem according to the arrest warrant. Now Jacobson has been charged with two counts of larceny in the first degree by defrauding a public community. Court records reveal he allegedly stole more than $85,000 from the police department over the course of 2 years, even though he originally only admitted to stealing $10,000 back in January. The majority of the funds allegedly stolen were from the confidential informant fund, which the department uses to pay sources for information regarding violent crimes and illegal narcotic sales. Jacobson's arrest warrant cites a gambling problem as the source of the need for more money. In the span of a year, he lost more than $200,000 gambling while wagering more than $4 million. The warrant says just before Christmas, Jacobson gave an assistant chief $2,000, but then took half of it back and left an IOU note. He also asked a colleague for a personal loan of $500. His actions were discussed by the assistant chiefs, and they immediately confronted him. According to the warrant, he begged his his assistant chiefs not to turn him in, and that he would pay the money back. Another point the mayor says he was just made aware of today is that $4,000 of the stolen amount was from the Police Activity League, the city's youth organization run by officers. >> When we became aware, and when it we ever we become aware of any misconduct by any employee, we act quickly. And my hope is that that gives the public trust that even at the level of police chief, if there's some sort of employee misconduct, we will act quickly to hold people accountable. It's, you know, it's a commitment that we make to our residents, and that's a commitment that they deserve. >> And Jacobson has been released on a $150,000 cash bond, and Mayor Elekher says that while it's a difficult day for the city, he hopes that the public is able to see the transparency that the city has had throughout this process, and that they will continue to do so as well. >> Two cases, two crimes, same level of authority. Neither man answered to a supervisor inside their department. Both operated at the highest level of internal control. These weren't street-level officers making split-second decisions. These were the people who signed off on discipline, the people who approved internal investigations, the people who reassured the public that everything was under control. One allegedly used fire as a weapon. The other allegedly treated public funds like a personal account. Different crimes, same protection. Rank. How many warning signs were ignored because of position? How many complaints never went anywhere? And how many departments would still be calling these incidents isolated if charges hadn't been filed? Accountability isn't a slogan, it's a system, and systems fail when power goes unchecked. Because when leadership isn't accountable, misconduct doesn't stop. It just moves up the chain. Thin blue lies, baby. Hey, if you're still here, that tells me two things. One, you actually care about accountability. And two, YouTube hasn't scared you off yet. So, here's the deal. If this video brought you value, do the YouTube things. Like it, share it, subscribe. That's how this channel keeps exposing nonsense without corporate filters. And if you want to support this work directly, you can do that on coffee at coffee.com/thinblueliesmedia. Grab the PDF, leave a tip, or just help keep this channel independent and uncensored. However you support the work, watching, sharing, coffee, or just sticking around, I appreciate you being here. Thin blue lies, baby.