Baltimore police union accuses City Hall, BPD of withholding tapes, stalling; Mayor says charges 'without basis'

.@MayorSRB and the @BaltimorePolice release simultaneous statements re: @FOP3 request for material re: riots

— Phil Yacuboski (@WBALPhil) June 16, 2015

Baltimore Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 3 and Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake are having a battle of the press releases today, with the police union claiming that it is being denied information it requires to prepare its report on the Freddie Gray riots (also known as the #BaltimoreUprising) that left a section of the city looted and in flames.

FOP3 tweeted yesterday that its After Action Review of the riots — a job it insists should be the responsibility of City Hall and/or the Baltimore Police Department — was nearly complete.

Our very thorough After Action Review of the events surrounding Baltimore riots is nearly complete. Final report to be published soon!

— Baltimore City FOP (@FOP3) June 15, 2015

However, today lodge president Lt. Gene Ryan issued a statement accusing City Hall and the Baltimore Police Department of deliberately stalling the release of the union’s report by withholding information such as recordings of command communications made during the riots.

Statement from Pres. Ryan today pic.twitter.com/QdFX1JGfFU

— Baltimore City FOP (@FOP3) June 16, 2015

The statement reads, in part:

A very crucial piece of information required for the report is all written correspondence and radio transmissions between City Hall and the Baltimore Police Department during the riots. We have also requested answers to several questions regarding the authority of the Department’s legal advisors when giving advice on criminal matters during the unrest, as well as the exact number of officers who have been placed on Medical Leave as the result of riot-related injuries. For more than a month, we have repeatedly requested that this information be provided to no avail. The fact that we have not been supplied the appropriate information shows obvious inaction or, quite possibly, an intentional stall tactic on the part of both the BPD and City Hall.

If the BPD has reviewed the tapes internally, which we hope and expect they have, they should easily be able to provide us with those recordings. By refusing to immediately release the radio transmissions and other command communications made during the riots, Commissioner Batts has missed an opportunity to regain the trust of the City as well as the rank and file police officers. The bottom line is simply that our leadership – Commissioner Batts and State’s Attorney Mosby – has done nothing since the riots to investigate protocol shortcomings and better prepare our officers.