Darryl De Sousa Officially Sworn In As Baltimore Police Commissioner
BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- Darryl De Sousa was officially sworn in as Baltimore City police commissioner on Wednesday.
De Sousa becomes the city's 40th police commissioner. This follows the city council's 14 to 1 vote to confirm him earlier this week.
De Sousa moved to Baltimore in 1983 to attend Morgan State University. Five years later, he joined the Baltimore Police Department, rising through the ranks.
He faces a city that is still dealing with a high murder rate and police corruption, but said he was up to the challenges ahead.
"There was a report that I read just maybe two or three days ago, that said, 'Darryl De Sousa has the toughest job in America,'" De Sousa said at Wednesday's swearing in ceremony. "And I agree, I sincerely agree, but I think that we can fix it, and we will fix it.
The only no vote on the council's vote earlier this week was Ryan Dorsey, who said the department needed more change than De Sousa could bring.
"Myself and others of my colleagues asked critical questions to try to understand his values and world view about BPD as a local authority, about the war on drugs, about transparency of internal affairs documents, the contract and relationship to the police union," Dorsey said. "And I heard no answers to any of these questions."
De Sousa replaces Kevin Davis, who was fired last month. He is the city's third commissioner since the riots three years ago.
His annual salary will be $210,000, which is $10,000 more than his predecessor.
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