PGPD Assistant Chief Nichols honored for leadership, community service

The honor for Assistant Chief George A. Nichols Jr. puts a public face on a bigger question in Prince George’s County: whether the police department’s leadership can turn community policing, outreach and accountability into measurable gains in safety and trust.

Nichols, a U.S. Marine Corps veteran, oversees daily operations for the Prince George’s County Police Department and has spent more than 28 years with the agency. He was sworn in as assistant chief in 2025 under the Braveboy administration, alongside Chief George Nader, as PGPD continued to present itself as Maryland’s fourth-largest law-enforcement agency.

The department says more than 1,500 police officers and 300 civilians serve nearly 900,000 residents and business owners across the county. Another PGPD page puts the agency’s authorized strength at 1,786 officers and says it serves a population of more than 968,000 people. However the numbers are counted, Nichols sits near the center of a department with enormous reach, from Hyattsville and Landover to Largo and the surrounding communities.

His recognition also reflects a long-standing tie to civic service outside the badge. Nichols is a 2017 initiate of the Hyattsville/Landover (MD) Alumni Chapter of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc. and has served as vice polemarch. The Kappa Foundation of Prince George’s County, the philanthropic arm of that chapter, was incorporated in June 2018 and received 501(c)(3) status in October 2019. Its mission centers on youth leadership development, scholarships, awards and other community outreach projects.

That mission overlaps with work PGPD says is central to its own strategy. The department’s Community First Division is responsible for community programs, community service, outreach and youth-oriented efforts, including the Citizen Police Academy, a Youth Advisory Council with about 35 youth ambassadors, a Co-Responder Pilot Program that pairs officers with clinicians, and a $50,000 Domestic Violence Grant supporting nonprofit partnerships.

Under Nader, who has led PGPD since June 18, 2025, the department has leaned on those programs to show that public safety in Prince George’s County is not only about arrests and response times. Nichols’ honor will now draw added attention to which initiatives he has helped steer, and whether residents and local leaders can point to real improvements beyond a ceremonial plaque.