Last week, it was revealed that Baltimore City police commissioner Darryl De Sousa failed to file federal taxes for three years. Federal prosecutors have charged him with three misdemeanor counts for failure to file for 2013, 2014, and 2015. De Sousa faces up to one year in prison and a $25,000 fine for each count. Upon learning the news, Mayor Catherine Pugh expressed her support for the commissioner, but later placed him on paid administrative leave.

Today, Pugh released a statement announcing the resignation of Chief De Sousa from his position as police commissioner after less than five months.

“I want to reassure all Baltimoreans that this development in no way alters our strategic efforts to reduce crime by addressing its root causes in our most neglected neighborhoods,” she said in a statement. “This broad-based, grassroots approach—underpinned by the utilization of new crime-fighting technology—is working and will continue to be effective as indicated by the downward trend in violence.”

The mayor has also said that she is actively searching to find a replacement, but Deputy Commissioner Gary Tuggle—who was named acting commissioner on May 11 following De Sousa’s suspension—will serve in the interim. 

“The Baltimore Police command staff is fully committed to bringing about the reforms to the practices and culture of the department that we are implementing, and which are vital to ensuring the trust and confidence of all our citizens,” Pugh said. “As mayor, I will not let up in pursuing my top priority of making our city safe and our neighborhoods worthy of the lives of all residents.”

This afternoon, Tuggle sent an internal memo to the BPD staff to thank them for their professionalism and to reinforce his focus on crime and the well-being of the city during his interim. 

“The sworn and civilian staff here have done a great job and the results of your hard work continues to show as we have seen across the board reductions in violent crime,” he said. “We have a long way to go, but I know you are all up for the challenge. Thank you for your professionalism during these tough times. We will succeed because you all are the professionals who keep our agency moving forward.”

The information about De Sousa’s taxes is causing the public to wonder why this wasn’t detected during the city council’s confirmation hearings last February following his appointment as police commissioner on January 19, the same day Pugh terminated then-police commissioner Kevin Davis citing increased spikes in crime. 

“One of the lessons that we’ve learned clearly is that Baltimore City and this administration needs to be bit more invasive in examining candidates for high level, highly responsible positions,” city solicitor Andre Davis told The Sun. “We’re going to ask more questions, more pointed questions, more focused questions and we’re going to broaden the areas into which we make inquiry.”

Two other officials under Pugh recently resigned after questions were raised about their backgrounds. In March, her spokesman Darryl Strange quit just hours after being introduced due to three lawsuits filed against him when he was a police officer. Earlier this month, the city’s new deputy civil rights director, Charles G. Byrd Jr., also resigned amidst questions about his disbarment last year.

De Sousa admitted on Twitter that he willingly failed to file his federal and state taxes for three years and is currently working to satisfy his past requirements.

“While there is no excuse for my failure to fulfill my obligations as a citizen and public official,” he said. “My only explanation is that I’ve failed to sufficiently prioritize my personal affairs. Naturally, this is a source of embarrassment for me and I deeply regret any embarrassment it has caused the police department and the City of Baltimore.”

Although the position of police commissioner has a historically high turnover rate in Baltimore, De Sousa’s is one of the shortest tenures. Due to his long career in the city, he had support of many community organizations and city leaders. Councilman Brandon Scott, who supported De Sousa’s hiring, was disappointed when he learned of the charges but says the city can’t “afford those types of distractions.”

“We don’t need any distractions away from reducing the violence in the city and from reforming the police department,” he said. “This is a perfect time for increased community oversight of the police department and its policies. This just shows that we should have done this a long time ago.” 

The P.A. announcer called Ray Glasgow III’s name and number during pregame introductions, but his black, orange, and white No. 10 jersey rested over the back of the metal bench at the Poly-Western High instead.  

It was Monday night, almost exactly 48 hours since the 17-year-old City College boys’ lacrosse team captain was shot and killed a few miles away in what police are calling a case of mistaken identity. And it was time for the city title game that he’d been looking forward to so much. “He was ready for this championship,” teammate and City College sophomore Makai Cummings said. “That’s all he ever talked about.”
 

He should have been there, leading his teammates with his gregarious personality on the sideline and on the field like he’d done all spring, but around 6 p.m. Saturday an unknown gunman stepped out of what police believe was a white Nissan Altima on the 100 block of S. Eden St. and opened fire with a rifle on four friends sitting inside a parked car.  

An 18-year-old was injured, and Glasgow was killed, the city’s 95th murder this year, a week after the well-liked junior football and lacrosse player (“He was the most genuine person you’d ever meet,” said senior Malik Hamm) had just attended prom in a light blue suit. He also recently toured historically black Hampton University in Virginia with his father, where he hoped to play lacrosse for Baltimore native and former Morgan State player Lloyd Carter.  

“It’s just too much,” Mayor Catherine Pugh said. “We spoke to the family and they are grieving. So are the children, and so is this city.”

In their grief, Glasgow’s teammates decided via group text that they would still play in Monday’s championship game against Mervo, whom they’d faced for the title the previous two seasons. “It was hard,” Hamm said. “At first, you want to play because you know Ray would have wanted to win this game, but then throughout the game, it gets on a lot of people’s minds and they want to do too much.”  

City started a symbolic man down on defense, Glasgow’s position, the emotion clearly raw, and jumped to a 2-0 lead, but Mervo scored nine of the game’s next 12 goals to take a 9-5 lead midway through the fourth quarter. Glasgow’s friend Charles Pitt Jr., who switched his own jersey to No. 10 in tribute, scored four times and had two assists, and Mervo won 9-7.  

“It took a lot of guts for you guys just to come out here,” City coach Anthony “Merc” Ryan told the 12 distraught players gathered around him afterward, and then began talking to local reporters about gun violence in the city, and another young man gone because of it. Memorial services will be held this weekend.  

“Just his presence,” Ryan said of what he missed about Glasgow. “Forget about the fact that this guy is an outstanding lacrosse player. His presence when we’re down and need a push and need that leader on the sideline and the field that’s going to ignite the team, Ray is that guy.”  

After arriving toward the end of the first quarter, Glasgow’s father wore his son’s jersey on the sideline, next to his mourning mother and determined yet distracted teammates. A poster present on Monday signed by City College students included messages of love and support with #LongLiveRay and one of his nicknames, “RGIII.”    

Earlier in the day, students at City Springs Elementary School, where Glasgow attended and near where he was killed, held a ceremony in his honor that Pugh and police commissioner Darryl De Sousa attended. The pair also spoke to local media at halftime of Monday’s game, with the commissioner saying he believed none of the people in the car were intended targets, that detectives found seven .233 rifle casings at the scene, and asked for anyone with information on the shooting to come forward.  

“This is a redball case for us,” De Sousa said, which is maybe why City junior defenseman Tim Dunnock said this to a friend before leaving Poly’s field for the night: “Stay safe out there.”