Magaw retires as Prince George’s police chief but stays with county
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Version 0 of 1. At various stops throughout Prince George’s County during public safety events in August, Police Chief Mark A. Magaw greeted the crowd with hugs, smiles and handshakes before making remarks at each gathering. “The reason we’ve been able to drop crime is because of you,” he told residents of Clinton. “When we stand together, there is nothing we can’t do,” he said in Temple Hills. Those who know the chief say Magaw’s sincere focus on building relationships — with residents, staff and other agencies — is much of the reason why he’s been able to push crime rates to historic lows while improving ties with a community once deeply skeptical of the police. After five years as chief, Magaw will move to a position leading all of the public safety agencies in Prince George’s. He will report directly to County Executive Rushern L. Baker III (D), who had selected him as police chief and on Friday appointed him deputy chief administrative officer for public safety. Baker said he had to twist Magaw’s arm to stay on with the county after he decided three months ago that 32 years on the force had been long enough. The chief will officially retire Dec. 31 and begin working on the fifth floor of the county administrative building Jan. 4, Baker said. Magaw’s leadership and commitment have “made a significant difference in how we address crime,” Baker said at a news conference in Upper Marlboro. “By focusing on community policing, outreach and engagement, I believe our police department has become one of the nation’s best.” Magaw said he handpicked his successor, Deputy Chief Hank Stawinski, and recommended that Baker appoint him. Stawinski will be acting chief until confirmation hearings by the County Council next year, when the legislative session begins anew. In their new posts, Magaw will be paid $185,000 and Stawinski $180,000, according to Baker’s office. Baker said stability was foremost in his mind when choosing Magaw’s successor. He also made Deputy Chief Genovia “G.G.” Whittington the director of homeland security. Many in Prince George’s say they hope the next chief will carry on Magaw’s spirit of collaboration. Magaw is “really good at reaching out to the people,” said longtime county resident and community activist Belinda Queen-Howard. “He knows the police can’t do it alone.” When Magaw was asked to lead the department in late 2010, the department was beset by problems. In his first month, the county recorded 12 homicides in just as many days. And while crime fell under Magaw’s predecessor, commanders departed, saying they were regularly berated during meetings with the old chief. Corruption surfaced among rank-and-file officers, and residents complained of police brutality. Magaw brought on an independent inspector general to review police internal affairs, improved morale with his nonconfrontational manner and boosted relations with neighboring police departments, federal law enforcement and county agencies. With a sworn force of about 1,700 officers policing about 1 million residents, overall crime is down 17.3 percent over last year and violent crime is down 9.1 percent. Like other jurisdictions across the country, the homicide total in Prince George’s has surpassed last year’s figure — 71 compared with the 54 that the department investigated in 2014. But homicides have generally fallen with Magaw as chief. Between 2000 and 2010, the county averaged 126 slayings a year; that figure dropped nearly 40 percent between 2010 and 2014. Many also credit Magaw for improving transparency and community relations by hiring a former television news journalist to run media relations. “All you heard coming out of Prince George’s County was bad, bad, bad, although we had plenty of good stories,” Magaw said. Now, he said, community members “don’t see us as an occupying force.” [Prince George’s police leverage social media to improve reputation.] Magaw’s commitment to transparency has helped him through “some bumps in the road,” said University of Maryland Police Chief David Mitchell. In 2012, two county officers were suspended after they created a “racially insensitive” video spoof of “driving while black.” The county held a news conference on a Friday night in which they released the video and decried the officers’ actions. And last week, an officer who held a gun to a man’s head, apparently to impress his friends, was convicted of first-degree assault. “The video was released,” unlike incidents in other cities, Mitchell noted, and “there was swift and certain accountability.” Baltimore Police Commissioner Kevin Davis, who previously worked in Prince George’s as Magaw’s assistant chief, said Magaw is adept at developing a consensus among diverse communities. Davis cited Magaw’s interaction with U-Md. students after a basketball game a few years ago. The department was recovering from a controversy under the previous chief, when officers were seen on camera beating a student amid raucous post-game celebrations. Police on horses and in riot gear were on standby in case of a repeat disturbance, but Magaw and Davis decided to take a different approach. “Mark and I literally waded into the crowd of a couple thousand kids and wound up talking to people and posing for pictures,” Davis said. That set a new tone, because “Mark found a different way forward.” Magaw is 57, married and the father of four. He also is the son of an Ohio highway patrolman. “Since I can remember watching my dad get dressed and things like that, this is all I ever wanted to do,” Magaw said. Magaw said that early in his career, it never occurred to him that he’d eventually become the police chief. Since taking the lead of the police department in 2010, he hasn’t gotten a full night’s sleep: The county’s homicides, officers being injured in the line of duty and unsolved homicides, such as that of 17-year-old Amber Stanley, always linger in the back of his mind, he said. Despite the burdens, Magaw said he is still dedicated to improving public safety “We really are just getting started,” Magaw said. |