Montgomery police chief announces recruitment/retention bonuses, urges ID requirement for people carrying firearms

The Montgomery Police Department’s chief of police, speaking at a public briefing, outlined the department’s priorities for 2026, announced a new lateral SWAT hiring program and a retention and recruitment bonus, and urged the public and lawmakers to support a law requiring people to carry identification when armed.

The chief said the department launched a lateral hiring program Jan. 4 aimed at law enforcement professionals with SWAT certifications and rigorous tryouts, and invited qualified applicants to apply at mgmblue.com. He also announced a retention and recruitment bonus that will apply to lateral hires, new academy graduates and sworn officers but did not provide dollar amounts, start dates or an implementation schedule.

Putting those personnel moves in context, the chief gave department statistics for 2025: MPD answered 157,807 calls for service and recorded 61 homicides, the same number as in 2024. He said overall violent crime fell 25% year‑to‑year, with robberies down 42.4% and aggravated assaults down 17%. The chief said the department cleared more than 103 felony cases between November 2025 and early January 2026 and arrested 61 people in those cases; eight of those arrested were juveniles charged as adults, and several suspects faced three or more felony counts.

The chief named recent homicide victims and locations, and described arrests in multiple cases. He identified two homicide victims by name — Jalen Sanders, 20, murdered Dec. 29, 2025, in the 6900 block of Lakeview Drive; and Rasheen Smith, 40, murdered Nov. 25, 2025, in the 2900 block of Steeplechase Lane — and said those investigations remain under way. In his remarks he also cited suspects in other cases using names transcribed as 'Nasty Brown' and 'Command Johnson' and mentioned an arrested juvenile; portions of the suspect names and some contact details in the transcript appear garbled and are reported here as spoken in the briefing.

The chief emphasized that in 66% of 2025 homicide cases the victim and the suspect knew one another, that only about 5% were stranger‑involved, and that firearms were used in a majority of violent incidents. He argued the absence of a legal requirement to carry identification while armed hampers proactive policing and public safety, and urged citizens to speak with legislators and vote in May to support the expansion of 'Anaya’s law,' which he said would limit violent offenders’ ability to bond out.

On traffic enforcement, the chief said traffic units responded to more than 888 accidents since Nov. 24, 2025, and issued over 1,304 citations in that span; he also cited an "exhibition driving" detail that issued 1,730 citations and stated the department issued "well over 50,000" red‑light citations last year.

During a question‑and‑answer period, the chief said he has met with state legislators and professional law enforcement organizations to discuss an ID requirement but stressed he is not a legislator and cannot guarantee what bills will be introduced. He described recruiting progress — saying roughly 84 applicants were in process — and said hiring exceeded losses month to month in 2025. He reiterated that homicide investigations remain open until solved and that arrests can follow across years.

The chief encouraged community involvement in violence prevention and again urged residents to contact the department with tips; a specific phone number in the transcript was incomplete and is therefore not specified here. He closed by thanking Mayor Steven Reed and department staff for their support and said MPD will continue its targeted enforcement and partnership efforts.

The briefing concluded with an opportunity for questions; no formal votes or ordinance actions were taken at the event.