Acting BPD Commissioner Candidate To Attend Nine Community Meetings With City Residents
BALTIMORE (WJZ) — A week from Monday, the Baltimore Police Department will have a new acting commissioner.
But this process will be different from the last one, which drew criticism.
Some Baltimore City councilmembers traveled down to New Orleans to dig into the background of police commissioner candidate Michael Harrison.
Councilmembers Robert Stokes and Kristerfer Burnett got to ask Harrison and those around him some questions, and they won't be the only ones.
After nearly 20 meetings last Thursday and Friday, they both said Harrison received great reviews.
"He's very community-focused which was excellent to hear for me because that's something that I think is a gap that we have in our department where people really don't trust the police department," Burnett said.
Over 27 years, Harrison moved up the ranks and finally became police superintendent in New Orleans.
He helped reduce crime in a city that had similar problems to Baltimore.
Leaders here in Baltimore are trying to woo him with a $275,000 annual salary, 30 percent more than the last commissioner.
The City is desperately looking for a win.
The last candidate, Joel Fitzgerald dropped out because of a family emergency, some residents also said he was a bad fit.
Baltimore continues to struggle with crime, and two people were murdered this weekend despite a ceasefire event.
"The City is in poor shape right now, so we need somebody to lead the police department and be in charge because right now everything is running wild," said Rev. Keith Bailey, President of Holton Heights Community Association.
Starting next week, the public will get a chance to meet Harrison during nine meetings.
Want a chance to meet the man who could be Baltimore's next police commissioner? @MayorPugh50's office released a list of meetings that are open to the public. @wjz pic.twitter.com/czXqJAfwHs
— Avajoye Burnett (@AvajoyeWJZ) February 5, 2019
He apparently already has at least one council vote in the "Yes" column- Councilman Robert Stokes.
Harrison will need confirmation from the majority of the councilmembers in Baltimore before he can become the permanent police commissioner.
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