Former Baltimore Police Commissioner Kevin Clark won?t be getting his old job back, because his reinstatement would bring about “chaos,” a city judge has ruled.
“If reinstated, Kevin Clark?s term as Police Commissioner would expire on June 30, 2008,” Circuit Judge Carol Smith wrote in her June 17 opinion. “Reinstatement to his position as Police Commissioner for thirteen days or less would surely bring about great unnecessary disorder and cause inevitable confusion in the operations and administration of the Baltimore Police Department.”
Maryland?s highest court ruled in March that Clark?s 2004 firing was illegal, prompting Clark and his attorneys to ask Smith for an immediate reinstatement. But the judge ruled that such an action would cause “chaos” and force out current Commissioner Frederick Bealefeld.
“It would oust the current Commissioner from his position, force a considerable change of leadership upon an important State agency, and disrupt its operation and administration for a short period of time,” Smith wrote.
City Solicitor George Nilson hailed Smith?s ruling as “excellent” and “well-written,” but Clark?s attorney, Dwight Pettit, said the judge neglected to follow the law.
“Her responsibility is to enforce the law, and the law is clear,” Pettit said. “I?ve never seen a situation where the law is so clear and no one wants to enforce it for social policy reasons.”
Pettit said he?s considering an immediate appeal to the state?s highest court, while Nilson said he?s trying to convince Smith to dismiss Clark?s suit. Clark was fired by then-Mayor Martin O?Malley after an alleged domestic dispute involving his live-in girlfriend. Clark and his top commanders were escorted from their offices by a SWAT team. In a wrongful-termination suit seeking $120 million, Clark contended he was dismissed because of an investigation into possible corruption at City Hall, a probe he said he plans to resume if he is reinstated.
Examiner Staff Writer Stephen Janis contributed to this article.
