Nearly 500 Baltimore police officers gathered at headquarters downtown on Tuesday to listen to Mayor Sheila Dixon talk about her crime plan.
“I wanted them to know we are all in this together, and to ensure they understand what I expect from them,” Dixon said after the meeting.
“I want them to go after the most violent offenders and to partner with the community” ? all elements of her comprehensive crime plan, the mayor said.
But the mayor said she didn?t do all the talking, opening up the floor for questions. Complaints centered on Comstat meetings, where officers are grilled about performance, as well as the department?s focus on statistics. The mayor said officers believed the process was too harsh.
“Their main concern was they believed there was a better, more productive way to go about it,” she said.
The rank-and-file officers at the closed-door meeting were from all of the city?s nine police districts.
Sources who attended the meeting also said an unnamed officer called for the top command staff to be fired ? a comment that was met with strong applause. Mayoral spokesman Anthony McCarthy confirmed the comment.
“It was part of a free-flowing exchange between officers and the mayor,” he said.
Dixon said her evaluation of Police Commissioner Leonard Hamm was ongoing.
“This is a transition period, but when it?s over everyone is going to be assessed,” she said.
City officials who attended the meeting said they believed the mayor was effective.
“She spoke from the heart; it was good,” City Council Vice President Robert Curran said.
City Councilman Jim Kraft, chairman of the Public Safety Committee, who also attended, was similarly pleased. “I think there is a better understanding now,” he said.
