Baltimore top cop sacked

Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake (pictured above) dismissed police commissioner Anthony W. Batts on Wednesday, citing the recent surge in homicides in the city as a reason for a change in police leadership.

"We need a change… This was not an easy decision, but it is one that is in the best interest of Baltimore. The people of Baltimore deserve better and we are going to get better," Rawlings-Blake announced at a press conference.

Deputy Police Commissioner Kevin Davis was to take over from Batts, who had over three decades of experience in law enforcement in California.

The mayor's decision comes over two months after riots broke out in the city following the death of 25-year-old Freddie Gray, who died on April 19 from injuries he received in police custody. Six policemen were criminally charged in Gray's death and the US Department of Justice was investigating the city's police for rights violations.

The civil unrest that followed Gray's demise was the worst outbreak in the US since the shooting of teenager Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, in August 2014.

Surging crime rates

Homicide rates in Baltimore increased drastically following the Gray incident. Of 155 murders committed this year, 81 had taken place since May 1. In comparison, around 105 people were killed last year.

"A key goal of my administration is making Baltimore a safer place. We cannot continue to debate the leadership of the department. We cannot continue to have the level of violence we've seen in recent weeks of the city," Rawlings-Blake continued during her press conference.

Batts' dismissal comes shortly after the Fraternal Order of Police, Baltimore's police union, alleged in a report that he and the mayor did not provide enough training and equipment to officers who confronted rioters.

However, the mayor has denied that Batts' sacking was related to the union's findings. "Families are tired of dealing with the pain and so am I," Rawlings-Blake said to justify her decision.

mg/jil (AFP, AP, dpa)