Montgomery County officials and first responders celebrated the swearing-in Tuesday evening of police Chief Marc Yamada and fire Chief Corey Smedley at Wheaton High School.
Both men took over their posts in July.
The event was considered historic because it marked the first joint swearing-in ceremony held by the Montgomery County Department of Police and Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Service (MCFRS) – and because Yamada is the county’s first Asian police chief and Smedley is the first Black fire chief.
“Our new leaders are not only history makers, but they’re change makers,” County Executive Marc Elrich said during the ceremony. “… Both Marc and Corey share a fundamental value of the strength of partnerships and [being] engaged with their employees. … We’re a forward-thinking county, and with Marc and Corey, we’ve got two forward-thinking leaders.”
The two chiefs took the oath of office with county officials, their colleagues and family members joining them on the stage of the school’s auditorium. Afterward, Yamada and Smedley each spoke about their path to the top leadership positions and their visions for the future of their respective departments.
Before he was police chief, Yamada, 60, was an assistant police chief with the department’s Field Services Bureau. Yamada, who graduated from Wheaton High School and noted he had initially been rejected as a police department recruit, has 35 years of experience within the police department. He replaced former chief Marcus Jones, who retired in July and took on the role of chief of the Department of Security and Compliance for Montgomery County Public Schools. In May, Elrich nominated Yamada for the role and the County Council confirmed his appointment in June.
Yamada highlighted the area’s diversity and how the county has evolved from a majority-white to a “majority-minority” community, with non-white races and ethnicities making up nearly 63% of the population, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. He promised to “meet the needs” of the county’s growing and diverse communities and focus on how technology can be used to do so.
“I want us to keep serving as the example for other agencies to follow when it comes to standards, performance and policies. I truly believe that technology … and innovation are the keys to improving law enforcement as we move forward,” Yamada said.
He touted recent technology enhancements such as the department’s Drone as a First Responder Program, traffic enforcement cameras and MoCo Connect, a program that allows business to register their security cameras with county police.
Yamada noted he was committed to expanding the drone program and told MoCo360 Tuesday evening that he “would love” to have the program operating in every police district in the county. The program, which operates in Silver Spring and Wheaton, recently launched in the Gaithersburg and Germantown areas, he added.
The department is also looking to launch the program in Bethesda, Yamada said.
Smedley, who marked his 100th day leading MCFRS on Tuesday, served as the deputy chief of Prince George’s County Fire and EMS service before coming to the county. Before that, he was the City of Alexandria’s first Black fire chief, serving for more than four years and spending more than eight years with that department. Smedley replaced former chief Scott Goldstein who left the fire department in April 2023 after 33 years. In May, Elrich nominated Smedley to the role and the County Council confirmed his appointment in July.
During his speech, Smedley said he was committed to taking an innovative and adaptive approach to public safety in the county.
“As we look to the future, we must recognize that, like many industries, the landscape of public safety is evolving, and so must we,” he said. “…To do that we must redefine our perspectives and the community’s perception of what defines safety.”
Smedley said safety is more than quick response times and “the presence of a brick-and-mortar fire station with specific apparatus and resources.” Today, safety can be defined by the department’s ability to prevent emergencies, educate the community and deliver resources such as health care to residents, he said.
“In addition to our traditional roles as firefighters, we are healthcare providers with over 2,300 medical professionals, emergency technicians as well as paramedics who provide pre-hospital emergency care every day,” Smedley said.
He noted that by the end of this year, the department’s Emergency Medical Services is on track to have responded to more than 115,000 calls.
In addition to keeping up with the evolving public safety landscape, Smedley told MoCo360 Tuesday evening that he also was interested in providing more training opportunities to first responders and better utilizing mental and behavioral health resources for patients.
