Former state police head defends surveillance

The former superintendent of the Maryland State Police has defended the covert surveillance of protest groups that took place during his tenure, describing the operation as a legitimate way to find out information.

"It is not about spying; it is not about terrorism," Col. Tim Hutchins, who served as the head of the state police from December 2003 to June 2007, told the Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee yesterday. "There is no requirement for a police officer to announce who they are ahead of time, whether they are making a drug buy or attending a public meeting."

The American Civil Liberties Union of...