FAIRFIELD — A York County resident and former Taneytown, Maryland chief of police is the subject of a federal indictment for allegedly possessing and transferring machine guns, according to court documents.
William E. Tyler possessed and transferred two Ruger .223 machine guns between Nov. 8, 2017, and Jan. 15, according to the indictment.
According to U.S. law, a machine gun is defined as an automatic weapon that shoots multiple bullets with a single pull of the trigger.
Tyler was placed on administrative leave from his chief of police position in Taneytown on Jan. 17, city officials said in a press statement on Jan. 31. He later resigned his position.
Federal agents searched Tyler’s home in Fairfield and his office at the Taneytown Police Department on Jan. 15. Initial statements from Taneytown officials did not specify what it was the agents were looking for.
