Melissa Hyatt

Melissa Hyatt, former chief of the Baltimore County Police Department, was recently named the U.S. Marshals Service’s first Senior Advisor for State and Local Law Enforcement Partnerships, focused on increasing and strengthening the vital relationships between the U.S. Marshals and their local, state, and tribal law enforcement partners. Hyatt, a 20-plus year veteran of the Baltimore City Police Department, was unanimously confirmed by the Baltimore County Council as the Baltimore County Police Department’s first female police chief in June 2019 and served in this role until December 2022. She previously served as the vice president for security for Johns Hopkins University and Johns Hopkins Medicine. Hyatt graduated from the University of Delaware in 1997 and was one of the inaugural recruits to the Maryland Police Corps, a federal effort to enlist college students to law enforcement. She moved up the Baltimore City Police Department ranks, serving on the bicycle unit squad, mobile enforcement team and SWAT. She became the first female sergeant on a BPD tactical team, coordinating operations at hostage and barricade scenes. “It is my sincere hope that l can use the lessons I learned as chief of police to help the Marshals enhance their collaborative efforts across local and state law enforcement to continue to make all of our communities safer,” Hyatt said.