Baltimore County Executive Johnny Olszewski Jr. will not renominate Baltimore County Police Chief Melissa Hyatt for another term, months after the agency’s union called for her removal.

Several other department heads are also leaving Olszewski’s administration, including budget director Ed Blades, Department of Corrections Director Gail Watts, Department of Recreation and Parks Director Roslyn Johnson and Office of Information Technology Director Rob O’Connor.

The wholesale changes comes a week after Olszewski, a Democrat, easily cruised to reelection to a second term.

“On behalf of all the residents of Baltimore County, I thank these public servants for all their incredible work and dedication to strengthening our communities,” Olszewski said in a statement.

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“Our county is better and stronger because of their service, and I wish them all the very best in each of their next steps,” he said.

Olszewski’s communications director Sean Naron said the county will conduct a national search for Hyatt’s replacement and has not decided whether to appoint an interim chief.

Hyatt, the county’s first female police chief, was nominated by Olszewski and confirmed by the Baltimore County Council in 2019. Hyatt served in with Baltimore City police for 20 years before coming to the county, where she took over a police department struggling with vacancies of sworn officers, facing several wrongful death lawsuits against police officers and, soon after, a federal lawsuit alleging exams for police cadets unfairly discriminated against Black applicants.

Blades, who salary records show has worked in the county for about 29 years, is leaving the budget department, which drafts the county’s annual spending plan and manages its finances. Blades was bumped up from deputy to acting budget director in April 2019, following the retirement of the office’s director Keith Dorsey, who had held the position for more than 35 years.

Hyatt, a Randallstown native, rose through the ranks of the Baltimore City police department over the decades, including serving as chief of patrol, chief of staff, and chief of the Special Operations Division. She was an incident commander during the 2015 unrest that followed Freddie Gray’s death from injuries sustained in police custody.

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In May, Hyatt came under fire by the county police union, the Fraternal Order of Police Lodge #4, which issued a vote of no confidence in her, writing that its members have lost all faith in the police veteran’s leadership. Among their complaints was Hyatt’s support of a disciplinary process for complaints about police officers that would have eliminated trial boards comprised of fellow officers.

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Hyatt said at the time that the dissent came from only a “small group” of critics within union leadership, and that she was not discouraged and would continue to perform her duties.

Naron would not say whether the union’s opposition to Hyatt motivated Olszewski’s decision not to renominate her.

”Leaders come and go for a multitude of reasons,” Naron said. The beginning of Olszewski’s second term, when department heads’ five-year contracts expire, was a natural transition time, he added.

After the union vote, Olszewski made rounds to police precincts to talk with officers during roll calls. In an October interview, Olszewski said he spoke with “officers who candidly gave a very blunt assessment about the state of the profession and the department.”

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He added: “I want them to know that they were heard.”

FOP president Col. Dave Folderauer said Wednesday he’s appreciative that Olszewski “took the time to visit ... police officers in all of the precincts.”

“I know that my membership of rank and file police officers were forthcoming,” Folderauer said, and believes the conversations with officers “had an impact on that decision” to allow Hyatt’s contract to expire.

The county does not plan to name acting department directors, but expects to name candidates to fill some of the positions in the coming weeks, according to the news release.

This story has been updated to clarify that Ed Blades has worked for the county for about 29 years.

taylor.deville@thebaltimorebanner.com

Taylor DeVille covered Baltimore County government for The Baltimore Banner with a focus on the County Executive, County Council, accountability and quality of life issues affecting suburban residents. Before joining The Banner, Taylor covered Baltimore County government and breaking news for The Baltimore Sun. 

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