Brooklyn Homes mass shooting response, staffing issues at forefront of Baltimore police reform hearing
BALTIMORE -- The federal judge overseeing Baltimore police reform says if police were more engaged, they could have possibly prevented the July mass shooting at Brooklyn Homes, the worst in the city's history.
The judge said the report is coming very soon and again acknowledged police could have handled the Brooklyn Homes shooting far better than they did.
We're told the report is thorough and the draft is close to 100 pages long.
The Brooklyn Day mass shooting was Baltimore's largest in history, leaving 28 injured and two dead in the Brooklyn Homes neighborhood.
The judge overseeing the federally mandated police reforms says that if officers were out of their cars walking the beat and had the pulse of the community, the shooting would not have come as a surprise that left the department scrambling to respond.
"I'm confident the Brooklyn mass shooting after-action report will reveal shortcomings in community engagement," Judge James Bredar said.
Bredar demanded transparency, which includes a detailed report available to the public.
"The test of a healthy police department isn't whether mistakes are made but how they react to their mistakes," Judge Bredar said.
Baltimore's Acting Commissioner Richard Worley promised the judge, "Those who didn't do their job will be held accountable."
WJZ Investigator Mike Hellgren asked Worley about that promise during Thursday's police reform hearing.
"The report should be coming out. I'm not sure exactly when, but sometime in the very near future," Worley said. "When we had the initial meeting, I said we could have done better. And we could have. We'll stick to that. The report will pretty much show some of the things that we could have done better."
While acknowledging challenges, Worley said he wants to be confirmed as the city's next commissioner and told Judge Bredar he needs to get the details right and improve morale.
Worley said he personally texted the officers shot at this week by alleged carjackers about their well-being.
WJZ obtained an exclusive video of the shooting.
Worley said he is hopeful for a smooth transition to Baltimore's top police job.
"This is the best transition I've ever seen," Worley said. "I think I've been through 11 police commissioners. This is the first time that the two police commissioners—outgoing and incoming—stood side-by-side and transitioned the department."
Perhaps the biggest challenge is staffing.
The Baltimore Police Department has lost 76 officers this year. In August alone, the department hired eight, while 14 left.
The force stands at 2,062, more than 500 fewer officers than the staffing plans.
"We're going to increase our marketing budget for recruitment, and we're going to try and recruit some officers who have left over the last couple of years by offering them an incentive to come back," Worley said.
A big incentive is that Baltimore will soon raise the signing bonus for new officers from $5,000 to $10,000 as the BPD competes with departments nationwide to fill open positions.
Related Coverage:
- Media Partner Baltimore Banner: 911 calls show terror during Brooklyn Homes mass shooting
- 911 tapes show distress, desperation on night of Brooklyn Homes mass shooting
- Brooklyn Homes residents recover 7 weeks after mass shooting, governor pays private visit
- Suspect held without bail in Brooklyn Homes mass shooting that left 28 injured, 2 dead
- Charging Documents: Second suspect in Brooklyn Homes mass shooting was on GPS monitoring
