Meet Jay

Jay Landsman, Jr. is a devoted husband, father, and grandfather. As part of a law enforcement family spanning four generations and nearly 90 years of service, he carries forward a proud tradition of commitment, accountability, and public service. He has lived most of his life in Carroll County, where he and his wife raised their children and continue to enjoy life as proud grandparents. Having spent decades in the county he now seeks to serve, Jay understands what matters most to local families. Safe communities, safe schools, strong values, and leaders who are present and engaged. His deep roots in the community, both personal and professional, give him a clear understanding of how Carroll County has grown and changed over time. It’s this firsthand experience, as a parent, neighbor, and public servant, that grounds his approach to leadership and shapes his vision for a safer, stronger future.

Landsman began his law enforcement journey in 1994 as a young cadet. Throughout his career, he worked in nearly every part of the Baltimore County Police Department, facing challenges and taking on demanding assignments as an officer, detective, supervisor and commander.

Upon graduating from the police academy in 1996, he served as a patrol officer at the Cockeysville Precinct, a precinct that boarders Carroll County, Harford County, and Pennsylvania. The precinct includes heavily populated suburban neighborhoods from Hunt Valley south to Cockeysville, Timonium, and Lutherville, while the northern part of the precinct remains primarily rural. During his time as a patrol officer at the Cockeysville Precinct, Landsman served as a field training officer, acting squad supervisor, and worked hard to develop his investigative skills, which eventually led to an assignment on the Cockeysville Precinct Investigative Services Team.   

As Landsman promoted up the ranks, he continued to serve in investigative and supervisory roles in the Burglary Unit, and Homicide/Missing Persons Unit, before serving as a squad supervisor at the Towson Precinct.

The highlight of his professional career was being promoted to the rank of sergeant together with his father in 2004. In January 2006, Landsman had the opportunity to work alongside his father at the newly formed Pikesville Precinct. Landsman served as the Community Action Team supervisor, a small squad of three officers who addressed crime trends throughout the precinct and supported the patrol officers and investigators assigned to the precinct. He was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant and remained at the Pikesville Precinct, where he commanded one of the three patrol shifts of twenty personnel for the next three and a half years. Landsman served his last two years at the Pikesville Precinct as the assistant precinct commander. He filled the role of acting precinct commander when the captain was away and commanded the precinct traffic team, community outreach team, school resource officers and domestic violence coordinator as well as the administrative functions of the precinct. 

He was promoted to the rank of Captain in December 2011 and assigned to command the Vice/Narcotics Section, which was responsible for investigating community drug complaints, major narcotic related investigations, and vice related offenses such as prostitution, illegal gambling, and human trafficking. 

In April 2014, Landsman was assigned to command the Towson Precinct. Next to the time he spent at the Pikesville Precinct, his time serving as the commander of the Towson Precinct was the most fulfilling time of his career. He worked alongside his officers on the street, met with community members, worked through crime trends and difficult periods with his law enforcement and community partners. In August 2017, Landsman received the additional responsibility of serving as the acting commander of the Eastern Patrol Division, which included the Towson, Parkville, Whitemarsh, Essex, and Northpoint precincts. 

In September 2017, Landsman was promoted to the rank of Major and assigned to the Administrative and Technical Services Bureau. In this role, he was responsible for overseeing the hiring, equipping, and training of personnel, as well as coordinating maintenance and construction projects at facilities throughout the department. He also served as the coordinator for all administrative trial boards. 

In December 2018, Landsman was assigned to the Support Operation Division where he commanded specialized units including the Tactical Unit, Aviation Unit, K-9 Unit, Marine Unit, Hazardous Devices Team, Crash Investigations Team, Traffic Management Team, DUI Task Force, Safe Schools, and Community Resources Section. Not long after transferring into this new assignment, he was assigned the added responsibility of executive officer to the Colonel of the Operations Bureau. In this role, he filled in as acting colonel when needed and managed the private security personnel responsible for transporting prisoners to and from the Baltimore County Detention Center. 

During the final 15 months of his tenure with the Baltimore County Police Department, Landsman served as Acting Colonel and subsequently Colonel of the Operations Bureau—the department’s largest bureau. The operations bureau includes all ten police precincts as well as the Support Operations Division.   

After retiring from the Baltimore County Police Department, Landsman transitioned to a civilian role with the Westminster Police Department in December 2021, where he worked on a range of administrative initiatives. Collaborating with city government partners, he helped secure grant funding for downtown revitalization projects, including upgraded street lighting, expanded security camera coverage, and community outreach projects. However, he quickly realized that he was not ready to move on from sworn police service

In September 2022, Landsman returned to sworn law enforcement as Patrol Commander at Towson University, overseeing patrol operations for a campus of 19,000 students. His responsibilities included managing and conducting criminal investigations, coordinating private security coverage, and staffing major campus events. In Fall 2024, he was promoted to Deputy Chief of Police, broadening his scope to include personnel hiring and strategic campus safety partnerships. 

Landsman is a graduate of the FBI National Academy Session 235,  a prestigious 10-week law enforcement leadership training program held on the Marine Corps base in Quantico, Virginia, designed to develop law enforcement leaders through advanced academic instruction, physical training, and global networking. He holds a B.A. in Administrative Leadership from the University of Oklahoma and a M.S. in Integrated Homeland Security Management from Towson University.   

Throughout his career Landsman received numerous awards and letters of appreciation including the Cockeysville Precinct Officer of the Month, numerous unit citations, multiple chief's awards, and the Timonium Optimist Club Officer of the Year Award. He earned a reputation for being responsive and accessible to the community and officers he served, qualities that will define his leadership as your next Carroll County Sheriff.