August 06, 2010|By Justin Fenton, The Baltimore Sun
Police Commissioner Frederick H. Bealefeld III isn't endorsing anyone in the city state's attorney's race.
Citizen Fred Bealefeld, however, has a clear preference.
Lawn signs for defense attorney Gregg Bernstein, who is challenging Patricia C. Jessamy in the Democratic primary, sprouted up on the lawn of Bealefeld's Southwest Baltimore home this week. Bealefeld declined an interview, but through a department spokesman issued a carefully worded statement saying police "are doing everything we can to reduce crime in our city."
"The State's Attorney's job is to prosecute the bad guys and make sure they go to jail. We are working hard to do our job and we need a true partner in the state's attorney's office," the statement said.
That Bealefeld favors an alternative to 15-year incumbent Jessamy hardly comes as a surprise. Relations between their agencies have been lukewarm at best for years, and Bealefeld has said police are too often blamed by prosecutors for failures in the courtroom.
But Bealefeld is taking what is believed to be an unprecedented step in making known his choice of Jessamy's chief opponent in the Democratic primary, something generally frowned upon in law enforcement. The stakes could be high, observers said, testing the political capital that Bealefeld has built up in three years as commissioner and risking further strains with the office should Jessamy prevail.
While prosecutors often work in conjunction with the Police Department, the state's attorney's office also has the final say on which cases go to court, as well as whether to pursue charges against police officers accused of misconduct. Jessamy said in an appearance last week that "she is not, and will never be, a rubber stamp for the police."
"When police do wrong, Pat Jessamy responds," Jessamy said at an event in Northwest Baltimore.
Police Department spokesman Anthony Guglielmi stressed that Bealefeld won't be doing any campaign appearances or using department resources or city time to promote Bernstein, and argued that his efforts were not an "endorsement" in the traditional sense.
"He's expressing his right as an individual and citizen, and not acting in any official capacity," Guglielmi said. "No commercials, nothing like that."
Jessamy's campaign, which did not return messages Thursday, issued a statement Friday morning, saying Bealefeld's actions were "blatantly partisan," "unprecedented" and "inappropriate." Her campaign staff said they "have received reports of Commissioner Bealefeld, in uniform, actively attempting to recruit support for the Bernstein campaign," but did not give specifics.
"Given the challenges facing Baltimore city, it is Mrs. Jessamy's hope that Commissioner Bealefeld will refocus his efforts on apprehending the perpetrators of crimes and assembling evidence to be presented in court and that he will leave the politics to others," the campaign said in the statement.
Christopher Dreisbach, a professor at the Johns Hopkins University School of Education's Division of Public Safety Leadership whose focus includes law enforcement ethics, said Bealefeld as a citizen has a clear right to advocate for a candidate. He said he believes it's also Bealefeld's professional duty to advocate for the best interests of police.
"If they weren't adversarial, there might be a different issue at stake. … But I don't think he's giving anything away at this point," said Dreisbach. "Is he shooting himself in the foot? Possibly, but he has the right to do so, and [the consequences] will be determined down the road."
Few big city chiefs seem to have waded into such territory. Los Angeles Chief William J. Bratton, well-respected in police circles, endorsed candidates in several races in 2009, including the position of legal counsel for the Police Department. Bratton took heat for the endorsements; the Los Angeles Times called them "unbecoming" and noted that the Christopher Commission, which reviewed the LAPD after the Rodney King beating, had written that it was "unseemly for the chief to use that position to influence the political process." Bratton's candidates lost.
City Councilman and former LAPD chief Bernard Parks said in an interview that chiefs at all times represent their department, regardless what clothes they are wearing.
"The chief of police doesn't lose their first amendment rights, but there's no first amendment right to be chief of police," Parks said.
Parks said stepping into politics can alienate a chief from those who regulate the department and make decisions over its budget. Support a winning candidate, and the public may think that official is in the chief's debt. Back the loser, and risk years of being on the outs with the winner.
As for a chief such as Bealefeld whose feelings are largely well-known, Parks said, "You can do your job quite well without aligning yourself with a particular candidate."
