The County Council unanimously confirmed Tuesday the appointment of Nicholas Augustine, who grew up in Montgomery County, as an assistant chief of police.
Augustine has been assigned to the Investigative Services Bureau , according to a press release from the Montgomery County police department.
Augustine, a graduate of Damascus High School and the University of Maryland University College, joined the county police department in 2002 after serving as police officer with the Maryland-National Capital Park Police.
During his career, he has served as a patrol officer and held assignments with the Collision Reconstruction Unit, and Alcohol Initiative Section, the press release said. Promoted to lieutenant in February 2015, he was assigned as deputy commander for the Fourth District based in Wheaton, and then as the administrative lieutenant for the Management Services Bureau.
Augustine was promoted to the rank of captain in April 2018, and then served as director of the divisions of Policy & Planning, Personnel and Major Crimes before he was named commander of the Fourth District, according to the release.
Before the council’s vote, Council President Gabe Albornoz asked Augustine what he considered to be his greatest accomplishments and what he hoped to accomplish upon being appointed as an assistant chief.
“The issues of youth homelessness, significant underreporting of domestic violence, and other issues that have affected community members has helped me in the way I lead as an executive,” Augustine said. “My hope is to learn from other segments of our diverse county and use this knowledge to assist me in making decisions on allocation of resources, community engagement procedures, training and future goals of the Investigative Services Bureau.”
When asked what challenges the department may be facing and how he would handle them, Augustine spoke about the need to address shootings in the community.
“As of last week, there has been 104 non-contact shootings and 39 contact shootings in Montgomery County. So far this year, our officers have already seized over 1,000 firearms year- to-date, which is an increase of 22% from year-to-date last year,” Augustine said. “I want to share significant resources devoted to investigating these violent crimes and implement innovative community participation programs to assist in investigations.”
Augustine is a graduate of Northwestern University’s School of Police Staff & Command and a recent graduate of the FBI National Academy, according to the press release. He earned a master’s degree in criminal justice from Arizona State University and is currently completing his second master’s degree in public safety at the University of Virginia, according to the press release.
Augustine also volunteers as an emergency medical technician and is a commissioner on the Maryland Commission on LGBTQ Affairs, according to the release.