The Daily Record

Baltimore’s police union regularly uses social media to criticize city elected officials, highlight rising crime and amplify criticism of police Commissioner Michael Harrison. The union’s messages are routinely shared using the hashtag #CityInCrisis. (File photo/The Daily Record)

Tensions flare between Baltimore mayor, FOP

By Adam Bednar

ABednar@TheDailyRecord.com

Baltimore Mayor Bernard C. “Jack” Young on Wednesday called social media posts by the union representing police officers a “distraction” from the ongoing struggle to quell violent crime in the city.

Young’s comments came after a uniformed police officer was shot at Monday night. The officer escaped unharmed, but the next evening the Baltimore City Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 3 claimed on its Twitter account that officers were told to “stand down” after the shooting. 

“Well, we’re all upset with crime being out of control in the city, and we need all of our partners, including the FOP, to sit down and figure out how everyone can work together instead of everybody putting out all these little quotes,” Young said. “If we’re serious about driving down crime, we need all of our partners at the table. We don’t need people tweeting and being a distraction.”

Young spoke during a regular press conference at City Hall.

Young, who took office in May, said he has not met with the union’s leadership. But he said that he planned to sit down with FOP leaders after the union reached out to him about a meeting.

In response to Young’s comments, the Fraternal Order of Police said in a message posted on social media that no meeting with Young was scheduled. The union says that it was to have met with Young on Monday but that the mayor canceled the get-together because he disagreed with its topic. 

“Honesty, or the lack thereof, is the single largest barrier we have in establishing a productive relationship with the City and BPD,” the union said on Twitter. 

Baltimore’s police union regularly uses social media to criticize city elected officials, highlight rising crime and amplify criticism of police Commissioner Michael Harrison, who took over the department this spring. The union’s messages are routinely shared using the hashtag #CityInCrisis.  

Mayors and the Fraternal Order of Police have clashed frequently in recent decades. The disharmony between the police union and City Hall has only increased since a U.S. Department of Justice investigation following the 2015 riots found the department regularly violated residents’ civil rights. 

The city signed a consent decree with the Justice Department and attempted to reform the police department, but high-profile corruption cases involving the department further eroded trust in the agency.   

The latest episode of friction between Young and the union erupted as a crime surge hampers the city’s efforts to develop and attract business.  

Downtown business leaders and property owners have complained bitterly about an increase in violence following the 2015 riots. Executives at various gatherings have repeatedly told city leaders that their employees don’t feel safe coming and going to work. Commercial real estate brokers and property owners complain that violent crime makes attracting new tenants difficult.  

Baltimore has long suffered with crime. Its struggles with violence, illegal activity and corruption have been the focus of two popular television shows since the 1990s.  

After a steep decline in violence in the early 2000s, murders, shootings and robberies steadily increased after April 2015, when riots ripped through the city after Freddie Gray, a 25-year-old West Baltimore man, died from injuries suffered in police custody. 

The year before the riots, Baltimore had 211 homicides and 369 shootings, according to police department data. An analysis of the 2014 data by the Baltimore Neighborhood Indicators Alliance (BNIA) placed the violent crime rate that year at 13.7 offenses per 1,000 residents.  

In 2015, the number of homicides reached 342 and the number of shootings increased to 683. BNIA found the violent crime rate that year swelled to 16.1 offenses per 1,000 residents.

In 2017, Baltimore again had 342 murders, as well as 703 shootings, with a violent crime rate of 20.1 offenses per 1,000 residents.  

According to police data last updated on Aug. 24, Baltimore had 201 homicides and 508 shootings so far this year.