The suspended commander of the Baltimore Police Department's Southeastern District is being investigated for content on his office computer, police sources said.
Police said Maj. Roger Bergeron was stripped of his gun and badge and sent home Sept. 30 with pay, but no reason was disclosed. Multiple sources say agency leaders heard rumblings that Bergeron spent significant time in his office rather than on the street, and decided to inspect his work computer. It was unclear what investigators found, but one source said the majority of Web sites he had visited were social networking sites.
Bergeron and his deputy major, William Davis, had been under scrutiny by department leadership in recent months. Their district, which includes Little Italy, Canton and Fells Point, as well as high-crime neighborhoods such as McElderry Park, has seen a sizable increase in homicides this year, with 21 killings compared with eight at this time last year. It's the biggest uptick in the city.
Street robberies, assaults and car thefts are also up, according to the most recent statistics available.
According to the Facebook page for a company Bergeron recently started, Life Strength Solutions, he was in New York City the day before he was suspended, completing plans for a motivational speaking seminar.
Col. John Skinner, the chief of patrol, told residents at a community meeting this week that Bergeron would "not be back anytime soon," a spokesman confirmed.
Bergeron has not responded to requests for comment, but residents have expressed support for him. Bergeron, who speaks fluent Spanish, encourages residents to call him on his cell phone, and his band, made up of city police officers, including his brother Mark, performed recently at a neighborhood event on National Night Out.
"People feel very nervous that all of their concerns are going to be put on the wayside," said Melissa Techentin, head of the district's Police Community Relations Council. "They have a working relationship with this individual, and now they feel they aren't going to be heard."
