Hyattsville’s next police chief won’t be traveling far from his current post, as the city hired Cheverly’s Police Chief Jarod Towers to lead Hyattsville’s law enforcement.
Towers’ first day on the job in Hyattsville will be Oct. 3, 2021. Hyattsville officials announced his hiring Sept. 7, 2021. He fills a vacancy left by the departure of former city chief of police Amal Awad, who announced her resignation November 2020 to lead the Anne Arundel County Police Department. Between Awad’s departure and Towers’ hiring, the city’s police department was led by Acting Police Chief Scott Dunklee.
Towers has 16 years experience in law enforcement. He has worked in the Cheverly Police Department since 2009, when he was hired as a police officer. In 2011, he was promoted to a detective in the department. In 2013, he was promoted to sergeant. He has led the Cheverly Police Department since October 2018.
In Cheverly, Towers was named officer of the year in 2010 and 2013, detective of the year in 202, and received city leadership awards in 2013. A 2018 announcement from the town of Cheverly lauding Towers’ selection as acting chief said he was responsible for efforts to upgrade tech equipment in the police department, including body cameras and radio equipment.
Before that, Towers was a State Trooper with the Maryland State Police from 2006 through 2009. He also served as an infantryman in the Marine Corps from 2002 through 2008. He joined the Marines when he was 18.
Towers was also selected as a 40-under-40 honoree by the International Association of Chiefs of Police.
According to a biography from the town of Cheverly, Towers grew up in Thornburg, Virginia, and Cherry Hill, New Jersey. He has a master’s degree in business administration and a bachelor’s degree in business management and administration with a minor in homeland security from the University of Maryland, University College.