Police Chief Who Pledged Reforms Fired Amid Crime Spike

Less than three years ago, Anthony Batts was hand-picked by Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake to combat crime and reform a troubled law enforcement department in one of America’s most violent cities

Interim Baltimore Police Department Commissioner Kevin Davis speaks at a news conference, Wednesday, July 8, 2015, in Baltimore, after Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake announced her firing of Commissioner Anthony Batts. AP Photo/Patrick Semansky

BALTIMORE—Less than three years ago, Anthony Batts was hand-picked by Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake to combat crime and reform a troubled law enforcement department in one of America’s most violent cities.

On Wednesday, Batts was fired as police commissioner amid the worst crime spike in the city since the 1970s and plummeting morale among officers who complained their boss was failing to provide the support and leadership they needed to do their jobs.

“We cannot continue to debate the leadership of the department,” Rawlings-Blake told a news conference she called to announce her decision. “We cannot continue to have the level of violence we’ve seen in recent weeks in this city.”