New Baltimore Police Command Structure Marks Many Firsts

BALTIMORE, MD — The Baltimore Police Department will have its first African-American female lieutenant colonel, Commissioner Designate Darryl De Sousa said on Friday. He made the announcement during a news conference about the new command structure for the department, which also includes other firsts such as an anti-corruption unit and an initiative for tracking guns once they are taken off the streets.

"I've been with the Baltimore City Police Department for 30 years. And in 30 years and even years before that, there has never been an African-American female above the rank of major," De Sousa said. "This is really historical for the city of Baltimore, the Baltimore City Police Department, and I'm proud to say it's also happening during Black History Month."

Lt. Col. LaTonya Lewis was promoted to her new rank this week after 21 years with the police department. She will be in charge of Homeland Security.

"My goal will be to support patrol and make sure they have up-to-date technology..." Lewis said. "I'll be responsible for communication, the watch center, RMS [records management system] as well as information technology." She thanked God for putting her in the position.

Several other organizational changes that De Sousa announced were driven by issues brought to light by criminal cases involving members of the department's now-defunct gun trace task force (GTTF). The task force was disbanded in 2017 after multiple officers were indicted.

Several officers have pleaded guilty to a racketeering conspiracy that involved using their positions as police to rob people and committing overtime fraud. A jury on Monday will deliberate the fate of two officers who pleaded not guilty.

"I cannot minimize the fact there there are corrupt cops. GTTF is awful," De Sousa said. "It sickens me to my stomach to see what occurred."

An Inspectional Services and Integrity Division that also tracks guns will help resolve issues revealed by the GTTF proceedings, De Sousa said, and so will the newly created position of inspector general.

RELATED: 7 Baltimore Police Officers Indicted In Racketeering Scheme

An anti-corruption unit will address the names of any officers mentioned during the trials who have not been charged, De Sousa said. The anti-corruption efforts will be headed up by Lt. Col. Richard Worley, who will serve in the Office of Professional Responsibility.

“I understand that corruption is real and it exists, but I have to also say that the vast majority of Baltimore City police officers do their jobs courageously, honestly and safely each and every day," De Sousa said.

He said he was putting "layers and layers and layers in" to help create accountability in the department.

De Sousa has also created an Inspectional Services and Integrity Division, which will oversee programs including random integrity tests and something new he is introducing, random polygraph testing for members in specialized units.

An initiative called the GMAP program will track arrests related to guns in the city.

"One of the things that occurred with GTTF is the handgun violations and strong mechanisms that were not not in place to track gun arrests from beginning to adjudication, so this unit is responsible for tracking every single gun arrest in the city to see where it stands," De Sousa said.

One officer who has pleaded guilty in the racketeering scheme admitted he sold a seized gun to a known drug dealer.

A preliminary check of the 128 guns seized thus far in 2018 showed a discrepancy in two cases, which De Sousa said would be "immediately addressed."

Issues will be dealt with "swiftly and with training of the officers," De Sousa said.

Another issue that came to light from the GTTF cases was abusing overtime. Prosecutors allege that while one officer was being paid for overtime, he was on vacation, and in another case, the policeman was working on his house.

A new fiscal manager will track overtime abuse.

"There's going to be checks and balances in place to look at officers' overtime on the front end versus the back end," De Sousa said.

"My priority is the corruption. My priority is the safety of the city," he said. And, he added: "I'm not quite done at all..."

More Changes: Helping Youth, New Command Breakdown, Strategic Response To Violence

• The Youth and Community Division will now have a youth services section. "We all know that there are issues [with youth violence in] downtown Baltimore, Fed Hill, Little Italy, Fells Point...we realize that," De Sousa said, noting robberies as a particular concern. "This unit is going to address those...the whole goal of this unit is to steer those kids in the right direction...with hopes that eventually one day they could be standing in our shoes."
• There will be two area commanders, east and west, under the neighborhood patrol division.
• A new strategic response unit will be deployed to specific areas where the violence is occurring in the city, under the Special Operations Division. It will be a "mobile district," a tenth district in addition to the nine districts with physical locations, De Sousa said. The idea is "to move that district...to different parts of the city to address the violence." Officers in this division will be equipped with support from the Mobile Metro Team, which reportedly conducts traffic enforcement; the Regional Auto Theft Task Force; and recent graduates from the police academy. De Sousa said the officers will have a visible presence on foot.
• There will also be an inspector general, under which will be a Constitution and Impartial Policing Unit that focuses on training and retraining officers on the U.S. Constitution. Particular interests will be the fourth and fifth amendments, Inspector General Edward Jackson said. All ranks will be trained "to fully understand their duties and responsibilities to enforce the law in a constitutional way," said Jackson, who noted he was coming out of academia, after teaching on the subject at Baltimore City Community College. Also under the inspector general will be a unit to oversee compliance with the city's consent decree.

SEE ALSO: Baltimore Commits To Police Reform In Consent Decree Outlined By Feds

The reorganization of the Baltimore Police Department comes weeks after De Sousa was appointed.

Mayor Catherine Pugh named De Sousa the acting police commissioner in January after she fired his predecessor Kevin Davis. At the time, she said in a statement: "...we are not achieving the pace of progress that our residents have every right to expect" after 343 homicides in 2017. Davis had been in the position since 2015.

RELATED: Baltimore Mayor Fires Police Commissioner Davis

DeSousa joined the Baltimore Police Department approximately 30 years ago. He moved up the ranks and was appointed Deputy Police Commissioner in August 2015 after serving as chief of patrol, according to the Baltimore Police Department.

As the next step in the process for hiring a new police commissioner, the Baltimore City Executive Appointments Committee will meet at 5 p.m. on Feb. 21 to discuss the appointment of De Sousa. The hearing is open to the public. It will be followed by a public hearing at a date to be announced when citizens may comment.

BPD Org Chart by Elizabeth Janney on Scribd

Still from Baltimore Police press conference via Periscope. Organizational chart from Baltimore Police Department.