Detective Albert “Mad Dog” Marcus

Detective Albert “Mad Dog” Marcus

Detective Albert “Mad Dog” Marcus was a highly esteemed member of the Baltimore Police Department. His impactful career spans over 40 years, during which he has made significant contributions to his field. Here are some key details about his career:

• Nickname: Detective Marcus earned his nickname, “Mad Dog,” due to his assertive approach to law enforcement. Some told us it came from a character on Hill Street Blues that shared Al’s work ethic.
• Arrests: Over his many years with the department, he made or was part of nearly 6,000 arrests.
• Commendations: His unwavering dedication and commitment to his position with Baltimore’s police as both a patrolman and a detective garnered him numerous commendations, including two Bronze Stars. He was also in the first unit to receive a unit citation.
• Policeman of the Year: He has also been nominated for the Policeman of the Year award twice.
• Narcotics to Homicide: Detective Marcus dedicated many years to narcotics before transitioning to homicide cases.
• Cold Cases: Even as he neared retirement, he continued to work tirelessly on solving cold cases, demonstrating his relentless pursuit of justice.
• Retired Badge: On March 5, 2016, Commissioner Kevin Davis retired Detective Albert Marcus’s badge #12. This significant honor is a testament to an officer’s contributions and service. It’s important to note that the Baltimore Police Department has only retired five badge numbers since its founding in 1784 and only two of those were detective badges.

In addition to his professional achievements seen here, Detective Marcus was involved many other great cases, most of which went unrecognized, as do most cases Baltimore’s police are involved in. It is sad just how much good police work is ignored, from Ken’s work to the work of others close to Ken I would say that for every award these officers have received, at least three or four similarly great cases went unnoticed. So, when you see any officer on the streets of Baltimore wearing a single ribbon, know that officer should be wearing three or four ribbons. In Det Marcus’ case, I am sure the three ribbons we know of are far less than he actually holds, but if we know of three, we also know he should be wearing no less than nine to twelve ribbons for the work he did, and that number would grow with whatever actual number of ribbons he had received.

It is with great honor that we have added Detective Marcus to our Hall of Fame