The Baltimore Board of Estimates on Wednesday morning approved $45,000 that the Police Department spent on the funeral of Officer William Torbit, as well as $75,000 requested for the commission appointed to investigate his death.
Torbit was fatally shot by fellow officers in January after responding in plainclothes to a disturbance outside the Select Lounge. Torbit was said to have been overcome by an unruly crowd, and fired his service weapon, killing civilian Sean Gamble. Other officers in the area instinctively returned fire, killing Torbit, according to reports.
[Sun photo by Karl Merton Ferron]
Police officials initially said the investigation into the shooting would take three weeks, but it dragged on for about two months. A police spokesman said a final report was handed to Commissioner Frederick H. Bealefeld III last week, and a task force of experts appointed by Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake has begun reviewing the findings and will make recommendations.
The Sun's City Hall reporter, Julie Scharper, asked Rawlings-Blake about the expenditures:
Rawlings-Blake said the task force had requested staff support in a meeting with her and Bealefeld, which represents the bulk of the $75,000 commitment. Commission members will also be reimbursed for expenses, officials have said.
The funeral costs, meanwhile, far exceed the average costs of a traditional service, which are typically pegged at around $10,000. Police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said he did not know how much previous officer funerals had cost the department, though the cost for Torbit's service was increased when his family requested features such as a horse-drawn carriage.