Baltimore Police Commissioner Anthony Batts fired

“The mayor has to either give her job up or let somebody else because this is a critical time that we need help in this city”, said Rev. Keith Bailey, Fulton Heights Community Association. Because of the volume of reader comments, we cannot review individual moderation decisions with readers.

Batts’ deputy, Kevin Davis, will serve as interim commissioner until the mayor appoints a permanent replacement.

In dismissing Batts, Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake said his approach was too divisive and his presence too damaging. Batts’ tenure was fraught with the conflicting reality of both these competing problems, but was also defined by the killing of Gray, which led to the indictment of six officers and worldwide attention to police brutality in Baltimore. Gray died April 19. Police response to the protests sparked by Mr. Gray’s death have prompted further criticisms.

Fast-forward to this week, when the Baltimore Fraternal Order of Police released its review of how the police managed the riots.

“The officers characterized the Baltimore Police Department’s leadership during the riots as unprepared, politically motivated and uncaring and confusing”, said Gene Ryan, president of the police union. “The riots were preventable”.

We cannot continue to have the level of violence we’ve seen in recent weeks in this city.

Baltimore’s next police commissioner will have a daunting to-do list: quell a surge in homicides, rebuild trust between officers and the public, win the confidence of a demoralized and alienated department, and keep the peace when the explosive Freddie Gray case comes to trial. That’s a 48 percent increase compared with the same time past year. And shootings have climbed 86 percent.

At a swearing-in ceremony in November of that year, Batts pledged to “continue our progress at reducing violent crime and holding accountable those that perpetrate violence in our good streets”.

The city is currently experiencing the worst crime spike since the 1970s.

She went on to say that “recent events have placed an intense focus on our police leadership, distracting many from what needs to be our main focus, the fight against crime”.

“It’s no secret there’s been great strain and stress since the uprising”, he said.

(AP Photo/Patrick Semansky). Interim Baltimore Police Commissioner Kevin Davis, left, speaks with students participating in a junior state’s attorney program, Thursday, July 9, 2015, in Baltimore. As an Investigative Producer for WBFF/Fox 45 he has one three successive Capital Emmys, two for best Investigative Series and one for Outstanding Historical/Cultural piece. “For the police union and officers, they’re alienated, and the concern is that the cops will be further alienated”, O’Donnell said. “He should have been fired”. We will make them as carefully and consistently as we can. “If they didn’t, Freddie would still be here”. It includes a provision for a severance payment equal to his annual salary if he is terminated without cause.

In response, Batts told The Baltimore Sun that he has “been honored to serve the citizens and residents of Baltimore”.