Anne Arundel County Executive Janet S. Owens made one of the most important appointments of her four months in office yesterday when she named a 26-year police veteran the county's new chief.

P. Thomas Shanahan, 45, who has been acting police chief since Owens took office, has worked for the county since he was a teen-ager and has demonstrated strong leadership skills, Owens said.

Shanahan, who started working at the department as a cadet at age 19, earned a master's degree in applied behavioral sciences from the Johns Hopkins University in 1996 and has been deputy chief, patrol captain and sergeant in the homicide unit.

Pub Date: 4/10/99