FPD Chief Lando has drawn praise in the community

Jason Lando’s first year as the chief of the Frederick Police Department is drawing rave reviews. It looks as though the city has found a good one.

Lando was hired by the city after he had served more than 20 years at the Pittsburgh Bureau of Police. As News-Post reporter Mary Grace Keller wrote in her recent article on the chief’s first year, he has had a busy 12 months: A Fort Detrick gunman shot two coworkers before being killed. Two of Lando’s police officers were shot and wounded in the line of duty. Two other officers died of natural causes, sending the department into mourning.

“It’s been a busy but very interesting year,” he told our reporter.

And by all appearances, quite a successful one. Lando has immersed himself in the life of the city. Listen to some of the people with whom Lando has interacted since arriving in Frederick.

He is in the midst of a ninemonth program known as Leadership Frederick County, offered by the Frederick County Chamber of Commerce. In monthly meetings, participants learn about different aspects of the county, such as agriculture, health and land use.

Jen Gerlock, executive director of the program, described him as a unifying force. “He’s very collaborative,” she told our reporter. “He’s a leader’s leader.”

The department launched the Multicultural Liaison Unit in July, with seven officers staying in close touch with the African American community, Asian community, Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing community, Hispanic/Latino community and the LGBTQIA+ communities.

Aje Hill, executive director of the nonprofit I Believe in Me, called Lando a man of his word. Hill has seen Lando and his officers help at the nonprofit’s food drops, and described the chief as responsive, transparent and nonjudgmental.

“He’s been accountable, he’s been honest,” Hill said. “I think he’s going to be an asset for our community.” Maria-Teresa Shuck, director of Centro Hispano de Frederick, has been glad to see Lando and other FPD officers at their events, like the Hispanic Heritage Festival and children’s STEM summer program.

“I think one of his goals was to get into the community and to meet the diverse population within Frederick. I think he’s accomplished everything so far,” Shuck said.

Elizabeth Chung, executive director of the Asian American Center of Frederick, praised Lando and Officer Nicholas Aylward, who is the multicultural unit’s liaison to the Asian American community.

Lando “has allowed the officer to take the role in the direction he felt was best, based on his knowledge, experience, and cultural identity,” Chung wrote in an email. Mayor Michael O’Connor, who nominated Lando for the position, is justifiably proud of his choice. “I think he’s done outstanding,” O’Connor said in an interview. He said he had hoped the new chief would be community- oriented, and Lando certainly is.

Lando said he was especially proud to help launch a program in the city designed to tackle mental health struggles and drug use. The crisis car, which is an unmarked police vehicle, is staffed by a plainclothes FPD officer, a Frederick County Division of Fire and Rescue Services emergency medical technician or paramedic, and a health professional from mental health care provider Sheppard Pratt.

They work as a team responding to mental health emergencies in the city, and Lando is pleased with the progress. After launching this past summer, the program is doubling its hours of operation, to be in service eight hours a day from Monday through Friday.

Lando frequently credited members of his department for carrying out the work he oversaw.

“I love our team here at FPD,” the chief told our reporter. “I think this is really … a model for other cities as to what a police and community relationship could look like.”

It looks like the beginning of what we hope will be a long, fruitful relationship between our community and the new chief.