Council President Young issues statement on the upcoming confirmation process for police commissioner

BALTIMORE, MD - Per the City Charter, Mayor Catherine E. Pugh has finished her portion of this process and now things turn to the City Council. My colleagues and I look forward to a robust confirmation process that will be transparent and thorough.

On December 9, I will lead a delegation of elected officials from the City Council to Fort Worth, TX. The delegation, which will include Vice President Sharon Green Middleton, Councilman Robert Stokes (Chairman, Executive Appointments Committee), and Councilman Brandon Scott (Chairman, Public Safety Committee), will spend several days in Fort Worth speaking with and interviewing a cross-section of people who have interacted with the candidate, Mr. Joel Fitzgerald. Our questions will be open-ended. We want to understand Mr. Fitzgerald’s time in Fort Worth and allow for honest dialogue.

We have meetings scheduled with members of the clergy, citizen advocates, business leaders, local law enforcement officials, elected representatives and prominent civil rights attorneys, among others. 

My office has personally consulted with representatives from three prominent civil rights organizations that work in Baltimore but have extensive national networks. The ACLU of Maryland, The NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc., and BUILD Baltimore have each provided my office with contacts in the Fort Worth area that our delegation plans to meet with to learn about Mr. Fitzgerald’s tenure.

The Council’s Executive Appointments Committee plans to hold confirmation hearings on the nomination of Mr. Joel Fitzgerald to lead the Baltimore City Police Department after the New Year.