A panel of state senators heaped praise on acting Maryland State Police Superintendent Michael A. Jackson Monday as they unanimously approved him to lead the law enforcement agency.

The chummy hearing did not cover Jackson’s tenure as Prince George’s County sheriff in the early 2000s, which included a string of incidents where deputies made the news for bungled raids.

Jackson has friends on both sides of the aisle after serving in the General Assembly for ten years, first as a delegate and then as a senator representing Prince George’s County as a Democrat. His close relationships with fellow lawmakers were the centerpiece of his confirmation hearing Monday.

“We’re all rooting for you and we’re all here for you,” said Sen. C. Anthony Muse, the vice-chair of the Executive Nominations Committee and a Prince George’s County Democrat.

Democratic Gov. Wes Moore appointed Jackson to lead the Maryland State Police in October, but he needed a confirmation vote from the Senate committee to clinch the job permanently.

“There’s no better person than you to lead this organization,” Senate President Bill Ferguson, a Baltimore Democrat, said at the hearing.

Jackson told the committee that his priorities as superintendent of the state police would include strengthening training, building up partnerships with federal and local partners and expanding recruitment “to reflect the diversity of our state.”

The Department of State Police has faced persistent questions about its treatment of minority employees, and a proposed class-action lawsuit over its treatment of Black troopers is still pending in court.

“If confirmed, I pledge to uphold the highest standards of this office and to work tirelessly for the citizens of Maryland,” Jackson said.

Jackson’s nomination now heads to the full Senate for a vote.

After his confirmation hearing, Jackson declined to respond to comments from former Berwyn Heights Mayor Cheye Calvo, whose two family dogs were shot and killed by Prince George’s County sheriff’s deputies during a botched drug raid in 2008.

Calvo, who was cleared of wrongdoing and no longer lives in Maryland, told the Banner that Jackson’s record as sheriff “is really a blighted one for Prince George’s County.”

“If he stands by his record in Prince George’s County, it seems like a profound step backwards,” Calvo said.

Others who worked with Jackson as sheriff said he was a collaborative and responsive leader who listened to community members.

Jackson said Monday that he stands by his record as Prince George’s County sheriff and would still hold the position if he hadn’t stepped down to run for county executive in 2010, a race he lost as he faced questions about the Calvo raid.

“That was 18 years ago,” he said Monday evening.