It's official, Darryl De Sousa is Baltimore's top cop.
In a ceremony today, Mayor Catherine Pugh spoke of violence reduction and pointed to but was careful to not boast about reduced crime so far in 2018.
She says she believes it will continue based on what she's already witnessed from the 30-year veteran she chose to run the BPD.
"To see creativity coming from this commander and the strategic way in which he looks at crime, I think is going to bode well for this city," the mayor said.
Baltimore City Council President Jack Young echoed that sentiment.
Familiar with the career of De Sousa, Young felt the mayor made the right choice.
"Saw how the community just loved him and everywhere that I went during his initial stage of acting [commissioner], people were saying a lot of positive things about him," Young said.
But it isn't acting anymore, it is in practice now and for his part the new commissioner spoke of crime reduction, honoring the consent decree, reforming the identity of the department and most of all, he pledged community will be the biggest part of the crime fight in 2018.
Big plans for a big job.
"From this day forward like I've done when I walked in the door on December 14th, 1988, I am still going to have that same passion and that same drive to make Baltimore city the greatest police department, to make Baltimore city a 21st century police department."
And with that, Commissioner Darryl De Sousa signed his name in city book just under Kevin Davis; starting the clock on a new direction for one of the oldest police departments in the country.
De Sousa said he started the week with a retreat at the Hilton Hotel in downtown Baltimore with all his command staff.
He says there, they set a tone and a direction for this administration.
WATCH THE FULL CEREMONY BELOW:
.@BaltimorePolice Commissioner @Darryl_De_Sousa now on the books. pic.twitter.com/d5DpSCzs4M
— Brian Kuebler (@BrianfromABC2) February 28, 2018
