ANNAPOLIS, Md. (WBFF) — Annapolis police say a Maryland state senator told officers he had consumed one drink when they asked him about a driving incident last week, but they did not pursue a broader investigation and allowed another licensed driver to take his SUV from the scene.
The disclosure, provided nearly a week after days of questions from Spotlight on Maryland, adds to scrutiny over how police handled an incident involving state Sen. C. Anthony Muse, a Prince George’s County Democrat and longtime pastor.
Witness accounts, surveillance video and Muse’s own acknowledgment that his SUV struck another vehicle have raised questions about what officers knew, what they investigated and why the encounter ended without further action.
An anonymous source, who asked not to be identified by name, provided Spotlight on Maryland with a photo of Maryland Sen. C. Anthony Muse, D-Prince George’s County, getting into a vehicle he had parked atop a tree in Annapolis on Monday, August 3, 2026. (Spotlight on Maryland/WBFF)
Police initially said there was “no crime reported to Annapolis Police that required an investigation.” Late Friday, after Spotlight pressed the department and provided surveillance footage, police reviewed officers’ body-worn camera footage and confirmed that Muse told them he had consumed alcohol.
The owner of the vehicle stated he had one drink,” police wrote. “The owner called someone to pick up the vehicle. A licensed driver retrieved the vehicle.”
The department also claimed officers never encountered Muse sitting in the driver’s seat.
Video obtained by Spotlight shows an Annapolis parking enforcement officer talking to Muse while he was in the driver’s seat.
The incident began shortly after 8 p.m. Aug. 3 in Annapolis’s Eastport neighborhood, while the Maryland General Assembly was meeting in special session over congressional redistricting.
Muse told Spotlight on Maryland last Thursday that the passenger-side mirror of his Land Rover Defender struck the mirror of a parked vehicle on Severn Avenue. He said he later returned, apologized to the vehicle’s owner and provided insurance information.
Annapolis Police Department on Friday, August 7, 2026. (David Linthicum/WBFF)
Muse disputed characterizations of the collision as a hit-and-run. Eyewitnesses that night who claim to have seen the accident alleged it was a hit-and-run collision. Annapolis police said initially the emergency dispatch call was for a hit-and-run, but later updated due to the agency saying information was exchanged among parties.
Surveillance video obtained by Spotlight on Maryland shows Muse’s SUV later maneuvering for several minutes before coming to rest partly on the sidewalk and on top of a tree in the 400 block of Fourth Street.
Annapolis parking enforcement later issued a $100 citation.
RELATED | Maryland senator’s SUV parked on tree raises accountability questions in Annapolis
The video shows Muse leaving the area and later returning with another man.
About an hour later, footage shows Muse returning to the SUV around 9:24 p.m. He stops in the street for about 35 seconds before approaching the vehicle. The door appears to open and the SUV’s rear lights illuminate. Another person approaches the driver’s side shortly afterward.
Police vehicles arrive minutes later.
At about 10 p.m., another vehicle arrives. A person gets out, enters Muse’s Land Rover and drives it away.
Annapolis police began providing additional information Friday after Spotlight on Maryland made repeated inquiries and stationed a camera outside police headquarters.
Capt. Bud Zapata, a department spokesperson, initially wrote that officers had responded in Eastport but that “there was no crime reported to Annapolis Police that required an investigation.”
Police later said officers had initially responded to a report described as a hit-and-run before the incident was updated to a property-damage crash.
“Annapolis Police responded to the 400 block of Fourth Street for an initial hit-and-run,” Zapata wrote. “The incident was updated to a property-damage crash. Information had already been exchanged between the two parties involved.”
Officers still in the area were called out to the 400 block of Fourth Street by parking enforcement for a parking complaint,” the spokesperson wrote. “Parking enforcement cited a vehicle for parking on the sidewalk. Officers arrived on location and initially called for a tow, but it was cancelled as the people using the vehicle returned. A licensed driver retrieved the vehicle.”
Zapata said officers asked Muse whether he had consumed alcohol.
“The owner of the vehicle stated he had one drink,” Zapata wrote in an email to Spotlight on Maryland.
Two viral images the luxury SUV belonging to Maryland Sen. C. Anthony Muse, D-Prince George’s County. The lawmaker parked a car atop a tree on Monday, August 3, 2026 in Annapolis’s Eastport neighborhood. (Spotlight on Maryland/WBFF)
That answer prompted additional questions from Spotlight on Maryland about whether officers conducted field sobriety testing, reviewed surveillance footage or investigated the earlier collision further.
Acting Police Chief Amy Miguez declined a request for an on-camera interview. A department spokesperson also declined multiple requests to appear on camera, instead responding by telephone and email as Spotlight on Maryland waited outside the agency’s headquarters.
After Spotlight directed police to surveillance footage from its earlier reporting, the department said it would review the video and officers’ body-worn cameras.
“We observed the body-worn camera (BWC) footage for the officers on scene,” Zapata wrote. “At no time did the officers encounter the owner of the vehicle sitting in the driver’s seat of the vehicle.”
Zapata added that the surveillance video Spotlight on Maryland provided in its reporting was “very grainy and hard to see to make a clear determination” if Muse opened, entered or was ever inside his car when he returned that evening.
Maryland criminal defense attorney Vernon Brownlee, who has no connection to Muse or the incident, told Spotlight on Maryland on Monday that acknowledging alcohol consumption after a driving incident would commonly prompt officers to investigate further.
Without even saying the person had anything to drink, smelling alcohol generally triggers a full investigation,” Brownlee said. “One beer or admitting to drinking any alcohol would immediately trigger an investigation in the cases that I currently have.”
Brownlee also said Maryland law does not necessarily require officers to witness a vehicle moving before determining that someone was exercising control over it.
When asked why a more extensive investigation apparently did not occur in Muse’s case, Brownlee cautioned that numerous factors could have influenced the officers’ decision.
After getting inside his vehicle, police officers arrived at the scene where Maryland Sen. C. Anthony Muse, D-Prince George’s County, parked his car in the 400 block of Fourth Street in Annapolis atop a tree. (Spotlight on Maryland/WBFF)
“It could have been a myriad of reasons,” Brownlee said. “It’s just a bit unusual because when someone does admit to drinking alcohol, those investigations usually (continue).”
Muse returned to the Maryland Senate following the incident and participated in votes during the special session. He has not responded to Spotlight on Maryland’s repeated requests for an interview.
Muse’s current Senate term began in 2023, and he serves on the Judicial Proceedings Committee and as vice chairman of the Executive Nomination Committee.
Spotlight on Maryland will continue to investigate Sen. C. Anthony Muse’s Monday incident, as well as his impact on the state. Do you have any tips related to this story? Email investigative journalist Gary Collins with details at gmcollins@sbgtv.com.
Follow Gary Collins on Xand Instagram. Spotlight on Maryland is a collaboration between FOX45 News, WJLA in Washington, D.C., and The Baltimore Sun.
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