Baltimore mayor fires police commissioner as city's homicide rate spikes

AP via Business Insider ^ | 07/08/2015

[SeekAndFind]

BALTIMORE (AP) — Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake said Wednesday that she has fired Police Commissioner Anthony Batts, 2 1/2 months after the city broke out into riots following the death of a man who was injured in police custody.

Rawlings-Blake announced her decision in a three-paragraph news release that also noted she has named Deputy Police Commissioner Kevin Davis as interim commissioner.

The mayor scheduled a news conference with Davis for later Wednesday afternoon.

Rawlings did not give a reason, but the move comes amid a spike in the city's homicide rate.

Baltimore was rocked with civil unrest in late April after black resident Freddie Gray died one week after suffering a critical spinal injury in police custody. Six police officers have been criminally charged in Gray's death.

Since the rioting stopped, the city has seen a sharp increase in violence, with 155 homicides this year, a 48 percent increase over the same period last year.

The U.S. Justice Department is conducting a civil rights review of the department, and Batts has been criticized by the Baltimore police union.

[SeekAndFind]

POLICE COMMISSIONER ANTHONY BATTS

[donna]

That’s women for you.

[Dr. Ursus]

But I look smooth in my uniform!

[Dr. Ursus]

But I look smooth in my uniform!

[envisio]

“”She has named Deputy Police Commissioner Kevin Davis as interim commissioner””

Is he her 3rd cousin or 4th removed? Old college buddy maybe?

[Veggie Todd]

Yeah, it’s all his fault.

[Arm_Bears]

There’s just no pleasing some people.

[old curmudgeon]

Good!!!

Angry fired ex employees have nothing to lose and will usually tell all.

[bert]

Now she's done it....... being anti Amish is racist and it will be bad for all Amish if the guy does good

[bray]

Who in there right mind would want to live in Baltidesh?

Pray America is waking

[Lionheartusa1]

,,,,, I can’t wait till Batts starts spilling his guts about the truth of what happened in Baltimore .

[outofsalt]

Is his name Rick?

"The firings will continue until morale improves!

[null and void]

Da beach set him up!

[Steven Scharf]

Some community is going to get a good battle tested police chief cheaply.

I wish my city needed a police chief. Luckily we have a good one that just filled in as interim city manager.

[smoothsailing]

Official Press Release

[RetiredTexasVet]

So the black guy couldn’t get the job done on a racist police force so they promoted the deputy police commissioner of the racist police force to get the job done? New guy is going to have to do a “little black face” (or at least confirm that he considers himself black) or the Just-Us mob is going to destroy him.

[null and void]

She ordered Batts to give the rioters room to destroy.

That set the tone, and now she blames and fires him.

[Myrddin]

The cops on the street got the message that they weren't supposed to inconvenience the black law breakers with apprehensions for bad behavior. No complaints against the police for brutish behavior against blacks, but lots of unhappy people in the community with the criminals left to do as they please. You either have the rule of law or you don't. Baltimore is unhappy either way.

[telstar12.5]

This city so RICHLY DESERVES this mayor.

[5th MEB]

Salt and pepper while you eat your own; oh, excuse me just pepper.