Police staffing woes complicate reform effort in Baltimore

BALTIMORE — After a grueling defensive tactics class with a dozen other recruits, Antonio Martinez secures his expandable baton and wipes the sweat from his brow. He’s getting ready to make his debut as a rookie cop on the streets of Baltimore, a city with the dual misfortune of having high rates of violence and a dysfunctional police force. For Baltimore, a city with chronically high rates of violent crime and a dysfunctional police force laboring under a tarnished image, there’s a constant challenge in drawing enough recruits to stem the outflow, including retirements and a churn of younger officers with roughly three to seven years on the job giving up their badges. The judge overseeing the process, U.S. District Judge James Bredar, said without more bodies the city’s force “will be unable to meet some of the consent decree’s most basic requirements.” Timothy Mygatt, a Justice Department lawyer, said staffing shortages are affecting the BPD’s ability to achieve compliance in critical areas. Baltimore Police Department spokeswoman Lindsey Eldridge said the agency will at some stage need to add positions to its budget authorization to meet the long-term staffing goals, but it’s prioritizing the filling of current vacancies before making any request.