The secretary of the Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services appointed three interim leaders Friday to head the agency’s probation and parole division following the on-duty killing of an agent.

The employees’ union called earlier in the week for Democratic Gov. Wes Moore to fire the secretary herself, Carolyn Scruggs, as well as Parole and Probation Director Martha L. Danner and Deputy Executive Director Walter E. Nolley.

Instead, Scruggs announced Friday an interim director and two interim deputies, while a department statement said “the safety and well-being of department staff are paramount concerns” for her.

The changes came after the on-duty homicide a week ago of parole and probation agent Davis Martinez, 33, in Montgomery County. His body was found May 31 in the Chevy Chase apartment of Emanuel E. Sewell, a registered sex offender. Sewell is charged with second-degree murder in Martinez’s death.

Martinez is the first state parole and probation agent alleged to have been killed by a client while on duty.

In its statement, the agency said Friday that effective immediately, Bobbie Jo Fockler will serve as interim director of the Division of Parole and Probation, which was Danner’s job. Christopher T. King was named interim deputy director of operations, which is listed in state online records as Nolley’s position, while Shina Castain-Thompson is now interim director of administration.

Patrick Moran, the president of the Maryland chapter of AFSCME, told The Baltimore Sun in a phone interview the changes were “a positive step in the right direction.”

But he continued to push for Moore to remove Scruggs, as well.

“I don’t think it resolves the cultural problems we have in the department and the overall direction of the department,” he said of the leadership changes. “I think that problem rests with the secretary, who is not going to make the right changes to change the culture of the department.”

Then-Gov. Larry Hogan, a Republican, appointed Scruggs acting secretary on Jan. 1, 2023. Moore retained her and she became the permanent secretary that March. The department said in its statement Friday that “addressing staffing levels and reviewing safety protocols are critical to fulfilling the department’s mission both to ensure public safety and promote restorative justice.”

Fockler, Castain-Thompson, and King were already working in the agency, according to the statement.

The department said it would search for the best candidates to permanently fill the three jobs and would provide further information as the search for new leadership progressed.

Union employees said they have called for years for updated safety measures and more accountability from the agency, as well as higher staffing levels. The agency has said it reduced its vacancy rate from 17% at the start of Moore’s term to 10.4% as of last week. Parole and probation agents have also asked the administration to expand a policy regarding responses to threats to employees’ safety.

The funeral of Martinez, who was an agent for six years, is scheduled for June 22 in Silver Spring. The governor has issued an order to fly the Maryland flag at half-staff in honor of Martinez through the day of his burial.