Pittman and Friends Podcast
Welcome to Pittman and Friends, the curiously probing, sometimes awkward, but always revealing conversations between your host, Anne Arundel County Executive Steuart Pittman - that’s me - and whatever brave and willing public servant, community leader, or elected official I can find who has something to say that you should hear.
This podcast is provided as a public service of Anne Arundel County Government, so don’t expect me to get all partisan here. This is about the age-old art of government - of, by, and for the people.
Pittman and Friends Podcast
State’s Attorney Anne Colt Leitess on Breaking Barriers in Law and Leadership
In a rare and revealing conversation, State's Attorney Anne Colt Leitess pulls back the curtain on what it truly means to be Anne Arundel County's chief prosecutor. Known for working quietly behind the scenes, Colt Leitess brings decades of experience to bear on some of the county's most challenging criminal cases.
From her early days clerking with Baltimore's homicide unit during the era that inspired "Homicide: Life on the Street" to personally prosecuting the Capital Gazette shooter, Colt Leitess shares how her commitment to justice has shaped her career.
The conversation explores the full scope of the State's Attorney's Office – managing 62 attorneys and a $16 million budget while handling every criminal case from serious traffic violations to homicides. Beyond securing convictions, the State Attorney’s Office highlights an overlooked aspect of prosecution: clearing those who may have been wrongfully charged.
Listeners will gain insight into the challenges of modern prosecution, from implementing body-worn camera evidence to recruiting qualified attorneys in an era when fewer law students pursue careers in prosecution. With characteristic authenticity, Colt Leitess concludes with powerful advice for women in leadership: "Be your authentic self, don't apologize." It's a philosophy that has served her well throughout her legal career.
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Welcome to Pittman and Friends. The curiously probing, sometimes awkward, but always revealing conversations between your host, Anne Arundel County Executive Stuart Pittman - that's me - and whatever brave and willing public servant, community leader or elected official I can find who has something to say that you should hear. This podcast is provided as a public service of Anne Arundel County, so don't expect me to get all partisan here. This is about the age-old art of government of, by, and for the people. Al right, well, I'm here today with my friend Anne Colt Leitess, the State's Attorney of Anne Arundel County.
County Executive Steuart Pittman:Welcome.
Anne Colt Leitess:Thank you for having me today.
County Executive Steuart Pittman:Yeah, it is. It's great to have you because you, I think, unlike some state's attorneys, you're not out in the public a lot. We don't see you a lot. I see you at budget time. Every once in a while, there's something that we talk about. But I feel like you quietly do this work of you know, making sure that the bad guys are somewhere where they're not going to hurt the public, and we like it that way. But could you give us a sort of a better sense of what the mission of the Office of State's Attorney is, and the scope of it?
Anne Colt Leitess:Sure. Well, we prosecute every case, from serious traffic all the way up to homicide. Anything that happens on our water or highways. Any property really in Anne Arundel County other than maybe federal government property, we have the jurisdiction. So if it's in the city of Annapolis, or it's an Anne Arundel County case, or a Maryland State Police case. Even things that occur on the BW Parkway, we have our hand in it. So we handle every one of those types of cases, and we also screen cases when people are charged with crimes to see if there's actually enough information to go forward. So one of the things that people don't really realize about what we do is we clear a lot of people who may be incorrectly charged or wrongfully charged. If you have a disgruntled neighbor who decides to charge you with harassment or stalking and there's no evidence there and it's kind of retaliatory, we clear a lot of people as well.
County Executive Steuart Pittman:So you screen things and you keep then the courts from being overwhelmed with cases that really don't belong in court.
Anne Colt Leitess:Absolutely. One of the more interesting things that I do is every homicide that occurs. I'm personally involved in screening that with the police and making sure it's ready to go before it's charged. It has to kind of have our okay because the police have to be confident that they have a good case, and we have to be confident that we can present that case and be successful in court.
County Executive Steuart Pittman:So, you are in constant communication with police.
Anne Colt Leitess:Well, sometimes they're calling me at 3 o'clock in the morning. So yes, and then we meet as well. But they do a great job, and they don't really rely on us as much as you might think. But we do have duty attorneys on schedule every single day, and if it comes up to me, it's usually because it's a very, very serious matter. For example, homicide or some other major case.
County Executive Steuart Pittman:So, you have a team of attorneys. How many?
Anne Colt Leitess:So, we have funding for up to 62, including me, and we fluctuate between maybe 57 and 62 attorneys. We have a staff total of about 144 and more than $16 million budget.
Anne Colt Leitess:And my understanding is, they don't get paid as much as attorneys who are in private practice generally if they're in a major firm. Generally, although the salaries have improved dramatically over the last few years. Throughout the state of Maryland for prosecutors, we've found that to keep people as attorneys, to get the best people out of law schools, the starting salary had to rise as well as the continuing salary. So I think Anne Arundel County has done a pretty good job of that. But there's really a downturn in applications for prosecutors, downturn in applications for police over the years. So we're hoping to keep those numbers growing in the right direction.
County Executive Steuart Pittman:So you have to actively recruit and then, when you get a good one, you want to keep them, right?
Anne Colt Leitess:Yes, yes, and we sometimes lose people to other jurisdictions. Other jurisdictions say they need a sexual offense prosecutor that maybe is just learning the job in Anne Arundel County. Some other county may throw $20,000 more at them and kind of steal them away, so that's a problem. Or the attorney general's office may need some experienced attorneys, and maybe it's a different type of law. They would be practicing. More money. Maybe less pressure. So we're constantly competing with some of our partners to keep the best people.
County Executive Steuart Pittman:Because I remember, for people who don't know, this is an elected office statewide, countywide.
Anne Colt Leitess:Yes.
County Executive Steuart Pittman:And so I remember, when you were running for this job back in 2018, one of your campaign promises was to do a better job of training the attorneys so that they were effective and they would win.
Anne Colt Leitess:Yes, that's what we do. No attorney goes into court without about two and a half months training. We don't just kind of cut people loose and stick them in the courtroom because you're going up against experienced defense attorneys in the district court. Even though it's district court and misdemeanors, you still have very experienced defense bar and public defenders. So we make sure everybody's well trained. And then we have annual trainings at the Maryland State's Attorneys Association. We spend money, we have our training budget and we spend money to train people in specialty areas, and we also have a full-time training director who's dedicated. Not only does she train our attorneys; she also trains the police department at the police academy.
County Executive Steuart Pittman:Okay, okay, and so I'm hoping we'll have time to get into some of the towards the end. Maybe some of the things that you're doing to improve the functioning of the office. I know you've done a lot of victim's work and you come to us with a budget request every year, and we talk about some of those things. But let's back up first and I want to ask you how you ended up in this job, starting from maybe way back when you were a kid in school.
Anne Colt Leitess:Right, I was actually in high school and we went on a field trip to a federal courthouse. Saw prosecutors and defense attorneys in the courtroom, and I said, "I'm hooked on this and I don't really like the idea of people getting away with serious crimes. I feel like I want to speak for the people who might not have a voice victims, and I was really drawn to homicides, and when I was a University of Baltimore law student, I was a law clerk as well for the homicide unit in Baltimore City right when David Simon was writing his book Homicide Life on the Street, and so I was actually working on the cases that became the subject matter, or were the subject matter of the book and then the TV show. I actually was involved in a lot of those cases, preparing them for grand jury and for trial, and ever since I've been hooked. I love prosecuting difficult, challenging cases like that.
County Executive Steuart Pittman:You prosecuted your campaign pretty effectively too, I remember. So you worked. Obviously, you went to law school. Was your first job with the Baltimore State's Attorney?
Anne Colt Leitess:Yes, I was a law clerk for the Baltimore State's Attorney's Office for about 18 months and then a lawyer for 18 months in juvenile trying lots and lots of cases.
Anne Colt Leitess:And then my fiance at the time, now my husband of 33 years, fell in love with Anne Arundel County. We would come to Annapolis all the time. And at the Maryland State's Attorneys Association, he walked up to Frank Weathersby who was a longtime state's attorney, for more than 30 years in Anne Arundel County, and said, "hey, frank, are you hiring which? I was of course embarrassed and he happened to say we have two assistant state's attorney positions and my husband kind of pushed his way into, my fiance at the time, getting us two interviews.
County Executive Steuart Pittman:Oh, you both got hired?
Anne Colt Leitess:We both got interviews.
Anne Colt Leitess:But the funny thing is, they asked us well, what if we hire him and not you? And I can't believe I said this, but I said that would be your loss. So, we both got hired. He stayed for a couple years, two or three years, and then he went out into private practice. And I stayed and never left.
County Executive Steuart Pittman:Okay, okay. So you stayed in Anne Arundel and then, but then you went back to Baltimore City at one point.
Anne Colt Leitess:I was actually appointed state's attorney when Frank Weathersby retired. He retired in May of 2013, and it's kind of interesting, the circuit court judges had to pick the next state's attorney to serve the rest of the term, which was about 18, 19 months, and there were nine applicants Applicants and I got . chosen
County Executive Steuart Pittman:Has he also recommended you, or was it-?
Anne Colt Leitess:Well, he actually recommended his deputy at the time, which is understandable. But I got the position and I actually tried a couple of cases while I was state's attorney, ran in my first election, didn't win and went to Baltimore. It was very interesting because I was recommended for a job in Baltimore City State's Attorney's Office by an attorney who was my opponent in a homicide. So, even though we had this kind of knock-down, drag-out, very serious case. After I lost the election, he was recommending me to be hired, so I was Head of the Special Victims Unit, which is all sexual assault, child abuse, and child homicide in the city of Baltimore.
Anne Colt Leitess:And so for the first time there, I found myself willingly trying child murders, which I had never done before and made me a better lawyer. Never had to do those before, and now I don't do those anymore. I have staff to do those before and now I don't do those anymore. I have staff to do that. But talk about growth and really putting yourself out there to serve victims and victims' families.
County Executive Steuart Pittman:Yeah, yeah, so okay. So you had a lot of experience when you ran. I've got to say that I always wonder why jobs that are so important and so dependent on experience are elected positions. I just sometimes feel like politics doesn't belong in certain places.
Anne Colt Leitess:It doesn't. But politics do insert themselves into all kinds of jobs. I mean, if you're in the PTA, there can be politics. So if you are the elected state's attorney, you can decide. You know who to prosecute or who not to. I mean, you could. You could decide to let people off of probation that maybe don't deserve it. Maybe someone would make a donation to your campaign and, uh, you know, maybe you look the other way when their loved one comes into court and asked to change a sentence or something like that. So there's all kinds of things where people could really abuse the office. So I think the fact that I have to, and anybody has to, report to the voters every four years is actually a good thing.
County Executive Steuart Pittman:So I've noticed that you have personally stepped in and taken some of the really. You have personally stepped in and taken some of the really really big, important cases and one that I guess you and I were both candidates when the Capital Gazette shooting happened. Yes, and you know, the world stopped in Annapolis and Anne Arundel County, and I think you and I talked about this earlier and you were talking about that. It was almost like the whole community was wounded and the pain was palpable at the vigils. And so there you were, you got elected and you decided to prosecute that case. What was that experience like?
Anne Colt Leitess:It was amazing and overwhelming and so gratifying. I personally met with all of the survivors and their family members in the first couple months that I was in office in January of 2019. The murder had occurred in June of 2018. And the ability for the surviving victims, especially, to be able to trust me and know that, you know, by the time we got to trial, they would be strong enough to get on the stand and testify. They were so empowered. It was amazing to see. It was amazing to prepare that case because it meant everything to the community.
Anne Colt Leitess:And one of the things that really kind of frustrated me is, I guess there was a sense of well, you know, if this person says that they are not criminally responsible, that they're insane or have some kind of mental health issue, why not just let them plead guilty to that? And that was just that went against every nerve in my being, because he was not insane. It was a very calculated, cruel crime and it needed to be brought to light what he did. And very satisfying to get the verdict from the jury that he was criminally responsible and he got the maximum sentence under the law five life without parole sentences.
County Executive Steuart Pittman:And if he had been convicted, but they had determined that he was insane, what would the difference have been?
Anne Colt Leitess:Well, the difference would be that he could be hospitalized in a secure facility but subject to release if he was deemed treated. So if you have a false mental health illness, right, and you're faking it or you're exaggerating malingering, they call it. One day, he could have walked out 10, 20 years from then to make room for someone who might need a bed. So the idea that he could get out under this false pretense of being so mentally ill that he couldn't control himself. It was very, very calculating. And I've got to tell you the state doctors, Dr. Patel at the Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, the amount of work that they did to inquire as to his mental health was just amazing. It was such a thorough job. I think he wrote 120 page long mental health evaluation.
County Executive Steuart Pittman:Well, that was. That was. It was gratifying to read about it, that the coverage of it, even in the Capitol and the reporters that were covering, which must have been hard as well. But knowing that you were handling the case, I think, gave a lot of people confidence that it was absolutely a commitment of this community, and I remember you not having a challenger in the next election. You actually ran unopposed for reelection in 2022. And I think at that point, I was so like awed by you and impressed that I started calling you. You might have to bleep this out, but badass Anna of Anne Arundel.
Anne Colt Leitess:Yeah, that's a little embarrassing. Every time you see me, Ashley, you say that.
County Executive Steuart Pittman:Yeah, well, it just has such a ring to it. And you know, it's not a terrible thing to call a prosecutor, right?
Anne Colt Leitess:True, true. You know, it's funny because I guess not everybody when you kind of toil in obscurity for many, many years. You know I'm not really a big grandstander, but that's the kind of work I've been doing for a long time. And it just became, I guess, in the public eye in the more recent years of my career, but that's kind of always been who I was.
Anne Colt Leitess:When I worked for Frank Withersbee, he gave me and again I worked for him since 1990. Starting in about 1996 or so is when he started giving me homicide cases. So for the next 20 years I got the most difficult cases. I didn't get the cases we would joke. I didn't get the cases with a confession. I got the circumstantial whodunit you got to prove it kind of cases and they were challenging and very fulfilling. And I try to do that now. Not too many, because they are very overwhelming and they take up a lot of time and you find yourself working. You're at the office at 6 am and you're leaving at 8 o'clock at night. So those are tough.
County Executive Steuart Pittman:So somebody who prosecutes murder cases, you know, in my probably ignorant way of thinking, would assume would get kind of hardened and well badass.
Anne Colt Leitess:Jaded.
County Executive Steuart Pittman:Maybe that's why I call you that, but some of the experience that I've had with you is when you come in each year for your budget request. Your office actually comes to the county's budget office, and they evaluate your spending and you sometimes have requests. In fact, you ran on being more fiscally disciplined about your budget because your predecessor ran the budget up and overspent and things like that. But I do remember you haven't had many requests, but you have come in to ask for some funding for staff to do victim services that weren't being provided before. So can you talk about why that was, how that's worked, and why that's important?
Anne Colt Leitess:Well, one of the ways we expanded victim witness advocacy every case with a victim in circuit court gets an advocate. But we didn't have enough people in the district court to help every single district court case to have a victim advocate, except domestic violence. So, because we got some extra positions from the county and from you. Thank you very much. We were able to have any case where there was an assault on a member of the community, has a victim witness advocate, and we've also been able to have people who work with children, advocates who work specially trained with children, and also advocates who are Spanish speaking, because we do have Spanish speaking victims. So that was the real need that we had. We have plenty of lawyers. It's the support personnel.
Anne Colt Leitess:And the other thing that was, is different is that now we all have body worn camera. It's mandated throughout the state of Maryland, every police department has it and and so to you know, for every hour of a body worn camera for every officer shows up at a crime scene. It takes about two or three hours to process that footage so that we can use it in court and present it. And we have to kind of silence, like if a victim says here's where I work and here's my telephone number. Here's where my child goes to school. We have to actually silence that portion. So we're not providing that in discovery.
County Executive Steuart Pittman:So a lot of work. Has that been helpful, though in prosecuting cases?
Anne Colt Leitess:Very helpful.
County Executive Steuart Pittman:The body of work camera footage.
Anne Colt Leitess:Absolutely.
Anne Colt Leitess:It takes longer to prepare a case for trial, which is a challenge because your attorneys aren't just reading the police reports now and witness statements. They actually have to go back and look at hours and hours and hours of footage and be prepared in that way. So it's very helpful, but it does make more work.
County Executive Steuart Pittman:I remember when we, I think we talked about it in our first budget, didn't do it, and then the second year, I think we talked about it in our first budget didn't do it, and then the second year, I think we did it. And you were one of the voices that was at least letting us know just how involved this would be, and that it didn't just mean having folks at the police department and all of that expense and all the technology that we'd have to buy, but it would be people in your office as well, and so and the good news is that the officers have not. I haven't heard a single officer really complain about that. I think it's probably protected officers in some cases where they did the right thing and they can prove it, and it's good to hear that it's also prosecuting. It's making it easier to prosecute, even though it's more time consuming, right.
Anne Colt Leitess:Well, it shows that officers are doing their job, that they're being respectful and polite and doing the right thing more times than not. I mean, it's a win-win for everybody. It's just, you know, the more technology, the more evidence you have to prepare.
County Executive Steuart Pittman:Yeah, yeah. So, and I know you've had a lot of other big cases and you know some of them are ongoing. So we won't talk about any that are ongoing, of course. Are there any other sort of highlights over the last six years in this job that people should know about that you've been involved in?
Anne Colt Leitess:I actually tried a white supremacist gang leader who was in the Maryland prison system and was. You know, with just one word from him, he could order somebody in the prison to be murdered. And that was very challenging. And he'd actually ordered someone to be murdered, a rival gang member, and so that was fraught with all kinds of pitfalls.
County Executive Steuart Pittman:What was the gang that he was?
Anne Colt Leitess:He was with the Aryan Brotherhood and he had.
Anne Colt Leitess:It was the most. Let's just put it this way. It was the most polite cross-examination that I have ever done in my life, because it was very challenging to ask somebody who could just order somebody's demise. You know very pointed questions.
County Executive Steuart Pittman:Wow.
Anne Colt Leitess:So yeah, it's really. You know, we go up against some scary folks sometimes and you know, you've seen judges who've been threatened. We had a judge in Western Maryland who was murdered by a civil family law litigant. We have people who make threats on the telephone or by letter, so that's becoming a little bit more common and a little bit scary. Something that we seem to see a lot more of recently.
County Executive Steuart Pittman:Yeah, I remember when I first came in, there was a lot of talk about MS-13 as this gang. That was pervasive everywhere and the police department gave me some data on the different gangs and how large they were. And I was surprised to see the white supremacist gangs among the others, but I'd never read about them in the paper. I'd never heard of it before. So anyway, thank you for doing that work. So what do you see as your job is to manage this institution? What are some of your challenges and goals there?
Anne Colt Leitess:Well, finding good people and keeping them. We used to get for every position you would get 10 or 20 applicants. That's down. The law schools are not doing the same type of prosecutor clinics. I think with the George Floyd case and what people saw with that and the feeling, the sentiment around the country, there was a lot of anguish and pain and so we have to promote what prosecutors do, and one of the things that we do is we clear people all the time. We will clear more people and dismiss more cases against people than a defense attorney could, because we can see all sides of the case. We can see if there's insufficient evidence. So the challenge is going to be getting people to want to do this kind of work and to show that it's not just.
Anne Colt Leitess:We don't just put people in jail. We actually protect a lot of people's rights. We protect the rights of the accused. We protect the rights of everyday people.
Anne Colt Leitess:People try and charge police officers or teachers or firefighters with crimes like assault and there's actually a statute about they have.
Anne Colt Leitess:The district court commissioner has to get permission from our office before that can happen, because you can see how it could be abused and Maryland has a district court commissioner system that anybody can go down to the commissioner and swear out a complaint against another person and that person could get arrested without any police report or investigation being done.
Anne Colt Leitess:So you can see how enormous of a challenge that would be to make sure that someone is not being wrongfully charged. Some people use the criminal justice system to litigate civil issues that they have. They think it might be cheaper than hiring an attorney and suing somebody right, so we have to guard against that all the time. So yeah, and representing victims of sexual assault and child abuse. Very rewarding work, very tough work. We have an economic crimes unit. We have a narcotics unit. We have a violent crimes unit. We have a juvenile unit that seeks to rehabilitate young people before they turn 18 and could face serious consequences. So there's a lot of facets of what we do that are meant to divert and keep people from becoming repeat offenders.
County Executive Steuart Pittman:Do you feel public pressure? In cases, you must worry, of course, if you decide not to prosecute and then it turns out that that person goes out and does something horrible afterwards. That makes you look bad. I mean, that makes your office look like you made a mistake. It could go the other way too, of course, but I know that the public can get really loud about you know a sense that people that the system's not being tough enough on criminals, we're being too soft on criminals. Do you feel pressure?
Anne Colt Leitess:Well, I recognize when it exists and I try to address it right. In the quote "lden days, you know, frank Weathersby didn't really speak to the press all that much. He had his spokesperson speak to the press and usually it comes from me and I will own it. If we make a mistake, I will acknowledge, you know, acknowledge that there's pressure to do things, but I think as long as you're open and honest and responsive. We are very responsive when the press makes inquiries of us and we're willing to provide the statement of charges or why we did a certain thing. Sometimes we're not allowed to comment if it's an open case or why we did a certain thing. Sometimes we're not allowed to comment if it's an open case. But I think if you are responsive and honest with people, it goes a long way. If you try to hide it or you're afraid of it, if you are afraid to do this job, then you shouldn't be in the job and you're going to get criticism.
Anne Colt Leitess:It goes with the territory. Whether you choose not to prosecute somebody or you do prosecute somebody, people will always have an opinion. And you know, what people need to understand is there are prosecutors out there who might have a really good record of, you know, not losing a case. Well, that's because they're not bringing the cases. That's because they might be afraid.
County Executive Steuart Pittman:Only bring the easy ones.
Anne Colt Leitess:Bring the easy ones. Bring the slam dunkers, but you have to be willing. Sometimes, you get to a place with very, very serious cases where you have to make that hard choice. Are you willing to go out on a limb? The person did it, you know they did it, it's a really serious case, but you might lose. So, what is your choice? So you can hide or you can just put it out there, so here's one that's maybe a little more fun.
County Executive Steuart Pittman:By the time folks hear this, you will have already spoken as the keynote speaker at our Michelle Obama Awards for Women's History Month. Yes, that's tonight. Yes, and it's kind of cool that we're doing this interview the same day that you are going to be doing that. What's your message going to be on Women's History Month?
Anne Colt Leitess:Oh my goodness.
County Executive Steuart Pittman:I hope you've thought about it by now, because it's already 3.30. No pressure.
Anne Colt Leitess:You know, I think what I have realized and you get to a certain age right, think what I have realized. And you get to a certain age right for women where you spend a lot of your youth worrying about what other people think. And at least as a woman, or and not stepping on anybody's toes or hurting anybody's feelings. And and you know, don't get me wrong, still have to do that. But you get to a point where you are going to be your authentic self. And if I can say one message to women, it's okay to be your authentic self, don't apologize. You know, be who you are, be real and if you are just like, you know the honesty, people see it, right? If you're not a real person, if you are, some you know fake or you know like a politician. People say I'm not a politician. Well, I'm not a fake politician. You know you have to. Everybody's a politician, right, we.
County Executive Steuart Pittman:We have to go for office, yeah, right.
Anne Colt Leitess:Well, even just anything that we do. Right you have to be, you have to worry about people's feelings. Right, you have to you can't just kind of be a bulldozer, right? So?
County Executive Steuart Pittman:You're supposed to represent them.
Anne Colt Leitess:Right, and so you know just have to be honest in who you are and I think people appreciate that.
County Executive Steuart Pittman:Yeah, that's a great message. Because of all the pressures on well, on everybody, but on girls in particular, and young women and women. I think all of us, the older we get, the more willing we are to be ourselves.
Anne Colt Leitess:Yeah, because we learn right, but did anybody ever tell that to us when we were?
County Executive Steuart Pittman:Just a young person, yeah.
Anne Colt Leitess:Nobody does.
County Executive Steuart Pittman:Right, yeah and you're a great example because you walk, the walk and talk. I mean, you carry yourself that way now. In fact, I've even noticed, more so than six years ago and I think everybody who you know you had more experience than I did. Coming in, you'd already run, you had already been in this work, but I watched you become more and more sure of yourself. But still listen, you still go to community meetings, you still are willing to take heat. And so I have a huge amount of respect for you.
Anne Colt Leitess:Well, thank you.
County Executive Steuart Pittman:And so when I call you badass Anne of Anne Arundel.
County Executive Steuart Pittman:It's a compliment. Not just that you carry a big hammer, and I hope you're able to keep making this county a better place and the world a better place for a really long time. And I will say that I didn't used to think about it this way, but I often take great pride in the notion that this is not a good place to break the law. We have an amazing police department, and we have a state's attorney that will catch you and you will, you know, be held accountable for it, and I think that's really true. So thank you for making that.
Anne Colt Leitess:Absolutely.
Anne Colt Leitess:You know, Chief Awad says that all the time like if it's a, it's a violent crime, you know we're gonna put the hammer down. But I tell her not to scare people. Just be a good person and you'll be fine. But no, we, we, uh. We try really hard to make this place a safe place.
County Executive Steuart Pittman:Yeah. Yeah, well, thank you, and I will see you tonight, tonight being the day that we're actually taping this, and you all will hear this later, and you can probably go back and hear what the state's attorney said at the Michelle Obama Awards for Women's History Month by the time you hear this. Al right, thanks everybody, oh, and if you're listening, well, thank you, Anne.
Anne Colt Leitess:Thank you so much for having me today.
County Executive Steuart Pittman:And if you're listening and there's a subscribe button somewhere on the device. If you touch it, you will get an email. If you'll put your email address in there, that will let you know who our next guest is, and you can keep on top of all these episodes. Thanks.
