A meeting of Baltimore’s Legislative Rules and Oversight Committee unanimously advanced acting police Commissioner Richard Worley’s nomination during a hearing on Thursday night. He still has to be officially confirmed by the full council during their next meeting, although that seems likely based on widespread approval city officials have expressed in Worley after he immediately succeeded Commissioner Michael Harrison’s departure in June.
The reaction to Worley from the council on Thursday was largely positive with most council members thanking him for his service as acting commissioner.
But both council members and residents wanted to know how a longtime veteran of the force can change the department's culture. During three hours of questioning, council members repeatedly shared concerns about officer apathy and “indifference” that they’ve heard from their constituents. Many of those were concerns that came up during a series of town halls that Worley had throughout the late summer.
For instance, Councilmember Kristerfer Burnett, District 8, said off duty cops have told him that they’ll hear a gunshot but wait for the call to come in before they move to investigate.
“If you're waiting for someone to call 911, assuming they even heard it, that individual may be long gone,” said Burnett.
Worley insists that apathetic and indifferent officers need to be reported to internal affairs.
“It’s not a morale issue. It’s an integrity issue,” said Worley about officers who do not respond to calls or when they witness illegal activity.
Worley recommitted to making community policing his number one priority. He said department roles will be restructured to allow officers more time for patrolling neighborhoods on foot. At least 40% should be “proactive” policing, he said, which includes things like walking neighborhoods, talking to community members, store owners and going to neighborhood meetings.
Worley is likely to be hired on for a three-year contract. He told the councilmembers on Thursday that he hopes in that time period he can get the department out of its federal consent decree. Community policing is the area where BPD has made the least progress, according to a recent report from the federal consent decree monitoring team.
Worley faced a tough first month on the job. Just three weeks in, the Brooklyn Day mass shooting killed two and injured 28 others. Immediately, Worley took responsibility for the poor police response; it was quickly learned that police received multiple calls for help before the party became violent but did not escalate them up the chain of command to get more resources.
An after-action report by the department found that better relationships and better community policing could have helped police be more prepared for Brooklyn Day.
Worley joined the Baltimore Police Department back in 1998 and has steadily advanced through the ranks, serving as the District Commander of the Northeastern District from 2012-2016 and then as a Deputy Commissioner under Harrison. As Democratic Mayor Brandon Scott’s top pick for the job, Worley has pledged to commit to carrying out the Group Violence Reduction Strategy (GVRS)– a multi-agency strategy that relies on law enforcement, community partners and social services to take more holistic approaches in reducing gun violence.
His history with the department has drawn criticism since it was announced, with some wondering how a person could be part of a department that has been plagued by scandals and still reform it.
Over a dozen residents testified against Worley’s nomination during Thursday night’s hearing, saying that in his two decades with the department he has not been vocal against police brutality, racism or advocated for reform.
Northeast resident Adiena Britt went out to nearly every town hall leading up to Worley’s nomination.
“Just because he didn't get his hands dirty by directly participating in the activities of his officers who were repeat violent offenders doesn't make him a good cop,” said Britt. Worley was in charge of the Northeastern district when Tyrone West died while in police custody. Those officers have not been found guilty of misconduct.
When it comes to Baltimore’s leadership, Worley had widespread support with a former council member, State’s Attorney Ivan Bates, and former mayor Jack Young coming out to voice their support.
On Wednesday, the city’s spending board delayed a vote on contracts for both Worley and James Wallace, who currently serves as acting Fire Chief and also had a hearing before the council Thursday. Worley’s three-year $285,000 contract contains a clause stipulating that he would be paid at that salary for the remainder of one-year, regardless of whether the council actually confirms him.
Now, there is room for that clause to be negotiated before the contract goes back before the Board of Estimates on October 4th.
Comptroller Bill Henry said Wednesday that he supported the contract delay, saying that it took pressure off the council to vote for the commissioner without feeling beholden to a nearly $300,000 payout.
“It is actually very common for the city to approve contracts for high level officials, before the council actually votes to confirm them. As a former council person, I think that's putting the cart in front of the horse,” said Henry to WYPR.
