Lt. Colonel Melvin T. Russell is Chief of the Community Partnership Division, Baltimore Police Department. Russell joined The Baltimore Police Department (BPD) in 1979 as a police cadet and graduated from the BPD academy in 1981 as the first and only African American class valedictorian.

Russell worked both as a uniform patrol and then an undercover officer for 20 years before re-emerging as an Eastern District Lieutenant in 2007. In this position, Russell turned the worse midnight patrol shift in the city to the best in 3 months and was promoted to Major of the Eastern District 11 months later. It was during this time as Major that Russell created the non-profit “Transformation Team” (TTT), a grassroots organization of community shareholders that are committed to working together to make a better Baltimore.

In January 2013, Russell was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel and created the Community Partnership Division.