Baltimore's police commissioner went on the Dan Rodricks radio show on WYPR to talk about crime, guns and his relationship with State's Attorney Gregg L. Bernstein. But it was an ex-felon named Thomas who stole the show.
Thomas called in and introduced himself as a former criminal who "spent a lot of time on the street committing crimes with guns, and spent a lot of time in prison." He praised Bealefeld for going after guns and for using the federal system to send gun offenders to long prison terms.
"When gun violence was a joke, everyone on the street took it as a joke," Thomas said. "Now, guys in the prison system are saying, 'I don't want to be caught with a gun.' Even those of us once involved in gun crime, we're sick and tired of these guns and killings."
This comment came after Bealefeld defended himself against people accusing him of wanting to arrest everybody for everything -- arrests under the commissioner have dropped from more than 105,000 in 2005 to 60,000 now.
One caller said prison isn't the answer because criminals come out more violent than they went in. "There is something in the air and the water and the lead paint," the caller said, "that makes Baltimore City a violent city, and that needs to be addressed, and we can't keep throwing police at it."
The commissioner agreed that there are social issues at play, but he also said he's tired of excuses for crime. He noted that 44 percent of people charged with murder in Baltimore last year "were arrested before with guns. They came home, they got guns again and they killed people."
Bealefeld praised ex-felon Thomas, telling Rodricks' listeners, "You won't get a higher testimony of the effectiveness of this approach than listening to Thomas. Everyone should listen to Thomas."
Earlier in the show, Bealefeld said he hoped that with Bernstein as the city's top prosecutor (the two are seen together in the above photo on the streets on New Year's), he's convinced that the men who share the same strategies to fight crime and restore trust in law enforcement.
"We need to close the revolving door," the police commissioner said. "We need to know that we will get a break from these guys that we have to see over and over again in neighborhoods. One of the big things is people's lack of faith in the entire system. Lots of people in too many neighborhoods have lost faith in the rule of law.
"I see that played out in retaliatory violence," Bealefeld continued. "I see victims of nonfatal shootings not willing to cooperate with investigators, not just because they fear their house is going to get firebombed, but because they don't feel the guy is going to go to jail. They don't believe my guys are going to do a good investigation and they don't believe that once caught, the just is going to put him in jail."