Dear President Bush:
I am told you are a man of principle, so I am writing to you with an important request: Pardon Ed Norris.
I live in Baltimore City, and our police force has been a mess since our last really good police commissioner, Norris, left office.
He was the best police chief we?ve had in Baltimore City. Feature stories in USA Today and other publications cited him for his ability to cut homicides, close open-air drug markets, hold people accountable in the police department, and slice through bureaucracy to make the Baltimore Police an organization that officers wanted to work for, and that the community respected.
You may also have heard of Ed Norris because he went to jail. He pleaded guilty to illegal misuse of a police expenditures account, served six months in a federal prison, six months in home detention, and completed 500 hours of community service. Upon his release from home detention, he became a much-listened to radio talk show host in Baltimore and an actor in HBO?s critically acclaimed “The Wire.”
Ed Norris is a friend of mine, but more importantly, he is a mansent to jail on trumped up charges. He wanted to fight them, but faced overwhelming odds. He was sent to jail by Maryland U.S. Attorney Thomas DiBiagio ? who later resigned in 2004 after a rebuke from the Justice Department for telling his staff to seek “front page” indictments.
Ed Norris deserves better. He is a real cop hailed for his efforts as one of the top police commanders in New York City, where he was so effective in remaking the NYPD?s “cold case” squad that the CBS television show of the same name is mostly based on his work.
Ed Norris has the respect of rank-and-file policeman so much that even today police talk about the “better days” when he ran the department. One oft-told story is that in 1999, while Norris was on a ride-through of one of Baltimore?s most dangerous drug markets, he saw a drug deal in progress. Instead of driving by, he left his car to chase and arrest one of the suspects ? unheard of for a commissioner of police.
Now Ed Norris, although a successful talk show host, is a shadow of his old self. He cannot vote. He cannot carry a firearm despite his celebrity status and the fact that many criminals despise him. Ed Norris cannot get a job in his field or “any related field,” he tells me, because of his conviction.
Mr. President, Baltimore needs Ed Norris back. We need him back as police commissioner to keep our city safe. He would be the only police commissioner who served time in a federal prison, giving him a unique perspective on his job, and a unique law and order-style understanding of the justice system.
He?s still respected by most police officers; they want him back. Our police department is a mess: Overrun by allegations of shredding documents, sexual misconduct, corrupt cops and idiotic policies that this paper has chronicled over the past few months.
Our current commissioner won?t even hold a news conference to address the problems in his department. That?s not accountability. We need a commissioner who is accountable and respected, despite his failings.
When I asked Ed Norris if he would take the job as Baltimore Police commissioner again if it were offered to him, he told me, “in a heartbeat.”
That?s why I am putting my name on this letter seeking his pardon.
Please let us have our Commish back. Our city needs him.
Sincerely,
Tom Moore.
Tom Moore is a WCBM radio talk show host. He will forward to the White House your e-mails in favor of pardoning the Commish: [email protected]
