Police Commissioner

Baltimore Police Commissioner Thomas C. Frazier wants a photo mural of a former Police Department band removed from the lobby of the city's new $10.8 million police annex building because the photo lacks diversity.The group of white male officers in the black-and-white photo caught Frazier's eye earlier in the week, said Robert W. Weinhold Jr., a police spokesman. The photo -- hung as wallpaper -- was to serve as an anchor to an entry area where the department plans to create a police museum.

Welcome to Gay Matters, a new home for gay news and commentary at The Baltimore Sun. As website real estate, this blog is something new and perhaps long overdue. But we've been doing this work -- covering news relevant to the gay community -- for a very long time. I took a look back -- all the way back to microfilm -- and found the evidence. In 1955, for example, there were 162 men and women arrested on charges of disorderly conduct at the Pepper Hill Club on North Gay Street in "the largest night-club raid ever made in Baltimore," after male patrons among the club's largely gay clientele were seen kissing each other.

Just three days after being touted as the commander who would oversee reforms in the wake of a training shooting, the new head of the Baltimore Police academy informed top brass Friday that he intends to leave the agency. Maj. Joseph E. Smith III, a 25-year veteran, told the police commissioner that he planned to retire from the department and take an outside job, according to a police spokesman. Smith could not be reached for comment. "He said it was too big of an opportunity to pass up," said chief spokesman Anthony Guglielmi.

It must be very disappointing to the citizens of Baltimore City that they elect politicians who have to hire consultants to tell them how to do their jobs ("City comptroller OK'd to hire consultant to review phone costs," April 25). City Comptroller Joan Pratt needs a consultant to tell her how to save money on the phone system, and the police commissioner needs a of $285,000 consultant to tell him how to run his department. Meanwhile, the city replaces its speed- and red-light camera vendor without making sure the previous vendor will show up in court to defend issuing over 6,000 tickets.

This official biography of Commissioner Frederick H. Bealefeld III was provided by the Baltimore Police Department. Frederick H. Bealefeld, III was appointed Police Commissioner of the City of Baltimore, Maryland on November 20th, 2007 and commands the eighth largest police agency in the United States. With over three decades of service to the Baltimore Police Department, Commissioner Bealefeld is credited with reducing city homicides and violent crime to the lowest levels since the 1970's.

Baltimore Police Commissioner Frederick H. Bealefeld III outlined the city's Independence Day security plan Monday evening, in the wake of an early morning shooting downtown near the Inner Harbor, where thousands are expected to gather tonight for the fireworks. "Several hundred uniformed and plainclothes police officers" from the city, as well as the Maryland State Police, the Maryland Transit Administration and the Maryland Transportation Authority were deployed to "ensure that we have a secure and safe July 4 t h celebration," Bealefeld said.

Once again our elected leaders in Baltimore have shown that you don't have to be the brightest bulb in the room to have enough common sense to appoint a search committee to find a new city police chief. Two or three of the panel members now lead their own police forces, so they know what best practices are and what it takes to lead the fight against crime. Joe Heming

Anthony W. Batts was officially sworn in Thursday as Baltimore's 37th police commissioner, pledging to build trust with the community while continuing to reduce violent crime. Batts, who spent three decades with departments in California, has been guiding the city police force since his arrival in late September following the retirement of agency veteran Frederick H. Bealefeld III. The city's homicide numbers are on track to rise compared to last year, when Baltimore saw fewer than 200 killings for the first time since the 1970s, but overall gun violence continues to trend downward.

Baltimore's top prosecutor accused the city's police commissioner Friday of using the power of his badge to help her opponent in next month's primary State's Attorney Patricia C. Jessamy said in a statement that Frederick H. Bealefeld III has broken years of precedent with "overt actions … to influence the outcome of an election" — which she warned "can only lead to divisiveness and distrust in the community. " Jessamy said it was "unprecedented and inappropriate" for the city's top police officer to put a campaign sign on his lawn.

However Baltimore's plain-spoken police commissioner is remembered, when he departs on the first day of August, he will leave his successor a challenging target. The number 200. That is the standard by whichFrederick H. Bealefeld III's successor will be measured. Under his watch, Baltimore recorded 196 homicides in 2011, breaking a symbolic barrier that eluded nine previous chiefs, all the way back to 1977. Fairly or unfairly, the mayor and commissioner - along with the city as a whole - have been judged and have judged themselves on the annual body count.

On Sunday, a Sun editorial unfairly criticized the Baltimore Police Department for losing its focus on targeting the city's most violent criminals. I can assure residents that since I was appointed commissioner some 180 days ago, the senior leadership team of the BPD has been implementing strategies to complement our already razor-sharp focus on violent crime. There's no question our strategy includes a stronger presence of police in violence-prone areas to allow people to feel safer in their neighborhoods.

A female colleague of Johns Hopkins gynecologist Dr. Nikita Levy became suspicious about a pen the doctor wore around his neck and alerted officials at the medical institution, touching off an investigation into whether he secretly recorded patients. When confronted with the woman's concerns, the doctor handed over several recording devices, including a similar pen camera, to investigators, according to a letter to victim advocates from the institution's top medical official that provided new details about how the allegations came to light.

Just three days after being touted as the commander who would oversee reforms in the wake of a training shooting, the new head of the Baltimore Police academy informed top brass Friday that he intends to leave the agency. Maj. Joseph E. Smith III, a 25-year veteran, told the police commissioner that he planned to retire from the department and take an outside job, according to a police spokesman. Smith could not be reached for comment. "He said it was too big of an opportunity to pass up," said chief spokesman Anthony Guglielmi.

Richmond, Va. police chief Bryan Norwood, who sources said was a finalist for Baltimore's police commissioner position last year, has stepped down amid a controversy over R&B singer Chris Brown's probation, according to reports.  Los Angeles prosecutors have been critical of the Richmond department's oversight of the community service work of Tappahannock, Va., native Chris Brown following the singer's conviction for assaulting his girlfriend, pop...

A Baltimore circuit court judge sentenced Gerry Gough to life in prison with all but 40 years suspended after he was convicted of shooting at three city police officers and wounding one of them. Gough pleaded guilty to attempted first-degree murder, two attempted second-degree murder charges, and a handgun violation in October. He opened fire on three detectives in March 2011, wounding one of them seriously enough that he has been unable to return to active duty, according to prosecutors.

For minutes on end New Year's Eve night, the names and ages of 216 men, women and children who were killed in Baltimore in 2012 were read out loud on the steps of the city's War Memorial — a somber recap of a violent year in which homicides rose. "In a city where so many people are immune to these senseless crimes, it is imperative that we remember the victims," said Victoria Kent, a member of the Baltimore Guardian Angels community watch group, as about 50 others stood by. The vigil, in its fourth year, was attended by Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake, Baltimore Police Commissioner Anthony W. Batts, City Council President Bernard C. "Jack" Young, council members Brandon Scott and Carl Stokes, members of the clergy and various city activists.

A former Baltimore police commissioner has lost another round in his five-year legal battle challenging his firing. A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, in Richmond, Va., upheld Wednesday a lower court's dismissal of Kevin Clark's federal lawsuit. Clark also has unsuccessfully sought reinstatement in Maryland's state courts. Clark and two high-ranking deputies were fired in 2004 by then-Mayor Martin O'Malley. The officers alleged in their federal lawsuit that the mayor and other officials had violated their constitutional rights by having police seize their badges and other equipment and escort them from the building.

After 31 years in local law enforcement, I'd often tell myself that I had seen and experienced every act of cruelty man can inflict. In light of the despicable act of violence this month in Newtown, Conn., I was clearly wrong. We are learning more, day by agonizing day, of the details of the crime, the history of Adam Lanza, the heroism of the school staff, and the stolen wonder of 20 beautiful little children. An incredible and horrible tragedy - but one that perhaps could have been averted had we reacted to the outrages of the past.