Montgomery County interim police chief Marcus Jones approved for permanent post

ROCKVILLE, Md. - The Montgomery County Council has approved interim police chief, Marcus Jones for the permanent position of police chief.

The council met with Jones a 34-year police veteran on Tuesday -- and voted unanimously to appoint him to the county's top cop post.

After a unanimous 9-0 vote, Jones was welcomed by a standing ovation, but not before he faced some tough questions during a public interview that lasted several hours. 

That included his take on racial profiling and what steps he’s planning to take so that it doesn’t happen.

Jones said he takes the issue personally and that he will not tolerate it. 

Acting Police Chief Marcus Jones (Montgomery County Police Department)

He said he wants to ensure that there is constant officer training, including conducting traffic stops that will only pertain to an investigation. 

Police accountability was another topic brought up during the questioning and how the department would build trust within the community during the process. 

The new police chief said that he would start with improving their complaint filing process and that the materials for filing such complaints are readily available.

“We have got to have a serious dialogue with our community,” he told FOX 5, “and sit down and talk about issues like public safety or other things that are dividing us. I want to be able to continue to work with issues that surround our community and as it relates to some trust issues.”

Jones also addressed Marc Elrich and his administration not picking him to be the chief the first two times during the search process. He said that while at the time he was disappointed, he didn’t lose his faith. He said there are “no hard feelings.”