Baltimore Mayor & FOP Argue Over Social Media
BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- Tempers are flaring between Baltimore's mayor and the city police union. At issue--whether she gave orders that put officers in danger during the riot in April.
WJZ Investigator Mike Hellgren on the very public issue.
One councilman called it childish. As for the mayor, she wanted answers and an investigation before the FOP ever called for one. But when pressed, she would not give an answer as to when we could expect those answers.
Tensions are exploding among the mayor, police union and police brass, with the union first to attack the mayor's response to the riots, claiming officers may have been ordered to stand down, putting their safety at risk.
Those allegations were repeated by the Wicomico County sheriff, who came to Baltimore to assist police.
"I heard it myself over the Baltimore City police radio that I had tethered to my body-armored vest. I heard it repeatedly: 'Stand down, stand down, stand down. Back up, back up. Retreat, retreat,'" said Sheriff Michael Lewis, Wicomico County Sheriff's Office. "I'm a 31 year veteran of law enforcement. I had never heard anything like this before in my life."
This week, the fight between the FOP and the mayor erupted on social media, with dueling public statements and a series of tweets, with the mayor stating she made no much order.
She did so again in a new, one-on-one WJZ interview.
"It wasn't until there was a controversy around the stand down order that I even knew what a stand down order was," the mayor said.
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While the union put out a forceful statement with damning allegations, they would not answer a single question for WJZ.
In that statement, the union demanded radio communications between City Hall and police, accusing leaders of "obvious inaction" and claiming "conditions that led to the riot are still present."
"What they're saying is not only not true, but it's not productive," Mayor Rawlings-Blake said.
Councilman Brandon Scott says it's critical that officers get answers.
"We have to question everything that happened during the uprising, during the riots," he said. "The FOP, that's why they're asking for that information, so we can remove all doubt."
Councilman Scott went on to say by not questioning what happened during the riot response, that does a disservice to the city of Baltimore.
