Baltimore City council voted Monday night in favor of Richard Worley’s nomination 14-1, despite some concerns from some members of the council over the police department’s recent performance.
Worley, a Pigtown native, was Mayor Brandon Scott’s top pick for the position and was immediately nominated as interim commissioner following Michael Harrison’s sudden departure in early June.
His tenure in the job has been marked by turmoil amidst city tragedies. In the wake of the Brooklyn Homes mass shooting, which killed two and injured 28 others, it was quickly revealed that officers in the southern district repeatedly chose not to escalate calls for service up the chain of command for assistance. An after-action report revealed numerous other instances in which policy did not follow policy or failed to act before that incident. These are behaviors Worley has called “unacceptable” while assuming the responsibility for the department’s failings.
Baltimore City Council’s Rules and Legislative Oversight Committee advanced Worley’s nomination unanimously during a hearing on September 21st.
Then last week Worley faced criticism for withholding information about an arson and attempted murder on Edmondson Avenue before the murder of local tech CEO Pava LaPere. Police identified the same suspect, Jason Dean Billingsley, in both cases. Worley was questioned why he didn’t put out a public search for information about the suspect in the Edmondson Avenue incident when Billingsley had been known to the police as the suspect almost right away.
When questioned during a press conference Worley said, “He worked at that building. He was familiar with the victims. I’m not gonna say too much more because I don’t want to talk bad about victims, but he was there for a reason.”
Like most of the council, Councilmember Eric Costello, who represents District 11, where both the Edmondson Avenue attack and murder of LaPere occurred, voted in favor but with caveats.
“I want to be clear, if BPD produces this type of performance again, of what happened in the past two weeks, I will not hesitate to call for his resignation publicly,” he said.
Only Councilmember Phylicia Porter of District 10, which includes Brooklyn Homes, voted against Worley’s nomination.
As the council passed the final vote, constituents from the Northeastern district where Worley once served as commander shouted chants of, “You don’t deserve to serve.” Their cries could still be heard down from the lobby of City Hall long after the vote had passed.
