Norristown Swears In Michael Trail As New Police Chief, The 5th Since 2022

NORRISTOWN, PA — Michael Trail was sworn in as the new Norristown chief of police on Thursday night, officially taking over the force after his hiring was announced in the late summer.

Trail was sworn in by Magisterial District Judge Edward Levine during the municipal council meeting.

“We are going to work our tails off in service to this community, and bring to everyone the quality of service that they have come to expect of law enforcement and Norristown," Trail said in a statement.

In addition to Judge Levine and municipal council, Trail was joined by members of his family and numerous officers who came to support him as he took his oath.

Trail becomes the fifth chief of police in Norristown over the last four years.

Norristown police Lieutenant James Angelucci has served as interim chief for the past several months. Last fall, former chief Jacqueline Bailey-Davis was controversially put on administrative leave for reasons that were never disclosed. She ultimately resigned months later, less than a year after she was first installed.

Bailey-Davis's departure followed nearly a year of Captain Michael Bishop holding the role as active chief, and another one year tenure of former Chief Derrick Wood, who retired to care for his mother in 2022.

Trail was selected following a months-long search and extensive interview process that included public meet and greets and a series of conversations with various levels of municipal leadership.

SWAT commander and Norristown police Captain Richard Clowser and Atlantic City police captain Mark Benjamin were finalists alongside Trail. Both Closer and Benjamin are natives of Norristown.

Trail started his career as a cop in Morrisville in Bucks County before working with the Baltimore Police Department. He's been in Lansdale since 2002, starting as a patrol office before being named chief in 2018.

Norristown officials cited Trail's experience and his work with partner agencies around Montgomery County in their decision, specifically point to his work leading the Montgomery County Major Incident Response Team.