Gary Tuggle

On February 9, 2018, BPD commissioner Darryl De Sousa announced changes to the management of the BPD, including the appointment of Thomas Casella^[e] as a deputy commissioner.^[c] Casella's appointment was suspended after two complaints against him – discovered during a background check – were leaked.^[8] Although De Sousa later said that the complaints against Casella were false,^[11] he said that they agreed not to proceed with the appointment. He selected Tuggle on March 2.^[9]

Tuggle became acting commissioner on May 11, after De Sousa was indicted for tax evasion and placed on paid suspension by mayor Catherine Pugh.^[10][12][13] De Sousa resigned on May 15 and Tuggle continued as acting commissioner.^{[14][15][16][17]} As commissioner, Tuggle faced high violence rates – despite a decrease relative to 2017 under De Sousa – a federal consent decree on police use of violence, and the aftermath of De Sousa's indictment. Tuggle was undecided on whether he would seek to become permanent commissioner, saying "I haven't even had a solid discussion with my wife about it".^[2]

Tuggle made his first public appearance as acting commissioner on May 14, after a quadruple shooting. He described the department under him as "business as usual", saying he would keep the crime plan of De Sousa and that, "the priority is just keeping that continuity".^[2][18]

Under Tuggle, the BPD began implementing a ShotSpotter system in June, which uses sensors on buildings to alert nearby police officers to gunfire. The system was planned to be rolled out in a 5 square miles (13 km²) area of West Baltimore and later spread to East Baltimore. Tuggle said the system "will continue to position us to be proactive in the crime fight, but also quickly reactive should a gun be discharged".^[19] ShotSpotter has been criticized for low accuracy and failing to reduce crime rates.^[20][21]

In August, Tuggle suspended a BPD officer after a video was shared on Twitter by activist DeRay Mckesson of the officer tackling DeShawn McGrier against the steps of a house and repeatedly punching him after he yelled at the officer. A nearby officer did not intervene and McGrier did not fight back. Tuggle said the incident "deeply disturbed" him and launched an investigation. Pugh called for community policing that adheres to the United States Constitution, and said that she would seek to reestablish trust between the community and BPD.^[22][23][24] Tuggle accepted the assaulting officer's resignation the next day. The officer was investigated for second degree assault. Warren Brown, McGrier's attorney, said that the assault injured his jaw, nose, ribs, and eye socket. While Brown said the nearby officer should have intervened, Tuggle said that "he had an obligation not only to contain the situation that he had in front of him, but he [also] had an obligation to keep himself safe".^[24][25][26]

On September 17, the BPD, First Mile Stable Charitable Foundation, and B&O Railroad Museum broke ground on a new headquarters for the BPD mounted police. The headquarters was planned to be on 2.5 acres (1.0 ha), include 12 stalls, and cost US$2.5 million.^[27]

Tuggle announced that he would not seek to be permanent commissioner on October 9, stating that while he believed the BPD's consent decree could be resolved, it would "take an extended commitment – I'm going to say five to seven years" that he did not have. Tuggle said he had not been interviewed for the position and Pugh said that she respected his withdrawal. City councilman Brandon Scott said that he did not think Tuggle had the sufficient support of the city council even if he were nominated, saying that Tuggle "didn't seem like he had the relationships and the wherewithal to garner the support". At the time of his announcement, Baltimore had its most fatal 30-day period since 2015 with 43 killings.^[28] Two days later, BPD chief spokesman T.J. Smith resigned, citing an "unstable environment" and "political turmoil".^[29]

On November 16, Pugh announced the appointment of Fort Worth Police Department chief Joel Fitzgerald as commissioner.^[30] After Fitzgerald withdrew from consideration due to résumé issues and a medical emergency with his son, she appointed Michael S. Harrison, the chief of the New Orleans Police Department, on January 8, 2019.^[31][32][33] Harrison was sworn in on March 12.^[34][a]