Baltimore puts 230 desk police officers on street patrol as murders mount – one day after 11 people were shot and three killed in 24 hours
Baltimore Police Department will put 230 administrative officers on patrol
The department made the announcement Wednesday after 11 people were shot, three fatally, in Baltimore on Tuesday
A total of 650 officers will be on patrol and remain there until further notice
That number falls under the recommended 910 officers to be on patrol
The department has struggled to fill 500 officer vacancies
Mayor Catherine Pugh and police say illegal drug trade is behind the murders
Baltimore has recorded 250 homicides so far this year, 44 of them in the last 30 days
By MARLENE LENTHANG
DAILYMAIL.COM
18 October 2018
The Baltimore Police Department announced it will deploy 230 desk officers to the streets after 11 people were shot and three of them killed in just 24 hours on Tuesday.
Speaking in a press conference on Wednesday, Interim Commissioner Gary Tuggle said all hands are on deck in wake of the horrifically fast-rising murder toll in Maryland.
He announced that the department will shut down administration operations at police headquarters and 230 officers assigned to administrative duties will go on patrol, putting a total of 650 officers on the streets.
They will remain on patrol until they’re no longer needed or until administration needs them back, according to the Baltimore Sun.
They added that department is struggling to fill 500 vacancies and have enough cops on patrol. According to the Sun it is recommended for the force to have 910 officers on the streets – the new number of 650 still falls short of that goal.
Tuggle and Mayor Catherine Pugh say illegal drug trade is the cause of the murders.
‘It’s just not acceptable, and one of the common denominators that we’re seeing with this violence is drugs,’ Tuggle said in the press conference.
‘We’ve gotten to a point where we’ve become desensitized to levels of violence in this city that are just totally, totally unacceptable,’ he added.
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