Marcus Jones, an assistant police chief, has been picked as the county’s next interim police chief and has applied for the open job.
Jones, 55, has been with the department since 1985 and will fill the office following the departure of Russ Hamill next month. Hamill was named interim chief after Chief J. Thomas Manger retired in April.
Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich is conducting a national search for a permanent police chief for the 1,300-officer department which has been criticized after a video surfaced on social media showing a white officer using the n-word in front of several black men who were being investigated for trespassing.
Jones, who is African-American, is currently assigned to the department’s investigative services bureau, according to the department’s website, and his name has surfaced as a possible replacement for Manger and he has the support of at least one County Council member.
In a Wednesday morning email, Jones said he has applied for the chief’s job.
Elrich, in an interview posted Tuesday on Montgomery Community Media, said he is aware that Manger and others have expressed a desire to have Jones serve as permanent chief. But the county executive said he would prefer to hear from his constituents before making a decision.
Elrich has said previously that there are more than 20 applicants for the position, and that he would make a decision following a community forum on policing June 6.
Hamill, another department veteran who worked his way up the ranks, has been hired to be the chief of police in Laurel, a city of about 25,000 in Prince George’s County.
Dan Schere can be reached at Daniel.schere@moco360.media
