Tom's guest today is the newly appointed chief of the Baltimore Police Department. Darryl De Sousa is the Commissioner-Designate. His confirmation hearing at the Baltimore City Council is slated for a week from today. Mr. De Sousa has been on the job for less than a month, but he’s been a member of the Baltimore Police Department for more than 30 years. Prior to his elevation to Commissioner, he served as the top commander in the patrol bureau.
Mr. De Sousa takes the reins of the department as it is reeling from revelations that surfaced at the trial of two officers who were convicted Monday night on racketeering and fraud charges. Ironically, and much to everyone’s delight, for 12 consecutive days, as the trial was underway, Baltimore experienced no new homicides. Ericka Bridgeford, the founder of Baltimore Ceasefire, tells us that the city hasn’t gone that long without a homicide since 2014. The Baltimore Sun reported that an unidentified man was shot and killed in Belair Edison yesterday afternoon, in a district that the Commissioner Designate served as Commander years ago.
Against the backdrop of a city still beset by crime, hopeful of a turnaround, and in urgent need of a police force it can trust, Darryl DeSousa joins Tom in Studio A.
