Cops

Baltimore officials said Wednesday that they plan to bring together a panel of experts and hire an outside firm in their search for the city's next police commissioner, even as two potential candidates got an audition of sorts before the City Council. Spokesman Ryan O'Doherty said a panel of law enforcement and legal experts will work with Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake's deputy chief of public safety and operations, Yolanda Jiggetts, to find a replacement for Commissioner Frederick H. Bealefeld III. He announced his retirement last week, effective Aug. 1. An outside search firm is likely to be brought in, though specifics were still being worked out as officials seek to fill other key vacancies at City Hall.

Frederick H. Bealefeld IIImade Baltimore safer. He ascended to the top job in the city's police department at a time when Baltimore was reeling from violence that threatened a return to the dark days of 300-plus murders a year. He immediately brought stability, focus and a no-nonsense attitude that got results. Crime is down, but so are arrests, and - most crucial for any police commissioner - homicides are at a low the city has not seen in two generations. His sudden announcement that he will retire in August, five years after his elevation to commissioner, is without a doubt a blow to the city.

From The Aegis dated May 7, 1987: Accused cop killer Frank Green was transferred from the Harford County Detention Center 25 years ago this week to the state prison system. Green's lawyer said Green's life and health were at risk in the county jail because a county sheriff's deputy was one of the people wounded during the "incident" in September in which a Maryland Transportation Authority Police officer was shot and killed. Deputies staff the jail. Others called the "incident" involving Green more of a rampage.

The case before the Maryland Court of Appeals is straightforward. Detectives in Montgomery County got a warrant to intercept cell phone calls of a suspected drug dealer. They caught him in the act and made an arrest, finding marijuana in his suitcase. A jury convicted the man and he was sentenced to five years in prison. But he argued that the cops exceeded their authority. The telephone conversation the cops picked up was placed in Virginia, and was made to another man in another state.

When police and prosecutors gathered in a cramped media room on the ground floor of the Police Department's Fayette Street headquarters to finally announce an arrest in the killing of Phylicia Barnes, the victim's half-brother merely rode down an elevator to watch. Bryan Barnes, inspired by the detectives who worked relentlessly for 16 months on his sister's case, has joined the Baltimore Police Department as a paid trainee. The 24-year-old already has passed background checks, and is scheduled to start as a cadet in the academy this week.

Two years ago, the Sun's Arthur Hirsch profiled Baltimore County resident Mike Pierce and his obsessive drive to fight illegal signage . At the time, Pierce was responsible for a third of the county's complaints about nonpolitical signs. The Kingsville man is still on the case today. Pierce emailed me about today's article, “ Baltimore County cracks down on nuisance road signs .”  He said he was responsible for the complaints that led to fines against two of the businesses mentioned in the story - Cash for Cars and All-Star Automotive.

Police and baseball go together like, well, maybe not so much. But cops and criminals are part of this city's fabric, and sometimes get just as much attention, if not more, than the ballplayers themselves. Opening Day gives us a chance to look back at the times our police and our Orioles shared headline at Camden Yards. I'm sure I've missed many, and yes, I know, this list does not include the beloved Memorial Stadium. I welcome any and all additions and contributions: 1. Ripken's No. 8 picked off - Who can forget the four hooligans who in 2009 stole Cal Ripken Jr.'s No. 8 sculpture in front of the ballpark and then paraded it through the city on the back of a pickup truck.

The corruption scandal unfolding in Anne Arundel County in which the chief executive is accused of using his police protection detail to perform menial errands, steal campaign signs and run background checks on political opponents, hit a new lot Monday night. The Sun's Nicole Fuller reports that Deputy Police Chief Lt. Col. Emerson C. Davis testified to the county council: "Right now we are dysfunctional as a Police Department. Based on the circumstances that we find ourselves in today, it's awful suspect to say we're following our organizational values.

At first, a Baltimore police commander attributed Canton's O'Donnell Square being transformed into the Preakness Infield to unexpectedly large crowds on St. Patrick's Day. Residents complained the police didn't do their jobs. Monday night, the police department's chief spokesman, Anthony Guglielmi, blamed an overtime patrol that was added to help police the large contingent of bars smack dab in the middle of a residential neighborhood. "The officers that didn't take action were the overtime unit," Guglielmi said.

Those who are sworn to enforce the law have a special obligation to obey it. That should be the cardinal rule for any police department, and the prison sentence handed down this week for a Baltimore officer who took kickbacks from a Rosedale body shop should help make sure his colleagues on the force get the message. Officer David Reeping was sentenced to eight months in federal prison Tuesday after he confessed to participating in an extortion scheme in which he and other officers received thousands of dollars in payments for illegally referring accident victims to a towing company that was not authorized to do business with the city.