Howard County Executive Calvin Ball (D), who made history when he was elected to be the county’s first African-American chief executive, will make history again Tuesday when he nominates Lisa Myers to be the Howard County Police Department’s new chief.
Myers, a retired Howard County Police captain, is a double trailblazer: She’ll be the first woman and the first black person to serve as chief.
Ball is scheduled to formally announce his choice at a news conference Tuesday morning in Ellicott City.
“I am selecting a 27-year veteran of the Howard County Police Department, a law enforcement professional committed to community policing and making all of our communities safe,” Ball said in a statement. “Lisa treats everyone in our community with respect, dignity, transparency, a consistent willingness to go ‘above and beyond’ to be helpful and a constant vigilance to keep us all safe.”
Myers, 52, had retired a year ago as the Commander of the Human Resources Bureau, overseeing Employment Services and the Education and Training Division. Myers began her career in 1990 as a civilian Crime Laboratory Technician. She entered the police academy in 1994 and worked within various components of the Police Department, including as the Chief of Staff, Patrol Division Watch Commander, Supervisor of Youth Services and Public Information Officer.
She replaces former chief Gary Gardner, who retired at the end of last year.
In addition to Ball – and Myers – Howard County is currently being served by its first African-American sheriff, Marcus Harris (D), and its first African-American state’s attorney, Richard Gibson (D). Ball last month nominated Christine Uhlhorn to serve as the first female fire chief in the county.
“Our police department is one of the best in the nation and the reputation of this county being one of the safest communities in the nation is attracting families and businesses to move here as much as our top-ranked school system. Lisa Myers will continue this success,” Ball said.
Myers will take over the department on Feb. 1.
“I have dedicated my career to the Howard County Police Department and I look forward to leading the agency with transparency and accountability,” she said in a statement.
Josh Kurtz
Founding editor
Founding Editor Josh Kurtz is a veteran chronicler of Maryland politics and government. He began covering the State House in 1995 for The Gazette newspapers, and has been writing about state and local politics ever since. He was an editor at Roll Call, the Capitol Hill newspaper, for eight years, and for eight years was the editor of E&E Daily, which covers energy and environmental policy on Capitol Hill. For 6 1/2 years Kurtz wrote a weekly column on state politics for Center Maryland and has written for several other Maryland publications as well. Kurtz regularly gives speeches and appears on TV and radio shows to discuss Maryland politics.
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