Standing on parking spots reserved for the Howard County Sheriff's Office in a lot in Ellicott City, about two dozen people gathered Friday to call for the resignation of Howard County Sheriff James Fitzgerald.
Fitzgerald, a three-term elected sheriff in the county, has faced calls for his ouster since the release of a scathing report that alleged years of harassment and discrimination against employees.
The report hit Katja Fort Rhoden, a Columbia resident who grew up in the county, hard.
"These issues are national and now they're hitting home. My son is a brown-skinned little boy. He's 8 and I'm terribly worried about the way the world perceives him, and I want him to feel protected by the law enforcement," Fort Rhoden said.
"I care about this community, I care about law enforcement. I care about healthy working environments," Fort Rhoden said.
Lorena Hiep, another Columbia resident, said the public has a responsibility to stand up for employees of the sheriff's office, several of whom told investigators they fear of retaliation and political retribution, according to the report.
"These people don't feel safe," Hiep said. "We need to be a shining light for them and stand by them and follow them all the way until this man is out."
Elected officials ranging from the Howard County state delegation to Howard County Executive Allan Kittleman and the County Council have called on the sheriff to resign.
Fitzgerald has declined to comment publicly, but in the report he denied discriminatory behavior. He has said he disagrees with the report findings, according to a spokeswoman for the state attorney general's office.
Some wondered if issues in the sheriff's office stemmed beyond the report.
"Does it go beyond just this guy on the top? Is there an issue beyond this?" Hiep said. "I'm surprised this has gone on for years and we're now just hearing of it."
Protesters hung a loosely assembled poster calling on Fitzgerald to resign on a parking sign at a spot reserved for the sheriff's office.
Lisa Markovitz, president of the People's Voice, a political organization, said the report made her wonder what policies Fitzgerald stood for.
"It's scary to have a leader in law enforcement with these kinds of views," Markovitz said. "The last thing you want is for anybody to point to your hometown and say we've got this problem in that level of government. He has to go."