Baltimore mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake has fired the city’s police commissioner today saying there needs to be a change in leadership.
Mayor Rawlings-Blake, says that there has been a recent spike in homicides weeks after an unarmed black man (Freddie Gray) died of injuries in police custody making her come to this decision. The Police Commissioner that has been fired was Anthony Batts who served in the position since September 2012. Mayor Blake thanked Batts for his service and praised the job he had done but she also added that there has been growing criticism of his leadership had become a “distraction” that was preventing the city from moving ahead.
Replacing Batts will be Deputy Police Commissioner Kevin Davis, who has been with the department since January. He will serve as Interim Commissioner. Davis was previously chief of police Anne Arundel County, Maryland. He joined the Prince George’s department in 1992 and worked his way up the ranks.
Mayor Blake made a statement saying,
“We need a change. This was not an easy decision but it is one that is in the best interest of Baltimore. The people of Baltimore deserve better and we’re going to get better”.
The firing comes 2 1/2 months after the city broke out in riots after the death of Freddie Gray.
