Baltimore Mayor fires city’s police commissioner

Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake fired Baltimore Police Commissioner Anthony Batts, a news release announced today.

Though a specific reason was not provided for the firing, the move comes amid a spike in violence following the death of Freddie Gray, an unarmed man who died while in police custody, and the riots surrounding it.

On Tuesday night’s PBS NewsHour, Rawlings-Blake spoke about the surge in violence in Baltimore:

“We have seen an uptick in homicides and violence since the unrest that we had in the city. We have also seen an uptick in arrests, and we know that we’re not going to be able to arrest our way out of it.”

May was Baltimore’s deadliest month in 40 years.

Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake, New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu and Gary Slutkin of Cure Violence spoke with Gwen Ifill about the surge in violence across the country.