COLONEL SHERIDAN ANNOUNCES NEW CHIEF OF FIELD OPERATIONS

(Pikesville, MD) Maryland State Police Superintendent Colonel Terrence B. Sheridan announces the appointment and promotion of a new Chief of the Field Operations Bureau.

Major W.F. “Pete” Landon, 48, will be promoted to Lieutenant Colonel and appointed Chief of the Field Operations Bureau. The promotion is effective today.

Lt. Colonel Landon is a 25-year veteran of the Maryland State Police. He most recently served as the Assistant Bureau Chief of the Field Operations Bureau, which he began in 2004. Landon was in charge of the Special Operations Division, the Commercial Vehicle Enforcement Division and the Automotive Safety Enforcement Division.

As the Chief of the Field Operations Bureau, Lt. Colonel Landon will assume command of the largest of the three Maryland State Police bureaus. The Field Operations Bureau encompasses all uniformed patrol troopers stationed at all barracks, and specialized units such as the Aviation Command, Commercial Vehicle Enforcement Division, Automotive Safety Enforcement Division and the Special Operations Division. The other two bureaus are the Support Services Bureau and the Criminal Investigation Bureau.

Lt. Colonel Landon graduated from the Maryland State Police 89th Academy Class in July 1985. He immediately began his career as a patrol trooper at the Centreville Barracks where he consistently led the barrack in areas of traffic enforcement and criminal investigation. He was awarded Barrack Trooper of the Year in 1988. In 1989, as Trooper First Class, he was assigned to Easton Barracks.

Early in his career, Lt. Colonel Landon served in the Training Division Drug and Education Units at both the Annapolis and Salisbury Barracks, where he was responsible for the certification, initiation and coordination of all drug and criminal investigation training. He received numerous awards for exceptional job performance.

He continued to climb the ranks holding several command positions including Assistant Commander of the Training Division, Commander of the Commercial Vehicle Enforcement Division, Commander of the Easton Barracks, the largest geographical command in the Department of State Police, and Commander of the Northern Troop, which includes Bel Air Barrack, North East Barrack and Westminster Barrack. In 2004, he became Assistant Chief of the Field Operations Bureau and then promoted to Major in 2005.

Since it’s inception, Lt. Colonel Landon has been heavily involved with Special Olympics Maryland. From plunging into the icy cold waters of the Chesapeake Bay during the annual Maryland State Police Polar Bear Plunge as a Superplunger to personally running 100 miles, representing Maryland in the final leg of the Law Enforcement Torch Run, he has dedicated a large portion of his free time volunteering to raise money for the Special Olympic athletes of Maryland since he began his Maryland State Police career. As a Superplunger for the past four years, Lt. Colonel Landon has raised over $40,000 for Special Olympics Maryland.

Lt. Colonel Landon has a Bachelor of Science Degree from Towson University and an Associate of Arts Degree from Chesapeake College. He is a native of Maryland’s Eastern Shore where he resides with his wife and two sons.