The mayor announced that Montgomery’s interim police chief has been named the permanent chief of the Montgomery Police Department and said the city and Montgomery County will provide $3,400,000 to a new violence-prevention program called Together We Rise, which will roll out in 2025.

The mayor said the appointment followed a national search that yielded about 44 resumes, a panel that narrowed candidates to about 10, and four finalists whom city leaders interviewed. The mayor described the chosen chief as experienced in statewide law enforcement collaboration and focused on recruitment, morale and community engagement.

The announcement matters because city officials linked the leadership decision and the new initiative to public-safety gains in 2024. “One homicide is one too many,” the mayor said, noting that Montgomery recorded fewer homicides in 2024 than in the prior year and that city leaders want to sustain and deepen that reduction.

Together We Rise, as described by the mayor, combines community engagement, violence-prevention programming and expanded community policing. The mayor said the city and county together committed $3,400,000 and that he had requested $6,000,000 overall to fully fund the program. He said the initiative will bring “credible messengers” and community-trusted intermediaries into outreach work and will leverage the Office of Violence Prevention and CrimeStoppers expertise.

The mayor referenced “21st Century Policing” principles and said the new chief understands a holistic approach that emphasizes trust and data-driven problem solving in addition to enforcement. He pointed to examples from other U.S. cities where community-violence-intervention programs were credited with reductions in nonfatal shootings and homicides.

Asked about the selection process, the mayor said the city received roughly 44 applications, screened them to about 10, and interviewed four finalists; he also said community stakeholders and a search firm participated in evaluations. He described the choice as based on a combination of performance, community confidence and the ability to collaborate with county, state and federal partners.

The mayor said the city welcomes additional state and federal funding to reach the $6,000,000 goal and that the mayor’s office and police department will continue to invest in recruiting and other measures aimed at keeping crime rates lower. No formal vote or ordinance was recorded in the remarks.

The mayor closed by saying the combination of a permanent police chief and the Together We Rise initiative positions Montgomery to aim for further reductions in violent crime in 2025.