City Council confirms Davis as Baltimore’s new police chief
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Version 0 of 1. The Baltimore City Council voted overwhelmingly Monday night to confirm Kevin Davis as Baltimore’s new police chief. Davis, a former deputy to Commissioner Anthony W. Batts, was endorsed by a vote of 12 to 2 by council members. Several said they polled community association presidents in their neighborhoods before deciding to support Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake’s pick. “We need stability in the police department,” Council member Brandon Scott said. “We cannot have a temporary captain of the ship with all the violence in the city and the trials [in the Freddie Gray case] coming up.” Council member Eric T. Costello said he backs Davis “100 percent.” Costello said Davis, who spent much of his career in the Prince George’s County police department, is “the right guy for the job.” “He has humility,” Costello said. “He knows how to listen. And he actually follows through after he listens.” Council members Carl Stokes and Nick J. Mosby voted no. They have objected to a $150,000 severance package the mayor plans to include in Davis’s contract. About an hour after the vote, Rawlings-Blake (D) swore Davis in at a community meeting in Northwest Baltimore. “We have to fight violent crime in a new and different way,” Davis said. “It’s going to take our best efforts and building relationships with the community.” Rawlings-Blake named Davis interim commissioner after she fired Batts in July amid a surge of violence. The city had a record 45 homicides in July. Killings have dropped slightly since then, but the city remains on a pace to reach 300 homicides for the first time since 1999. While Davis has gained much support throughout Baltimore, he has vocal critics. After the council voted, protesters — many of them students — stood up and began to object. Council President Bernard C. “Jack” Young said those who were interrupting the meeting could face arrest, and the protesters began moving to the hallway, chanting, “Back up, back up, we want freedom, freedom! All these racist [expletive] cops, we don’t need ’em, need ’em.” “Kevin Davis does not at all have any of our interests at heart,” said Makayla Gilliam-Price, 17, a Baltimore City College High School senior. “I am extremely fed up, and this will not be the end.” Davis, 46, is also a former Anne Arundel County police chief. In documents prepared for the vote on his contract, administration officials praise Davis for training and equipping personnel to respond to civil unrest, working on a pilot program for body cameras and increasing gun seizures. After the City Council meeting, Lester Davis, a spokesman for Young, said the council president tried to strike a “balancing act” between respecting protesters’ rights and maintaining order. “He understands and believes it’s good for people to protest and speak out,” Lester Davis said. “He respects that. At the same time, the business of the city has to be conducted.” He noted that Young received testimony from across the city in favor of the commissioner. “He believes Commissioner Davis is going to hit the ground running,” Lester Davis said. “Time is going to be the surest proof of his tenure.” |