Butler nominated to helm State Police
If confirmed, would become first Black superintendent
Gov. Wes Moore nominated Lt. Col. Roland L. Butler to head the Maryland State Police on Thursday, rounding out his picks for positions in his Cabinet.
“Courage, fortitude, resilience, understanding and compassion — in short, Roland’s a professional and he has the background, the knowledge and the character to lead the Maryland State Police as he carries out this critical mission,” Moore said at a news conference announcing his nominee.
Butler is a 28-year veteran of the state police. If confirmed by the Senate for the top post, which pays $250,000 a year, he would be the first Black person to lead the 102-year-old agency.
Butler said it was “an honor” to receive Moore’s nomination on “a mission that the governor has clearly outlined will improve the quality of life for citizens throughout the state.”
“This will not be easy, but the women and men of the Maryland State Police are prepared for this and are fully capable of making an impact and improving the quality of life for citizens across the state and for those who travel to our state,” he said.
Butler was appointed chief of the department’s field operations bureau, which oversees patrol and investigative personnel, in 2020.
He has also served on the superintendent’s staff in the in the Office of Equity and Inclusion and in the support services bureau.
Butler will be put to task as he assumes his new role. The agency is currently facing a U.S. Department of Justice investigation into potential racial discrimination and federal litigation alleging the same that seeks class-action status to represent troopers of color. The agency also made headlines in recent months for the circulation of offensive challenge coins among officers.
Butler said during Thursday’s news conference that he plans to address these issues “head on — good, bad or indifferent.”
“I will not support inappropriate behavior. We’re here to safeguard the communities and people within Maryland,” Butler said. “We will do our very best. I will hold people accountable; my executive staff will hold me accountable.”
Asked why he chose to
nominate from within an agency that has displayed a problematic culture, Moore said he wanted someone who understood existing challenges within the department.
“After doing an exhaustive search of individuals who I can trust to lead us through this time, it was obvious that both because of his experience and also because of his vision looking forward that I knew that Lt. Col. Butler was the person I wanted to go with,” Moore explained.
Moore noted that state police recruitment has stagnated. While in previous years, class sizes might have reached up to 90 recruits, the current average class size is 35. During a visit to the state police academy ahead of his inauguration, he saw only 19 recruits.
According to the governor, 80 troopers left the agency in 2022. Only 47 joined.
Maryland also has seen a surge in violent crime across all 24 jurisdictions in recent years. Data provided by the governor’s office demonstrates that the number of homicides and nonfatal shootings across the state has nearly doubled from 2014 to 2022.
“This is a statewide problem,” said Moore. “Violent crime and its drivers span across every jurisdiction in the state of Maryland, and it’s fueled a palpable sense across our state that people simply do not feel safe.”
Sgt. Anthony Alexander, the president of the Coalition
of Black Maryland State Troopers, said he’d heard from members who had a range of responses to the news of Butler’s nomination. Some were displeased and others liked the selection, Alexander said.
In addition to announcing Butler’s appointment, Moore pledged Thursday to invest $11 million in Maryland’s Coordination and Analysis Center. It gathers and analyzes tips on suspicious activity and known criminals and serves as a data-sharing platform for law enforcement officials across the state as they attempt to resolve investigations.
“Our job is not to look at the local jurisdictions and tell them to do better,” Moore said. “Our job is to make sure we’re being a real partner, as well.”