By Alex Dominguez, The Associated Press
BALTIMORE (AP) - Mayor Martin O’Malley fired police commissioner Kevin Clark on Wednesday, saying the controversy surrounding domestic abuse allegations against the police chief proved too great a distraction from the fight against crime.
Clark was involved in a domestic dispute with his fiancee in May and also faced similar allegations when he served in the New York City police department. Clark told WMAR-TV Wednesday that it was “a regrettable situation,” and said there would be some “recourse in this matter,” but declined to comment further. Attorney Stuart Simms said he had been retained by Clark, but also would not comment further.
The mayor named Leonard Hamm interim commissioner and said he hoped the appointment would be made permanent. Hamm is the fourth police chief in as many years for O’Malley, who has made reducing Baltimore’s violent crime the centerpiece of his administration, but has been plagued by instability at the top position.
O’Malley said the line of communication between him and Clark had been “taking its hits and was very strained, and it was time to move forward and move on.”
Clark, 48, was placed on voluntary leave while the May incident was independently investigated by Howard County police, who found that any possible charges against Clark were “unsubstantiated.”
The mayor at first refused to release the report, prompting a lawsuit by The (Baltimore) Sun and WBAL-TV. After the state’s second-highest court, the Maryland Court of Special Appeals, ruled the report should be released to the news media, the mayor’s office released the report at 5 p.m. on Election Day.
“The distraction around Commissioner Clark and the allegations made in May, and the loss of the case in the Court of Appeals, promised to make it an even greater distraction and distracted all of us from the issue of crime fighting,” O’Malley said.
The mayor’s first commissioner, Ronald L. Daniels resigned after 57 days, complaining of interference from “New York consultants.” O’Malley then promoted one of those consultants, Edward Norris, who had been brought in from New York to implement a system of close statistical tracking and analysis of crime. Norris left to become state police superintendent and later stepped down from that job after he was indicted on charges of misusing Baltimore city police funds.
Clark served as a commander with the New York City police department, before being appointed by O’Malley in January 2003.
Asked Wednesday about the instability at the commissioner’s position, O’Malley pointed to his success in reducing crime.
“I would not say I’m 0-for-3, I would not say Baltimore is 0-for-3, I would say there’s been a 40 percent reduction in violent crime,” O’Malley said.
The mayor said each of the police commissioners he has hired brought something to the department. Norris made improvements in the detective squad, but was not able to fight open-air drug dealing, O’Malley said. Clark successfully brought his expertise to that arena, the mayor said.
City Council President Sheila Dixon supported the mayor’s decision to fire Clark, but she said the changes have cost the department a number of experienced officers.
“Daniels got rid of some people. We’ve lost some good leadership. And then Norris brought in some people over the top of people here,” Dixon said. “So, in that respect, we lost a lot of experienced people we could use.”
Dan Fickus, president of the local Fraternal Order of Police, praised the firing, citing decreases in the number of officers in patrol divisions and the rising homicide rate that he said occurred on Clark’s watch.
O’Malley said Hamm will bring stability and respect to the department.
Hamm, 55, who was named the department’s No. 2 official in August, described himself as a “stabilizer” who would continue Clark’s policies, but also noted the New York influence on the department.
“There’s been a lot of New York innovation, there are some good things, but we lost some street stuff,” Hamm said. “Everybody out there on the street is nervous about what’s going on.”
Hamm, who spent more than 20 years with the Baltimore police force before retiring in 1996, and later worked as head of the Morgan State University police force, said restoring the public’s trust in the department will be his biggest challenge, but also noted morale was a problem.
“There’s some good skilled people who have been leaving the department,” Hamm said. “Ninety percent of leadership is caring, it ain’t about being smart. You’ve got to care about people and the job.”
O’Malley said he expected Hamm will be appointed, but noted that “we’ll be going through the due diligence and background checks.”