Scott taps former Baltimore police interim commissioner Barksdale as deputy mayor of public safety
BALTIMORE -- Anthony Barksdale, the former interim commissioner of the Baltimore Police Department, has been tapped to serve as the city's Deputy Mayor for Public Safety, Mayor Brandon Scott announced Friday.
Barksdale, a Baltimore native and law enforcement veteran who has years of experience working for the city's police department, succeeds former Deputy Mayor of Public Safety Sunny Schnitzer, who left the role in February.
He was selected for the position after an "intensive and highly competitive" search, the mayor's office said. Barksdale is scheduled to begin his new role on Monday.
In prepared remarks, Mayor Scott described Barksdale as "one of the smartest and most knowledgeable crime-fighting professionals that we can bring to the table."
"His track record speaks for itself," Scott said. "He will act with urgency to improve public safety for all of our residents, while continuing our progress on reforming [the Baltimore Police Department] and [implementing] the Consent Decree."
Barksdale rose through the ranks of the Baltimore Police Department to become Deputy Commissioner of Operations and then Interim Commissioner under then-Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake. The mayor's office said the city saw significant drops in homicides during Barksdale's tenure, including recording fewer than 200 homicides for the first time in 30 years in 2011.
After leaving the police department in 2012 due to health reasons, Barksdale has taken roles as director of security for Horseshoe Casino, senior vice president of Assured Protection and as a law enforcement analyst for CNN.
In his new role, Barksdale is responsible for supervising policies and operations for the BPD, the Baltimore City Fire Department, the Mayor's Office of Neighborhood Safety and Engagement (MONSE) and the Office of Emergency Management (OEM). He will also take point on the mayor's Comprehensive Violence Prevention Plan.
Barksdale expressed his gratitude to Mayor Scott for the appointment, adding that he intends to "hit the ground running" to accomplish the mayor's vision to develop a "better, safer Baltimore."
He said he feels the sense of urgency from residents and vowed to "work closely" with public safety agencies to "protect our communities in a way that fulfills the requirements of the Consent Decree, engages in proven violence prevention strategies, and emphasizes constitutional—yet proactive—law enforcement."
