County Executive Aisha Braveboy announced the appointment of George Nader, following the departure of Malik Aziz, who had led the department since 2021.
Prince George's County Executive Aisha Braveboy, newly sworn in, introduced the county's new chief of police on Wednesday.
George Nader, an assistant chief at the Metro Transit Police Department who previously served as deputy chief in Prince George's, will replace Malik Aziz, Braveboy said, a week after Aziz was named as a finalist for another job.
"This appointment is a commitment. A commitment to equity in policing, to innovation and practice, and to a safer future for every community," said Braveboy (D), who hailed Nader as a "son of this department" and a "lifelong public servant."
Aziz, whose four-year tenure with the county appeared to be at an end when the city of Phoenix announced that he is a finalist to head its police department, said in a statement that "it was a mutually agreed departure in the best interest for all parties involved."
Nader takes over as chief during a decrease in overall crime compared with this time last year. He previously worked at the Prince George's County Police Department from 1996 to 2016, climbing up to deputy chief, before serving as the assistant chief at the Metro Transit Police Department, Braveboy said.
In his first remarks as chief, Nader said he was humbled to come back to the police department and the county where he was raised.
"I am a man of faith, and I do believe that the Lord puts our path in front of us, and it's up to us to take that path," he said. "And I believe he put me here with such a talented team and he put me in Ms. Braveboy's eye for a reason,to come back here and do a great job."
Addressing Braveboy, he added: "I will not let you down."
The announcement comes amid a series of leadership changes in Maryland's second-most-populous county as Braveboy assumes her new role.
Earlier this week, Tara H. Jackson, who was interim county executive, was appointed Prince George's acting state's attorney by the county's circuit court judges. Braveboy also recently named an interim schools superintendent, Shawn Joseph, after Millard House II stepped down from that position.
Braveboy was officially sworn in as county executive during a private ceremony earlier Wednesday. A public swearing-in ceremony will be held Thursday, Juneteenth.
During what was her first news conference as the county's new leader, Braveboy thanked Aziz for helping "guide Prince George's County through unprecedented challenges."
Aziz arrived in Prince George's in 2021, hired in from Dallas to reform the police department amid a national reckoning for racial justice and police accountability. Some community advocates were disheartened after news surfaced last week of his potential exit, lauding him as a community-centered chief who built meaningful relationships.
The city of Phoenix has said it expects to name a chief in July.
"I wish Prince George's County and PGPD much success as I focus on the opportunity in front of me with Phoenix PD," Aziz said.
Braveboy said she started the search for a new chief after winning the special primary election, and then "in earnest" after the general election in June, because "you never know what will happen as administrations change." She also appointed George Nichols Jr., another veteran of the county police department, as assistant chief of police.
Nader said he and Nichols will start their new roles Thursday. He said he wants to first take time to assess the department and ensure the police force has "the level of support from us that we need." He also said the department will review its recruitment practices to see if they're up to speed.
The department will have a "community-first mentality," he said.
In addition to the changeup in leadership, Braveboy signed an executive order changing the designation of police divisions back to police districts.
Katie Mettler contributed to this report.
Crime was trending down and to record lows in some cases in the county when Braveboy first stepped into office. She intended to keep crime rates down as state's attorney but that goal that became difficult to maintain as crime skyrocketed across the country during the coronavirus pandemic with Prince George's part of statistics.
However, her tenure saw a 40 percent decrease in intimate-partner violence, a 90 percent homicide conviction rate and nearly a 40 percent reduction in carjacking crime, according her campaign site.