Pallozzi named state police superintendent

ANNAPOLIS — Gov. Larry Hogan has named state police Col. William M. Pallozzi the next superintendent of the Maryland State Police.

“I am honored to have a law enforcement professional of Bill Pallozzi’s caliber join our administration,” Hogan said in a statement. “For over two-and-a-half decades, Bill has risen through the ranks of the Maryland State Police, and I am confident that he will lead the men and women of this respected agency with the utmost integrity and will work tirelessly to protect and serve all the citizens of Maryland.”

Pallozzi was in charge of the agency’s Executive Protection Division during the tenure of then-Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr.. Hogan served as Ehrlich’s appointment secretary.

Pallozzi retired from the state police on Jan. 1. His appointment to the position was delayed by a legal requirement that prohibited his return to state employment for 45 days.

Pallozzi is no stranger to politics.

Last year he responded to complaints related to agency’s Executive Protection Division and 10 troopers who officially expressed concerns about their duties related to driving then-Attorney General Douglas Gansler.

The investigation, which came to be known as Trooper-gate in Annapolis, centered around concerns that Gansler frequently ordered troopers assigned to drive him to drive aggressively, speed and use lights and sirens and use the shoulder to pass traffic.

The Washington Post reported that Gansler would sometimes become impatient and work the switches himself. On at least one occasion Gansler insisted on driving and is said to have ordered a trooper into the passenger seat.

Gansler, who ran unsuccessfully for governor in the Democratic primary, denied the allegations and said they were politically motivated.

Pallozzi joined the agency in 1989 as a patrol trooper. If confirmed by the Senate, he will have held every rank within the law enforcement agency.

During his career, Pallozzi served as commander of the Executive Protection Division; chief of staff in the Office of the Superintendent; chief of the Criminal Investigation Bureau; and chief of the Support Services Bureau, according to the statement.

Pallozzi received a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice in 1988 from North Georgia College, The Military College of the University of Georgia. He served 15 years in the Army, including in the Military Police Corps, the Special Forces Group and the Special Operations Command Readiness Group.