Baltimore Mayor Fires Police Commissioner Davis

BALTIMORE, MD — Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh fired police commissioner Kevin Davis on Friday, saying the need to end violence in the streets was the reason for the shake-up in the department that has battled violence on the city's neighborhoods and corruption within its ranks. Deputy Commissioner Darryl D. DeSousa will replace Davis as the department’s 40th police commissioner.

Even as the department tried to stem a near-record number of homicides in 2017, it was rocked by the murder of Detective Sean Suiter while he was on patrol. No charges have been filed in his death, but police came under scrutiny as a former police sergeant was indicted by federal grand jury in November. Sgt. Wayne Earl Jenkins of Middle River was indicted on charges of destruction, alteration or falsification of records in federal investigations and deprivation of rights under color of law; he allegedly planted heroin in a car that crashed. The indictment prompted several questions, particularly since Suiter was fatally shot the day before he was to appear as a federal witness in the case against Jenkins.

And despite changes in police procedure, the number of homicides in Baltimore climbed each of the past three years. After 343 homicides were recorded in Baltimore in 2017, the mayor said her highest priority as 2018 begins is reducing violence in the city. According to the Associated Press, Baltimore set a record per-capita homicide rate in 2017. While the total number of homicides has been higher than 343 in years past, the recent population decline means the homicide rate in 2017 was a record for the city.

"As I have made clear, reducing violence and restoring the confidence of our citizens in their police officers is my highest priority. The fact is, we are not achieving the pace of progress that our residents have every right to expect in the weeks since we ended what was nearly a record year for homicides in the city of Baltimore," Pugh said in a news release Friday. "As such, I have concluded that a change in leadership is needed at police headquarters."

DeSousa has the ideas, approach and demonstrated track record that will enable him to lead an accelerated effort to get criminals off the streets, reduce violence and restore safety -- and peace of mind -- throughout Baltimore neighborhoods, the mayor said.

"As one who has come up through the ranks, Commissioner-Designate DeSousa is widely respected by his fellow officers. Moreover, I have come to know him well during this past year given his leadership role in implementing the Violence Reduction Initiative and through our numerous other interactions. I am grateful to Commissioner Davis for all that he has done to implement the initiatives underway to address violent crime at it root causes. I speak for the entire community in expressing our admiration and gratitude for his service to Baltimore and for his leadership of the women and men who put their lives on the line to serve and protect our citizens," Pugh said.

Davis led the Baltimore Police Department since 2015; before that he was the Anne Arundel County Police chief. A lifelong Marylander, Commissioner Davis retired as the Assistant Chief of Police for the Prince George’s County, before coming to Anne Arundel and then Baltimore.

DeSousa, 53, a native of New York City, moved to Baltimore in 1983 and joined the Baltimore Police Department in 1988. He was appointed detective sergeant in the Northeast District in 2001, and moved to the Cyber-Crimes Unit, Organized Crime Division in 2003.

"I am deeply honored by the mayor’s confidence in me at this critical time in the life of our city. Her relentless efforts to reduce crime and insist on new ways of collaborating across districts as well as with city agencies to target violence and its causes are invigorating certainly for me, but also for our entire force," DeSousa said in a statement to WBAL TV. "Baltimore has long been my home and I’ve spent my career on its streets and in its neighborhoods to address problems and bring about solutions that are meaningful for the people we serve. I am committed to this important work more than ever and look forward to validating the trust of Mayor Pugh, my fellow officers and most importantly, the citizens of Baltimore each and every day."

Photo of Kevin Davis courtesy of Baltimore Police Department