Altomare, Graves Tapped as County's Next Police, Fire Chiefs

Two veterans of the Anne Arundel County Police and Fire Departments have been tapped by County Executive-elect Steve Schuh to head the agencies, he announced Thursday.

Allan Graves and Tim Altomare are his appointees to head the county fire and police departments, respectively. Schuh also said he will reappoint current Detention Department Superintendent Terry Kokolis to oversee county detention facilities.

“Tim, Allan, and Terry understand we work best when we all work together,” said Schuh. “With these three seasoned, experienced professionals overseeing the Fire, Police and Detention Departments, we will see a new era of partnership in public safety in the Schuh Administration.”

The appointments replace outgoing Police Chief Kevin Davis and County Fire Chief Michael E. Cox Jr., both of whom were told by Schuh that they would not be retained when he takes office Dec. 1.

Davis was hired less than two years ago to reform a department whose previous two chiefs departed with questions surrounding their conduct. His resignation is effective Dec. 1.

Hours after Davis learned he was not being asked to stay by the new county executive, Anne Arundel County Fire Chief Michael E. Cox Jr. was told he would also be replaced.

As Patch earlier reported, the pending change in leadership drew questions from some county residents. On the Anne Arundel Police Department’s Facebook page Nov. 11, residents thanked Davis for his service and asked for an explanation from Schuh.

More About New Chiefs

Altomare is a 20-year veteran of law enforcement in Anne Arundel County. He is currently commander of the Northern and Southern Districts for the department. In that role, Altomare initiated new mentoring programs to improve the effectiveness of the district leadership team. He also instituted an aggressive repeat offender program to remove recidivists and violent offenders from the district.

During his time in command of the Southern District, Altomare oversaw a 3 percent reduction in crime. During his time as commander of the Northern District, the area experienced double digit reductions, between 10 and 12 percent, in the number of street robberies.

Graves is a 37-year veteran of the Fire Department. He most recently served as Operations Division Chief, the largest division in the department. In that role, Graves was responsible for staffing, resource management, planning, incident command, and all operations occurring within the division.

Prior to that, Graves served as fire rescue operations bureau shift commander. He began his career as a volunteer firefighter at the Oxon Hill Fire Department in Prince George’s County. Graves is a graduate of University of Maryland-University College with a bachelor of science degree in fire science.

Terry Kokolis is a 20-year veteran of the Anne Arundel County Detention Department and has been superintendent since 2009. In 2013, he was awarded the Carl Robinson Award from the Middle Atlantic States Correctional Association. The association gives the award to a corrections professional who has demonstrated strong leadership and has made significant contributions to the field.

As superintendent, Kokolis oversees the county’s two detention facilities at Jennifer Road in Annapolis and Ordnance Road in Glen Burnie. Prior to his current position, Kokolis served as a facilities administrator for the department.

» Incoming Anne Arundel County Police Chief Tim Altomare, left, and incoming Fire Chief Allan Graves.