Police/Crime/Fire  

Police Chief Marcus Jones Calls His Nominated Successor ‘A Great Selection’

Assistant Police Chief Marc Yamada was nominated Wednesday morning to be the 18th Montgomery County police chief.

Police Chief Marcus Jones, who is retiring July 1, called Yamada “a great selection.” Jones also said, “He is a leader. The men and women of this department have the ultimate respect for him.”

Jones added that Yamada “has the highest amount of ethics and integrity.”

Yamada must first be approved by the county council and is scheduled to be interviewed by councilmembers June 11.

Yamada began with the county police department in 1988 and has risen in the ranks since then. He was instrumental in beginning the drone pilot program and was named police officer of the year three times.

In nominating Yamada, County Executive Marc Elrich declared, “There was no reason for me to go outside the department,” adding that Yamada wasn’t the only current officer considered for the top job.

If approved, Yamada, who is of Japanese heritage, will oversee a department of 1,300 sworn officers and 650 civilian officers.

He has worked under six police chiefs and vowed to commit to the highest standards they have set and ensure that Montgomery County is the “gold standard of law enforcement in the country.”

He labeled his top priorities as community policing, strengthening relationships within the community and making sure officers have the tools and training they need.

He took a moment to let his fellow officers know they have his support and that he will listen to them.

To community members, Yamada vowed that his top priority is “your safety and wellbeing.”

Yamada mentioned a few ideas to increase police hiring and retention. He is partnering with Councilmember Will Jawando to increase recruit efforts at Historically Black Colleges and Universities.

He also wants to reach out to athletes at area colleges. The decision making, critical thinking and teamwork they display on the field “are all the things we are looking for,” said Yamada, who played sports at Frostburg State University.

He plans to discuss how best to serve the area schools with Interim Superintendent Monique Felder and whether to return officers into the physical building. “I see a lot of benefits when we are in the schools,” he said, explaining that officers can connect with students and identify problems early.

Yamada is married and has one daughter and three sons. He was born and grew up in Wheaton and currently lives in Brookville.

Council President Andrew Friedson called Yamada “a distinguished public safety professional who brings with him over three decades of experience with MCPS and deep ties to the Montgomery County community.”

“We are committed to selecting a candidate who will uphold Chief Jones’ legacy of excellence by continuing to enhance public safety across our community and keeping our residents safe,” Friedson wrote in a news release.

Even before Yamada was nominated, Jews United for Justice, Racial Justice NOW! and the Silver Spring Justice Coalition came out against his promotion.

“We have serious concerns about the selection process and do not support Assistant Chief Yamada’s nomination, ” they wrote in a joint letter to Elrich.

“We reject the idea that only current employees of the Montgomery County Police Department were worthy of consideration for this important position. Your failure to conduct a national search reflects a lack of care for the importance of finding the very best candidate to lead our police department,” they stated in the letter.

They referred to the use of an internal candidate as a “continuation of the status quo – a status quo in which our police department continues to cause harm to marginalized communities through over-reliance on police and race-based disparities in a range of areas including schools, traffic enforcement, use of force, and mental health crisis response.”

 

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