A former Baltimore police commissioner has lost another round in his five-year legal battle challenging his firing. A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, in Richmond, Va., upheld Wednesday a lower court's dismissal of Kevin Clark's federal lawsuit. Clark also has unsuccessfully sought reinstatement in Maryland's state courts. Clark and two high-ranking deputies were fired in 2004 by then-Mayor Martin O'Malley. The officers alleged in their federal lawsuit that the mayor and other officials had violated their constitutional rights by having police seize their badges and other equipment and escort them from the building. The appeals court held that the tactics were appropriate because they were employment actions, not law enforcement.

-Associated Press