The commander of the Baltimore Police Department's Southeastern District, who was suspended last month as internal investigators examined his office computer, has been demoted and will return to patrol, police said.
Maj. Roger Bergeron, an 18-year veteran who oversaw the district for nearly three years, accepted a demotion to the rank of lieutenant and will return to a yet-to-be-determined patrol district effective Sunday, according to Anthony Guglielmi, the department's chief spokesman.
Guglielmi could not immediately confirm the reason for Bergeron's suspension and demotion, but said Police Commissioner Frederick H. Bealefeld III's main concern was a crime spike in Southeast Baltimore.
Bergeron and his deputy major, William Davis, had been under scrutiny by department leadership in recent months as their district, which includes Little Italy, Canton and Fells Point, as well as high-crime neighborhoods such as McElderry Park, saw a sizable increase in homicides and shootings, with 21 killings compared with eight at this time last year.
Bergeron was suspended Sept. 30 with pay and stripped of his badge and gun. Sources told The Baltimore Sun that commanders were concerned that Bergeron, who recently started a side business as a life coach, did not spend enough time on the streets.
"What the city wants from all of us is leadership," Bealefeld said on a radio appearance last week. "I expect them to be out in the field and leading their folks. That's what all of you expect of me, and that's what I expect of them."
But Bergeron also gave out his cell phone number to residents and appeared frequently at community meetings and events, including one recent block party where his band performed. He could not be reached for comment Wednesday.
Guglielmi said Bealefeld had not picked a replacement commander for the Southeastern District.
