Free Republic

Baltimore mayor fires police chief after sharp rise in violence By Associated Press BALTIMORE — Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake said Wednesday that she has fired Police Commissioner Anthony Batts, 2½ months after riots broke out in the city 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...

The Baltimore Police Union is demanding public records of radio transmissions and email notifications to prove the leadership in the Baltimore Police Department, specifically Police Chief Batts, told officers NOT to stop the riots and looting. Facing the probability the police union is going to succeed in their endeavor to put sunlight upon the truth the Mayor, Police Chief Batts and his leadership team are now having to admit they did tell the officers to ‘stand down’. You can listen to some of the audio transmission here. ...and questions have been raised about why Mayor Rawlings-Blake and Chief Batts would...