Baltimore Councilman: Too Many Officers In ‘Paramilitary’ Police ‘Have Stood Down Somewhat’

Baltimore City Councilman Carl Stokes (D) said that “too many police officers” “have stood down somewhat” and dubbed the police “a paramilitary organization” on Wednesday’s “Situation Room” on CNN.

Stokes was asked, regarding the replacement of Baltimore Police Commissioner Anthony W. Batts, “Do you think more needs to be done though, is this enough to just chop off the head, in a way, of the police department? Do you need to deal with the rank-and-file and have a comprehensive solution here?”

He answered, “Well, we do, but I think it starts at leadership, I think leadership in a paramilitary organization, where the rank-and-file no longer have confidence in taking the command of the leadership, well that breaks it all down. Now, I have to tell you that I think that too many police officers, good men, good women, have stood down somehwat over the last several weeks. And so we have a situation where criminals are empowered, or at least they feel empowered. and they are, given the melees that’s been going on in our streets. But it starts with the leadership. And the leadership has let the citizens down, not just the rank-and-file.”

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