Baltimore County Executive John A. “Johnny O.” Olszewski (D) laid out the process Wednesday under which the county will hire a new police chief – ideally by next June. Olszewski said the county is launching a national search for a replacement to Chief Terrence B. Sheridan, who will remain on the job while the search is conducted, and has announced that he plans to retire in June.
“Chief Sheridan has set the bar high for his successor, and we are confident that our thorough search process will identify a chief who possesses the qualities our communities want to see in the next leader of Baltimore County’s law enforcement efforts,” Olszewski said.
While the county is not contracting with any search firms or police associations for assistance with its search for a successor, it is spreading the word through national police organizations websites, including the International Association of Chiefs of Police, the Police Executive Research Forum, and the National Association of Black Law Enforcement Officers.
The county is also advertising the job locally on its website, http://agency.governmentjobs.com/baltimorecounty/default.cfm, and is encouraging internal as well as external candidates to apply. The application deadline is Jan. 15.
The administration said it is also seeking input from the Fraternal Order of Police Lodge #4, the Blue Guardians, the Baltimore County Association of Women Police, and rank and file police officers. Olszewski will separately meet with leadership from the various police officer associations to gather their input into the selection process.
Olszewski said he will also hold town hall meetings to solicit input from police commanders and officers.
Olszewski administration representatives will screen all applications and select five to 10 candidates to be interviewed by an eight-member interview panel, which will consist of the following members:
- Two (2) members of the county executive’s senior staff
- Baltimore County state’s attorney or designee
- Three (3) Baltimore County resident representatives
- Representative of a victim services agency that serves victims in Baltimore County
- Representative of the Baltimore County Council
The names of the panelists will be publicly announced in January.
There are two ways for residents to provide input: At two public safety community forums in early 2019, one in Northeast Baltimore County and one in Northwest Baltimore County, and through written comment submitted via email to [email protected]. The exact dates of the public safety community forums will be posted online in early January.
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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