The city of Taneytown has placed its chief of police, William Tyler, and another officer on administrative leave after federal law enforcement agents executed a sealed search warrant at the Taneytown Police Department on Tuesday.

Agents from the FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives executed the search, Jim Wieprecht, acting city manager, told the Carroll County Times.

“We don’t know the full nature of the matter,” Wieprecht said Thursday. “We’re looking into it.”

Wieprecht said Tyler was placed on administrative leave, but said he was not allowed to identify the other officer.

A voicemail left on Tyler’s cellphone Thursday evening was not immediately returned.

The FBI visited the Taneytown Police Department on Tuesday for “court authorized law enforcement activity,” said Dave Fitz, a public affairs specialist with FBI’s Baltimore field office.

Fitz said the FBI also made stops in Fairfield, Pennsylvania, for similar law enforcement activity.

“There was no threat to public safety,” Fitz added.

The Gettysburg Times on Wednesday reported FBI activity on Mile Trail in Fairfield, in the area where Barbara Jane Jestes runs a day care out of her home.

The paper reported Barbara and Brian Jestes, a sergeant with the Taneytown Police Department, reside on Mile Trail, according to the Adams County Tax Services Department. A phone call from the Carroll County Times to their home was not returned Thursday night.

The city would not confirm Thursday if Jestes was the officer placed on leave.

Wieprecht said the city does not know the reason for the search warrant.

Marcia Murphy, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Baltimore, said there was no additional information available Thursday.

Tyler, a 1981 graduate of Francis Scott Key High School, has been Taneytown police chief since 2002. According to his LinkedIn profile, Tyler started with the department in 1994.

Lt. Jason Etzler will serve as interim police chief, Wieprecht said.

CAPTION A trooper fatally shot a Carroll County man in Westminster on Monday morning, after the man stabbed the trooper, according to Maryland State Police. A trooper fatally shot a Carroll County man in Westminster on Monday morning, after the man stabbed the trooper, according to Maryland State Police. CAPTION A trooper fatally shot a Carroll County man in Westminster on Monday morning, after the man stabbed the trooper, according to Maryland State Police. A trooper fatally shot a Carroll County man in Westminster on Monday morning, after the man stabbed the trooper, according to Maryland State Police. CAPTION Miles Taylor, a 2013 Westminster graduate with cerebral palsy, weighs just 99 pounds. He recently gained widespread social media attention when a video of him deadlifting 200 pounds went viral. Miles trains at NEVERsate Athletics in Westminster with his coach, Nicolai Meyers. Miles Taylor, a 2013 Westminster graduate with cerebral palsy, weighs just 99 pounds. He recently gained widespread social media attention when a video of him deadlifting 200 pounds went viral. Miles trains at NEVERsate Athletics in Westminster with his coach, Nicolai Meyers. CAPTION Kate Maerten of Gerstell Academy, 1st place winner of the Poetry Out Loud regional competition, reads an original poem which she won a 2nd Place for, at the Carroll Arts Center on Saturday, Feb. 2. Kate Maerten of Gerstell Academy, 1st place winner of the Poetry Out Loud regional competition, reads an original poem which she won a 2nd Place for, at the Carroll Arts Center on Saturday, Feb. 2. CAPTION Firefighters contain barn fire at Baugher's Farm and Orchard in Westminster. Firefighters contain barn fire at Baugher's Farm and Orchard in Westminster. CAPTION Recruits in the Carroll County Sheriff's Office Training Academy get hands-on training behind the wheel of a police car at the Maryland Police and Correctional Training Commissions Driver Training Facility in Sykesville. Recruits in the Carroll County Sheriff's Office Training Academy get hands-on training behind the wheel of a police car at the Maryland Police and Correctional Training Commissions Driver Training Facility in Sykesville.

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