Maryland Health Department Police captain accused of attending college courses on duty

Luke Parker

The Baltimore Sun

September 16, 2025

A Maryland Health Department Police captain is accused of felony theft and misconduct in office after allegedly attending college courses while on duty.

The Office of the Maryland State Prosecutor filed three charges against Capt. Astarte Hunt, a nine-year veteran who prosecutors say oversees police operations at 11 state facilities and hospitals.

According to charging documents, Hunt, 49, has been attending classes at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC) since 2019 and was enrolled in two psychology courses during this spring’s semester.

At the same time, Hunt was also working out of Spring Grove Hospital in Catonsville, where she managed MDH police supervisors across the state.

Prosecutors wrote in court documents that Hunt earns $120,140 per year, and a UMBC spokesperson said Tuesday that she received a bachelor’s degree in Psychology in May.

“Our office is committed to upholding the law, including holding officers accountable when they abuse the public trust and violate the very laws and regulations they are sworn to enforce,” Maryland State Prosecutor Charlton T. Howard III said in a news release.

Hunt, who did not yet have an attorney assigned to her case Monday morning, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

According to court documents, as a captain, Hunt held the third-highest ranking within the Health Department’s police agency.

Prosecutors said she misrepresented both her time on the clock and her expenses to cover misuse of her salaried position and state-owned vehicle.

According to charging documents, between January and May, Hunt submitted timesheets. The total amount of payroll taken during that time was $5,140.64, prosecutors said.

Additionally, prosecutors said Hunt would drive her police vehicle to her college classes and personal events without authorization. When she submitted her monthly mileage log to the state, Hunt allegedly changed the odometer entries to make it seem as though the extra driving took place during a shift, according to charging documents.

Court records show the alleged crimes took place between January and May, approximately the start and end of UMBC’s spring semester. It is unclear whether Hunt engaged in the alleged behavior since starting her classes in 2019.