I have been a member of the Baltimore Police Department for over 20 years, and like many officers of my tenure, I have experience with the disciplinary process. I write to remind Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake, who is pursuing changes to the rules for officer discipline ("Baltimore mayor pushes to toughen state law on police misconduct," Feb. 4), that every action has an equal and opposite reaction. My advice to her is to not pursue this course of action.
The mayor should place herself in our shoes for a few moments; an ordinary patrol officer is expected to be professional, accountable and act with integrity in the face of hostility. We accept this and to a great degree adhere to these principles on a daily basis. Here, and nationwide in the shadow of Ferguson and New York City, we face even greater scrutiny than any other profession. The dangers that we face are constantly increasing. Nonetheless, it is the mayor's wish to pass a bill that will disregard an internal disciplinary process as well as courts of law to allow justice to be decided on the capricious whim of a police commissioner.
If she manages to pass this legislation, I have a question for her. Just what type of officers will choose this agency when every encounter may result in discipline, litigation and subsequent termination? Good luck getting any officer to fill those shoes. An officer of this agency should not have to have more concern with the threat of termination than the criminal element. Furthermore, the ones who remain will cease to be proactive; their thoughts will be to take the path of least resistance. Pursue this legislation, and I can guarantee what will happen in the long run. The agency will suffer from a lack of qualified officers, and the citizens of this city will bear the brunt of your decision.
Michael C. Gentil, Baltimore