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Chief Manger responds to comments about his demeanor and personality ~\n\n"I tell this to the community all the time, that when we hire cops, we're looking for people that are good communicators. And have a spirit for public service. I will tell you that any empathy or compassion that I have, I got from my parents. And I credit my mom for a lot of the way I am and the way I approach situations, and the way I approach people."\n\nChief Manger, Chief of Police, Montgomery County MD, and host Andy Ockershausen in studio interview\n\nAndy Ockershausen: This is Our Town. This is Andy Ockershausen. And as I have the great, great honor to talk to a gentleman that I've admired from afar for many, many years. Chief J. Thomas Manger of Montgomery County. And the first question, Chief, is what does the J stand for?\nFamily Legacy\nChief Manger: It stands for John. I'm actually named after my dad, and I'm very proud of that.\nAndy Ockershausen: You're a junior?\nChief Manger: Actually I'm the third. So, named after my father and grandfather, and I have even saddled my son with the same name.\nAndy Ockershausen: But you were born ... You went to the University of Maryland, were you born in Maryland?\nGrowing Up in Maryland - Baltimore and Silver Spring\nChief Manger: I was born in Baltimore.\nAndy Ockershausen: Oh, in the city?\nChief Manger: Yes, I was. And grew up in Baltimore City until I was 14. And my dad got a job with the federal government, and then that landed us in Silver Spring.\nAndy Ockershausen: And then how did you ... Well, I don't wanna ask ... I'll get to that, but you eventually came back to Maryland, but you went across the river to Fairfax.\nChief Manger: I did.\nAndy Ockershausen: Opportunity?\nFrom Maryland to Virginia - A Career Opportunity\nChief Manger: It was. I ... When I graduated from the University of Maryland, I applied to every police department in the Baltimore and the Washington, DC region. And when ... I was actually going through the process for a number of different police departments. And Fairfax County just happened to hire me first. They called me and offered me a job, and I said okay. I actually had never been to Fairfax before I went there to take the test. But made a 27 year detour to northern Virginia.\nAndy Ockershausen: That's incredible, but I guess your Virginia experience was ... Did you a lot more good in Maryland than you realized at the time. But-\nChief Manger: Well, I did okay.\nAndy Ockershausen: You were a cop then.\nChief Manger: I was.\nAndy Ockershausen: On the beat.\nA Cop on the Beat in Fairfax, VA\nChief Manger: I was. And spent a lot of time getting to know the folks in the community over in different areas in Fairfax. I worked almost every district station in the county. And then was able to come up through the ranks and in 1998 was appointed the police chief there.\nAndy Ockershausen: That's incredible. What a career. And that's in northern Virginia of course. And you then knew all the other jurisdictions and so forth, but what made you decide to go to Montgomery County?\nBack to Maryland - A New Opportunity in Montgomery County, MD\nChief Manger: Yeah, I think it was again, it was just an opportunity. I mean, I was eligible to retire from Fairfax after I had 29 years service credit. And so, I loved the DC area, and I was working with Chuck Ramsey and a lot of folks that people would certainly recognize their names. And so, I had no desire to leave this area. It's where my family was, my parents were here. And-\nAndy Ockershausen: It's your home!\nChief Manger: It was. And is. And so, I thought, gee I can go to another job that I would enjoy and only have to move 20 minutes away from where I was living. So, it worked out very nicely.\nAndy Ockershausen: Well,