About the Podcasters

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Clarke Ahlers

Clarke Ahlers was born in Baltimore, Maryland. He is a seasoned criminal justice junkie.

Fresh from high school in 1972, Clarke was hired by the Howard County Police Department. Clarke served as a Community Service Officer (CSO or cadet) for three years and a Police Officer for eleven years. Clarke’s assignments included patrol, academy instructor, research and planning, and one summer as a detective.

While working at the HCPD, Clarke attended Montgomery College (AA, Criminal Justice), University of Maryland, College Park (B.A., Eng. Lit.), and University of Baltimore School of Law (J.D.).

In 1986, following his admission to the Maryland Bar, Clarke resigned from the Department and began his law practice in Columbia, Maryland (Clarke F. Ahlers, P.C.) Clarke is still a full-time lawyer, concentrating in criminal defense and defense of law enforcement officers in state and federal courts and appellate courts. Clarke has written and co-written briefs in the United States Supreme Court.

Clarke is an avid reader and amateur playwright. Clarke describes himself as a “philosophical schizophrenic,” influenced during his formative years by a Socialist grandfather and a Republican father. Clarke’s hobby is motorcycling and he lives in Howard County, Maryland.

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Serge Antonin

Serge Antonin was born in 1973 and raised in Jersey City, New Jersey. He attended Lincoln University, near Philadelphia, a historically black university. Serge graduated with a B.S. in Criminal Justice in 1995. Serge’s first job after college was as a 911 call operator. In 1996, Serge was hired as an investigator with the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office. In 1998, Serge began a short amateur boxing career, then moved to Maryland to pursue law enforcement. Serge joined the Baltimore (MD) Police Department, graduating from the academy in August, 2000. Serge served as a Baltimore Police Officer for almost 17 years. His assignments included patrol, firearms instructor, and field training officer. Serge coached 11 & 12-year-old boys (and two girls) in lacrosse for three seasons.

Serge is married with two children. He is currently employed as a security specialist, private investigator, and real estate investor and is an avid consumer of criminal justice programming. A weekend barbecue master, Serge aspires to own and operate a food truck in the Baltimore area.

Serge’s opinions reflect his experience as an African-American male and as a black police officer in Baltimore, one of America’s most violent cities during Baltimore’s most troubled decades.