Police Commissioner

The bus carrying Cody Stanton and other wounded soldiers breezed up Interstate 95 on Tuesday to the site of the former World Trade Center in New York, with an escort arranged by Baltimore's police commissioner. The side door opened, and Stanton, who lost his legs and two fingers in an explosion in Afghanistan, was lowered on his wheelchair. More than one hundred construction workers were protesting working conditions at the site, but when they saw the soldiers, they suddenly broke into a thunderous applause, chanting "USA!

It's no secret that Police Commissioner Frederick H. Bealefeld IIIis a frequent diner at Miss Shirley's, a breakfast, brunch and lunch spot with locations in Roland Park and at the Inner Harbor. He's partial to the omelet margharita. So it should be no surprise that the soon-to-be retiring chief headed for the Pratt Street bistro Wednesday morning to catch a quick breakfast. There, according to a police source, he stumbled on two city officers drinking alcohol. They had just come off the midnight shift and were off duty, but were either dressed in partial uniform or had their guns and badges displayed, said the police source and another person affiliated with law enforcement who is familiar with the incident.

There is a disconnect sometimes between what police see as normal and routine and what others view as scary. When Denise Kostka and her husband saw a mob forming outside her downtown hotel, she became frightened. She didn't see a lot of police, the young teens were massing at the corners, and all the images of Baltimore that people have -- The Wire, the murder count, the drugs, instantly filled her head. For the police, it was just another group of kids they had to push out of downtown.

Just as we're trying to figure out the sudden departure Police CommissionerFrederick H. Bealefeld IIIcomes the stark reminder that we're still not quite done with a city chief fired more than seven years ago. Kevin P. Clark, fired back when Martin O'Malley was mayor, in 2004, still has a claim pending before the state's highest court. He wants money, and according to his attorney, wouldn't mind getting his old job back. This is the guy who the mayor sent armed SWAT members to remove from the police headquarters building on East Fayette Street.

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 which Frederick 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.

With Baltimore Police Commissioner Frederick H. Bealefeld III planning to leave the city in August , after having served 31 years on the force, and five as chief, we put together a time line of his tenure: May 1981 - Bealefeld joins the city police force as a cadet after suffering a sports injury that dashed his hopes of earning an athletic scholarship. He follows his great-grandfather and great-uncle into policing. His grandfather once walked a beat on Greenmount Avenue and a great-uncle was killed in the line of duty.

The announced departure of Baltimore Police CommissionerFrederick H. Bealefeld III prompted a round of media interviews on Friday. Here are parts of my sit-down with the commissioner. A story looking ahead to what's next is planned for Sunday. On Friday, Bealefeld said that he was indeed leaving for family , brushing off copious rumors that he and other members of the city's law enforcement team, such as political aide Sheryl Goldstein, had other motives. Here's a story about departures from City Hall . Bealefeld quotes; Why leaving “The real story is I'm going to be 50 in August.

Appearing relaxed while trying to quell talk of a hidden motive behind his decision to resign in three months, the city's blunt-spoken police commissioner did at least concede Friday that he was pushed out of the job. "Look, I was absolutely influenced in this decision," Frederick H. Bealefeld III said. But it wasn't by city officials or a as-yet-undisclosed issue. It was his wife, Linda, and 16-year-old daughter, Erica. Said Bealefeld, his eyes tearing, "They're ready for me to come home.

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.