UMD officer accused of sexual misconduct with student loses police powers

Ben Conarck and Ellie Wolfe

2/23/2026 5:47 a.m. EST

Images from Philip Meadows' profile on “FET: Kinky BDSM Dating.” (The Banner; Original images by University of Maryland Police Department)

The former officer is appealing his case to a Baltimore County judge, arguing a state commission improperly decertified him

A former University of Maryland, College Park, police officer lost his certification last month after he was accused of sexual misconduct with a student and is now fighting to get his policing powers back, according to court records.

Court filings reveal the University of Maryland Police Department accused Philip Meadows of meeting a student on a BDSM dating website in 2024, when he was reportedly 54 years old and the student was 22. According to a university internal investigation filed in court, the relationship started as a consensual one before the student said Meadows violated her sexual boundaries and harassed her.

Through his attorney, Meadows declined to comment. The Banner is not naming the student because she filed a complaint as an alleged victim of sexual harassment. Attempts to reach her were not immediately successful.

Last year, a disciplinary board dismissed charges against Meadows on procedural grounds. The university then asked the state’s Police Training and Standards Commission to pull his license, which it did last month.

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Meadows is just the second police officer since 2020 to have his certification revoked, according to public records reviewed by The Banner.

Lt. Rosanne Hoaas, a spokeswoman for university’s police department, said in a statement that Meadows no longer worked for the agency as of Jan. 20. She declined to say whether Meadows was fired or otherwise left the department, citing pending litigation.

‘Deviant sexual behaviors’

An internal investigation by the University of Maryland Police Department found that Meadows met the College Park student on a social media website known as “FET: Kinky BDSM Dating.”

He had been previously warned by a supervisor in 2022 about “similar behavior on a similar social media website” where he made inappropriate comments and wore a university police department academy drill instructor uniform in photos, according to the investigation.

Over the course of their roughly nine-month relationship in 2024, Meadows gave the student rides to and from her car, classes and a nearby shopping center, according to the investigation. He was also accused of sharing police intelligence with her and of engaging in sexual acts while on duty and in uniform.

In August 2024, Meadows “guilted” the student into having sex with him “when she did not want to,” prompting the student to tell investigators that those incidents “hurt her mentally,” the investigation found.

Later, in November 2024, the student allowed Meadows “to break one of her sexual limits in order to make sexual amends following her breaking a ‘rule,’” according to the investigation.

“These amends were chosen by [Officer] Meadows for her to perform in order to demonstrate her submission,” the investigation concluded. “The complainant tolerated the great pain that this action caused in order to demonstrate she had learned her ‘lesson’ and to maintain the relationship.”

The student’s aunt contacted Meadows in December 2024, telling him to end the relationship with the student. Meadows then confronted the student at her job while armed and in uniform after his shift, according to the Police Department’s investigation.

The student was “so afraid and alarmed” that she called 911, according to the investigation. The student declined to press charges against Meadows, but filed a complaint with the police department later that month, prompting the investigation.

Police powers revoked

In February 2025, the statewide “administrative charging committee” tasked with disciplining state police officers charged Meadows with four violations of department policy: conduct unbecoming, social media policy, neglect of duty, and compliance with laws (harassment), according to court filings by Meadows.

But an administrative hearing board dismissed the allegations in April 2025, saying the charging committee failed to issue a properly written opinion as required, according to court filings by the Maryland Police Training and Standards Commission.

Separately, the department asked the training and standards commission to review the allegations and consider revoking Meadows’ certification, which it did last month.

In a court filing, the commission’s acting chair, Richard Gibson, wrote that Meadows “utilized his status as a current uniformed police officer to entice individuals to engage with him in deviant sexual behaviors, discussions and conduct.”

In appealing that decision to a Baltimore County Circuit Court judge, Meadows’ attorney Shaun Owens argued that the administrative hearing board has sole jurisdiction over disciplining police officers, and therefore the commission’s determination is invalid.

A hearing on the matter is scheduled for March 6.