Baltimore City Council Member Ken Harris renewed his call Monday for the police department to disband several specialized enforcement units.
Harris said that a recent scandal involving the Southeast district?s Specialized Enforcement Team that was disbanded for falsifying charging documents is another blow to the policing strategy that takes officers out of uniform and puts them into plain-clothes units.
“This is not a surprise,” Harris said. “I proposed putting these officers back in uniform and moving them into the community. Obviously, I was right,” he said.
Harris introduced a resolution in April proposing that many of the units be disbanded so that more officers could work regular patrol, an area where, Harris said, the department is chronically understaffed.
“Every sector is short patrol officers, so it makes sense across the board to disband some, though not all, of the units and put them back into uniform,” he said.
But police spokesman Matt Jablow said specialized units play an important part in the department?s policing strategy.
“Our specialized units have played a significant role in the major crime decreases of the past six years. We respectfully, but vigorously, disagree with Councilman Harris,” he said.
Last year, members of the Southeast district Flex Squad were charged with raping a suspect. Both scandals have caused dozens of cases to dropped.
Harris said that dropping cases is another reason for the department to consider his plan as more timely than ever.
“We could possibly actually be putting criminals back on the street,” he said.
