Acting police Maj. Jason West has been appointed to serve as the interim chief of the Rockville City Police Department, the department announced Wednesday in a social media post.
West was appointed by City Manager Jeff Mihelich, the post stated. He will begin the new role Nov. 22.
The appointment comes more than three weeks after police Chief Victor Brito resigned Oct. 18 after leading the department for six years. Brito’s last day is Nov. 22.
“I am honored to have been selected to lead the Rockville City Police Department as we transition,” West wrote in an email to MoCo360 Wednesday evening. “I am committed to ensuring the best law enforcement service is provided to the residents and visitors of the City of Rockville. One of my top priorities is to maintain and build on our community engagement initiatives.”
According to the city website, West began his career at the Frederick County Sheriff’s Office. He retired from the sheriff’s office in 2017 and then began serving as a lieutenant in the Rockville police department’s Field Services Bureau. West is also a media spokesperson and public information officer for the department.
An Oct. 21 statement from Mihelich announcing Brito’s resignation did not provide details about why Brito was leaving.
“On behalf of the community and the Mayor and [City] Council, I would like to thank Chief Brito for his service to protecting and serving the City of Rockville,” Mihelich said.
The City of Rockville’s public information office also did not provide additional information about the resignation because “the city does not comment on personnel matters,” city spokesperson Kathy Kirk-Danzler said in an email to MoCo360 in October.
West noted in his email that the city will launch a nationwide search for its next police chief “in the near future.”
During the transition in leadership, West said Rockville residents should know that there will not be an impact on the department’s performance.
“While people and positions change, that will not distract us from our mission,” he wrote.
Upon the announcement about Brito’s resignation, Rockville Mayor Monique Ashton wrote in an email to MoCo360 that she appreciated his “many years of dedicated service, efforts to support community outreach and partnerships, and his work to improve public safety.”
“We worked together to launch the City’s gun buy-back program, which helped remove nearly 800 guns from our City, including assault rifles and ghost guns,” she added.
According to the city website, Brito joined the department in June 2018 following a nationwide search. He had served as police chief in Hagerstown for two years. Before joining the Hagerstown department, he worked for the Metropolitan Police Department in Washington, D.C., for more than 25 years and retired with the rank of captain.
