Oct. 3 (UPI) — An angler casting his line in a Maryland creek reeled in something highly unusual for the state: a fish with a full set of human-like teeth.

Jeremy Cooper said he initially thought he had caught a sunfish in Conococheague Creek in Kemps Mill, but he soon noticed the fish had a mouth full of human-like teeth.

Cooper sent photos of the fish to the Maryland Department of Natural Resources, which identified it as a red-bellied pacu, a South American fish related to the piranha.

Pacu fish aren’t native to Maryland waters, but have been spotted in the state’s waterways seven times since 1995, most recently in the Gunpowder River in 2006.

The Department of Natural Resources said pacu are frequently kept in private aquariums, which was the likely origin of Cooper’s catch.

“The fish was most likely released from someone’s aquarium,” a spokesperson told WMAR-TV. “We never encourage people to release their pets to Maryland’s waters because of the threat of introducing a species that could establish itself or the threat of introducing disease.”

Oklahoma boy Charlie Clinton, 11, made headlines last year when he caught a pacu in a neighborhood pond. State officials that fish was also most likely an illegally-released pet.

BPW MEMBERS QUESTION MILLIONS OF DOLLARS IN LAWSUIT SETTLEMENTS: The state of Maryland is spending millions of dollars to settle lawsuits every year, and top elected officials aren’t happy about it. At a meeting of the Board of Public Works on Wednesday, two officials questioned why the state was being asked to approve yet another payout – this one having to do with strip searches by public safety employees. Although the board approved the $50,000 settlement request, Comptroller Brooke Lierman and Treasurer Dereck E. Davis questioned the prison agency’s decision to settle instead of heading to trial. Sofia Appolonio of Capital News Service/MarylandReporter.com.

STATE OKs $2.75M SETTLEMENT OVER STATE POLICE DISCRIMINATORY PRACTICES: Top state officials approved a $2.75 million settlement on Wednesday after a federal investigation turned up evidence of discriminatory hiring practices by the Maryland State Police. The U.S. Department of Justice conducted a two-year investigation into state police hiring practices for a violation of Title VII, which prohibits discrimination against employees or applicants based on race, color, religion, sex and national origin. Marissa Yelenik of Capital News Service/MarylandReporter.com.

• The probe found that the police “engaged in a pattern or practice of unintentional discrimination against African-American and female applicants” for entry-level trooper jobs, through the use of written and physical tests that disproportionately disqualified those applicants. The rejected recruits were applying to police recruiting classes from 2017 to today. Steve Crane/Maryland Matters.
• “Discrimination in any form has no place within the Maryland State Police and it will not be tolerated,” Col. Roland Butler, the state police superintendent, said Wednesday. He asked the state’s Board of Public Works, which has the final say on state spending, to agree to the settlement. Pamela Wood/The Baltimore Banner.

KIDS ONLINE SAFETY LAW GOES INTO EFFECT: Maryland Kids Code, a law sponsored by Montgomery County lawmakers that will require social media companies to do more to safeguard children, went into effect Tuesday. “The biggest tech companies in the country will now be required to innovate in the name of Maryland kids’ well-being and respect their privacy, opening the door to a future where all children and youth can thrive online and parents can rest easier knowing basic consumer protections are in place to protect their families,” the Maryland Kids Code Coalition wrote in a statement Tuesday. Ginny Bixby/MoCo 360.

NEW FACIAL RECOGNITION POLICY MIRRORS STATE LAW: A new facial recognition technology policy for Maryland law enforcement agencies largely mirrors a state law passed this year, despite a call by the ACLU of Maryland for the inclusion of extra safeguards. Cassidy Jensen/The Baltimore Sun.

STATE DOUBLES HAZARDOUS MATERIALS CHECKS ON I-895: Hazardous materials truck inspections on the Interstate 895 corridor have almost doubled from June to August, according to data from the Maryland State Police. The increase follows a Baltimore Banner investigation published July 8 that found hazmat truckers have illegally been using the city’s tunnels after the March 26 collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge, which had been a central passage for transporting hazmat up and down the East Coast. Brenna Smith/The Baltimore Banner.

ALSOBROOKS ADDRESSES TAX CONTROVERSY, SHIFTS FOCUS TO HOGAN: Democrat Angela Alsobrooks gave the most detail to date about her recent tax credit controversy on Tuesday, while also taking aim at her Republican opponent’s claim of being independent in their race for the U.S. Senate. At a live event hosted by the Baltimore Banner, Alsobrooks addressed a tax credit she claimed on her Washington, D.C. property. She said it was a mistake made after she assumed her grandmother’s mortgage. Jack Bowman of Capital News Service/MarylandReporter.com.

COMMENTARY: HOGAN NEEDS DEMOCRATS, BUT IS HE REACHING THEM? Dozens of people attended the “Democrats for Hogan” event as Larry Hogan runs for Senate, although it wasn’t clear how many of them were actually Democrats. Men wore Rhoback golf polos and women were sporting bleach-blonde hair. Several old Jewish men engaged in a spirited debate about how President Joe Biden is “such an antisemite,” and at least one woman muttered “Trump 2024” to her friends at multiple points during Larry Hogan’s stump speech. If it was a Democrats for Hogan event, it was aesthetically Republican. Joe Perticone/The Bulwark.

COMMENTARY: ALSOBROOKS’ RECORD VS. SUPER PAC MONEY: Angela Alsobrooks is once again being confronted by “big money” as she works to become the first Black and second woman to represent Maryland in the U.S. Senate. A super PAC supporting Larry Hogan plans to spend at least $18 million on ads hoping to shape how voters see her and the race. Maryland should evaluate Alsobrooks’ exemplary record of service as state’s attorney and county executive in Prince George’s County, they should think about how as senator she will fight to protect Marylanders’ fundamental rights and quality of life and they should be inspired that her barrier-breaking election will mean more diverse representation in Congress. Glynda Carr/The Baltimore Sun.

MORE AUTOMATION WORRIES LONGSHOREMEN: Something happened during the Covid pandemic that deeply troubles the International Longshoremen’s Association. The shipping companies that employ them made an unprecedented amount of money. What if they spend it on automating American ports — and getting rid of unionized dockworkers? Giacomo Bologna/The Baltimore Banner.

PG POLICE CHARGE 10 YOUTHS IN SCHOOL-RELATED THREATS: Prince George’s County police have charged 10 young people, and identified four others, as part of an investigation into nearly four dozen school-related threats a little over a month into the academic year, police said Wednesday. Jasmine Hilton and Nicole Asbury/The Washington Post.