Baltimore City Mayor Catherine Pugh has chosen Fort Worth Police Chief Joel Fitzgerald to serve as Baltimore City Police Commissioner.

The Baltimore Sun reports about Fitzgerald:

Fitzgerald’s nomination continues a law enforcement career that began in 1992 in his hometown of Philadelphia, where he rose through the ranks of the police department, becoming a lieutenant in a narcotics unit. He left in 2009 to become chief of the Missouri City Police Department, a small force in a suburb of Houston. In 2013, he became the police chief in Allentown, Pa., before leaving in 2015 for Forth Worth.

Fitzgerald’s appointment is dependent on approval from the City Council. A second Sun article provides more details on the timeline and process for their confirmation:

Council members intend to travel to Texas next month to conduct interviews with Fort Worth community members before holding two hearings in January and a final vote on Jan. 28, according to the council president’s office.

The council asked Pugh to hold off on formally nominating Fitzgerald at its Monday meeting, a move that would have forced the council to vote on him by Dec. 6, the last meeting of 2018. Instead, Pugh agreed to nominate him at that final meeting, giving council members the time they wanted to investigate the 47-year-old Philadelphia native.

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