Brian Cedar

Faculty Member, Homeland Security Program


Contact:

Email: Brian Cedar
Office Phone: (443) 677-7540

Mr. Cedar has identified experience in the investigation and oversight of all facets of criminal investigation, with special emphasis on crime scene investigation and the ethical analysis of police interaction with the community.

Mr. Cedar also possesses specific knowledge and experience related to the use of scientific processes in the examination of evidence found at a crime scene, both at the scene and in a forensic laboratory setting.      

Brian Cedar retired from the Maryland State Police in 2012 after a distinguished twenty-five-year career. Just prior to retirement, Mr. Cedar served as the Chief of Staff for the Bureau of Criminal Investigations where he provided oversight to the operations of the Forensic Science Laboratory, the Drug Enforcement Division and the Criminal Investigations Division.

Prior to that assignment, Mr. Cedar served as Commander of the Criminal Investigations Division overseeing the activities of criminal investigators with statewide jurisdiction. The sub units included:

  • Homicide Unit;
  • Gang Enforcement Unit;
  • Firearms Interdiction Unit;
  • Polygraph Unit;
  • Computer Forensics Laboratory;
  • Computer Crimes Unit;
  • Auto Theft Unit;
  • Criminal Extradition Unit;
  • Attorney Generals Investigative Unit;
  • Insurance Fraud Unit;
  • Environmental Crimes Unit;
  • Center for Missing Children;
  • Violent Fugitive Apprehension Unit; and
  • Various task force operations.

Mr. Cedar also served as Barrack Commander in the Southern Troop, which is responsible for state police activities in Charles, St. Mary’s, Calvert, and Anne Arundel counties.

Earlier in his career, Mr. Cedar worked as a criminal investigator and as an undercover drug investigator for nearly fifteen years.

Mr. Cedar currently oversees internal misconduct investigations as a Branch Chief for the United States Patent and Trademark Office located in Alexandria, Virginia. He is also employed as an Adjunct Associate Professor for the University of Maryland.

He is a United States Marine Corps veteran, serving our country for six years.


  • Criminal Investigation
  • Crime Scene Investigation
  • Ethical Analysis of Police Interaction with the Community
  • Crime Scene Investigation
  • Ethics in Policing
  • Forensic Chemistry
  • B.S. with Honors, John Hopkins University
  • M.S., John Hopkins University
  • Northwestern University School of Police Staff and Command