By Jen Fifield
The Frederick News-Post
BALTIMORE — Two Frederick County legislators want Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake to explain herself.
Sen. Michael Hough and Delegate Bill Folden say Rawlings-Blake put Baltimore in an “awful position” with her lack of leadership during the riots that took place in the city in April after the funeral of Freddie Gray, who died in police custody.
In a scathing letter dated July 14, the legislators wrote they would like the mayor to explain her actions during the riots to a new Public Safety and Policing Workgroup, which was set up in the aftermath of the riots. Hough, who represents parts of Frederick and Carroll counties, and Folden, who represents a section of Frederick County, are members of that work group. They think the group, which began meeting in June and is set to offer recommendations by November, needs to focus more on what happened in Baltimore, and less on general policing reform.
“There are so many unanswered questions” about the riots, Hough said Thursday by phone.
Asked for the mayor’s thoughts on the letter, Kevin R. Harris, chief of public affairs in the mayor’s office, sent a candid response to The Frederick News-Post on Friday.
“Senator Hough should do a better job of fact checking his letters before wasting the workgroup’s time with baseless and false allegations,” Harris wrote.
The letter includes a list of nine questions for Rawlings-Blake regarding her response to the riots, stating that the mayor did not properly react to violence that was spiraling out of control, delayed calling in the Maryland National Guard, and ordered Baltimore police officers to stand down and allow destruction of private property.
If Hough had researched, Harris said, he “would know that it has already been well established that the mayor never issued a stand down order, there was no order to allow the destruction of property, and an after-action report was ordered immediately following the unrest and well before the FOP called for a review. Additionally there was no delay in calling in the National Guard.”
Along with the National Guard, law enforcement officers from across the region responded to the riots. This included Frederick County sheriff’s deputies and city of Frederick police officers. When the state, the county and the city invest that much money, it’s important to find out what happened, Hough said. His main concern, he said, is whether Baltimore is prepared if a similar situation were to occur again.
“Is the city prepared if the police officers charged in the Freddie Gray case are acquitted?” Hough and Folden asked in the letter.
Folden, a Frederick police officer, was one of those who responded to Baltimore. By the time he got there, he said, it appeared that “things had been allowed to go on for too long.”
Rawlings-Blake needs to be held accountable for what happened, since the leadership of the Baltimore Police Department starts with her, he said. He wants to know where she was when the riots were happening, and what commands she was giving.
“It’s about transparency,” he said. Hough and Folden addressed the letter to Sen. Catherine Pugh and Delegate Curt Anderson, the work group’s co-chairs, asking them to request that
Rawlings-Blake testify before the work group. Pugh and Anderson could not be reached for comment. Hough spoke with Pugh, and she was open to the idea of having Rawlings-Blake testify, he said. Many people are concerned about what happened, and others have also requested that she testify, Hough said.
At the three meetings the work group has held so far, the group received a presentation about law enforcement and policing in the state, listened to law enforcement leaders from across the state talk about recruitment and hiring practices for law enforcement, and talked about law enforcement issues across the state. Future agendas include discussions regarding the Law Enforcement Officers’ Bill of Rights, best practices in law enforcement, community policing, and recommendations and decisions.
The next meeting on Aug. 24 will focus on the Law Enforcement Officers’ Bill of Rights, which is something that Harris said that Rawlings-Blake has fought hard to reform.
If Hough is interested in addressing the root causes of unrest, Harris wrote, he should support the mayor’s attempt to reform the bill of rights to make changes that would level the playing field between police and the community. The mayor supports the committee’s efforts to comprehensively review police reforms, Harris wrote.
“We shouldn’t distract from this important work with uninformed political attacks,” he wrote.
Copyright 2015 The Frederick News-Post