After four months of searching, Anne Arundel County Executive Steuart Pittman (D) announced Monday that Hyattsville Police Chief Amal Awad will serve as the new Anne Arundel County chief of police.
“I am honored and humbled that County Executive Pittman has asked me to serve as Anne Arundel County’s next Chief of Police,” Awad said in a statement. “I have dedicated more than half of my life to this noble profession, and I thank Mr. Pittman for selecting me to lead this professional police department during this pivotal moment in modern policing.
Awad’s appointment follows the resignation of Chief Timothy Altomare in July. William Lowry has served as acting police chief during the interim.
Hyattsville Police Chief Amal Awad, nominated to be the new police chief in Anne Arundel County. City of Hyattsville photo.
“I and the members of the Anne Arundel County Police Department, both sworn and civilian, enthusiastically welcome Chief Amal Awad to our agency!” said Lowry. “We look forward to the Chief’s leadership, incorporating her vision and values, as we continue to serve and protect the Anne Arundel County Community. Great things to come!”
Awad began her career as a patrol officer in Prince George’s County 30 years ago. She spent 23 years with the Prince George’s County Police Department, during which she served as the district commander, shift commander, special assignment team supervisor, robbery suppression team supervisor, and executive officer.
While serving in these capacities, Awad attended the Johns Hopkins School of Education, where she earned her Bachelors degree and Masters Degree with Honors in Management. She has also trained at the International Association of Chiefs of Police Women’s Leadership Institute and the Police Executive Research Forum Senior Management Institute.
“I am eager to introduce her, to the County Council, the residents of this county, and to the officers she will lead and support,” said Pittman. “This is a person who can unite us. She is a peacemaker and a consummate professional.”
On Election Day, Anne Arundel County voters approved a charter amendment that mandates that the County Council approve all appointments for police chief, fire chief, and county attorney effective Dec. 3.
Pittman will introduce a resolution at Monday night’s County Council meeting asking that Awad’s appointment be confirmed. Following confirmation from the council, she would officially assume her role on Dec. 17.
This is not Awad’s first introduction to the Anne Arundel County Police Department. She served as the agency’s chief of staff under then-Chief Kevin Davis in 2013 and 2014.
“Chief Awad’s experience in both large and small department policing, including right here in Anne Arundel County, makes her ideally suited to lead our department,” Pittman said in a statement. “But for me that wasn’t enough. I had to be sure that our next chief had that rare combination of professional skill and heart. Heart for the people in our communities, heart for the officers that protect them, and even heart for the young people who are trying to find their way in these difficult times but sometimes make mistakes.
“I found all of that in Amal Awad.”
Hannah Gaskill
Reporter
Hannah Gaskill was a reporter for Maryland Matters. She left the publication in May 2022. Gaskill received her master’s of journalism degree in December 2019 from the University of Maryland. She previously worked on the print layout design team at The Diamondback, reported on criminal justice in Maryland for Capital News Service and served as a production assistant for The Confluence — the daily news magazine on 90.5 WESA, Pittsburgh’s NPR member station. Gaskill has had bylines in The Baltimore Sun, The Washington Post and The Chicago Tribune, among other publications. Before pursuing journalism, she received her bachelor’s of fine art degree from Carnegie Mellon University in 2016. She grew up in Ocean City.
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