John B. Lein, Colonel of the Baltimore County Police, died

John B. Lein, a former high-ranking Baltimore County police officer who later served as chief of security for the Greater Baltimore Medical Center, died of pneumonia on May 2 at Oak Crest Senior Living Center in Parkville. He was 90.

Mr. Lein, who was appointed a county constable in 1956, rose quickly through the ranks during the 21 years he served in eastern Baltimore County. He was the top student on the department’s first written promotion exam and, at age 38, became the youngest sworn law enforcement officer to serve as a major – and about four years later, the youngest to hold the rank of colonel.

His sudden resignation from the county’s third-highest police post in 1977 to work at Towson Hospital added to already growing doubts about the leadership abilities of then-Police Chief Joseph R. Gallen, who, under pressure from state and county leaders, resigned a week later.

When Gallen was appointed chief, Lein was already a major and was soon appointed to the top management of the new administration. Men like Lein had “trained many good people” in the department, the controversial chief told the Evening Sun in 1977 when asked if he would like to fill Lein’s position.

John Bernard Lein was born in Rossville, one of eight children, to George Lein, who worked for the Baltimore County Highway Department, and Frances Hirsch, a former homemaker who was active in the Rosedale area’s social clubs. The young Mr. Lein played baseball and football at Kenwood High School, where he graduated in 1951.

Two years later, Mr. Lein married the former Gloria Lee Kroner, to whom he was married for over 70 years. A few months later, Mr. Lein was drafted into the Army and was stationed in the United States for two years during the Korean War.

Shortly after his military service and subsequent return to the Baltimore area, he joined the county police force. Mr. Lein became a corporal after receiving the highest score on the police department’s first written promotion examination in 1961.

Robert Gutermuth, a long-time friend who served with Mr. Lein in the district police, was also one of the top scorers later. He recalled that Mr. Lein turned to him afterward.

“He said, ‘I guess we lower-income people aren’t that stupid,'” using a colloquial term for people in the police department’s eastern districts. “We had a good laugh about it.”

Mr. Lein rose through the ranks within the county police patrol division for ten years, receiving a commendation for his work on a homicide case, before being promoted to captain of the service division in 1967.

While working, Mr. Lein continued his education and earned a law enforcement degree from Essex Community College, where he later served on a committee that directed the institution’s criminal justice curriculum.

Mr. Lein continued to receive promotions, worked at the department’s headquarters in Towson, and became the agency’s administrative colonel. As the department’s third-highest ranking official, Mr. Lein was responsible for all administration, department records, training, and police education.

As Mr. Lein “climbed the corporate ladder,” he never forgot where he came from, Mr. Gutermuth said.

“He always hung out with the people he could think of,” Gutermuth said, describing Lein as a “very, very nice man” and a “pretty astute” officer.

However, relations between the new chief of the department and the rank and file were deteriorating at this time. In early 1977, the local chapter of the Fraternal Order of Police accused Mr. Gallen of mismanagement and called on the administration of then-County Executive Theodore G. Venetoulis to replace the chief, who had been appointed two years earlier.

Although Mr Venetoulis initially refused, the sudden resignation of Mr Lein and the Head of the Criminal Investigation Department a few months later was the last straw.

Tensions between Baltimore County leaders and Mr. Gallen began to escalate later that year after Maj. Raymond Donovan, the investigating officer, cited the chief as the reason for his resignation. Although Mr. Lein, who had been hired for the security role at GBMC, did not publicly give a reason for his resignation shortly after Mr. Donovan’s resignation, his retirement prompted a county review of the police department as well as calls for Mr. Gallen to step down from his post “because of his apparent inability to gain the support of his officers,” The Evening Sun reported at the time.

The newspaper reported that an auditor had found that since Gallen took office in 1975, nearly 100 civil servants with an average age of 44 had retired.

Then-state Senator John C. Coolahan said the retirements of Mr. Donovan and Mr. Lein, whom he described as highly respected members of the force, “brought the entire tragic episode into sharp focus.” Mr. Gallen submitted his resignation a few days later but remained chief until a successor, Cornelius J. “Neil” Behan, was chosen.

Mr. Lein served as GBMC’s Director of Safety and Security for a decade before retiring from full-time practice in the late 1980s.

He and his wife raised two daughters, Debi and Bonita. The family lived for a time in Parkville and Essex. The couple later moved to Harford County, where their daughters moved as adults.

During his retirement, Mr. Lein enjoyed golfing, hunting and crabbing with his friends, a group that consisted mostly of retired police officers, said his older daughter, Debi Volmar.

“They would drive (to Pennsylvania) and spend a whole day there,” she said. But as Mr. Lein often said, he was most proud of his family and loved spending time with them.

Mr. Lein and his wife were longtime members of Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church in Joppa. He was a Freemason for over 50 years and belonged to the Mt. Nebo Masonic Lodge and the Scottish Rite. He was also a life member of the Maryland Law Enforcement Officers Association and the Baltimore County Retired Officers Association.

Mr. Lein’s funeral was held earlier this month at McComas Funeral Home in Abingdon.

In addition to Mrs. Lein and Mrs. Volmar, Mr. Lein is survived by his other daughter, Bonnie Southerland of Bel Air, as well as six grandchildren and twelve great-grandchildren. His siblings predeceased him.