Baltimore’s police commissioner, Anthony Batts, took to Twitter yesterday afternoon to do a virtual meet-and-greet with his constituents. A number of interesting things happened, including one that captured the attention of media-watchers nationwide.
Yes, the guy in charge of the BPD has never watched the Wire. This was news to media outlets like ProPublica, probably because in certain social circles it seems unthinkable that there’s anyone out there who hasn’t yet seen the show. I agree that he probably should check it out; there are some messages there worth hearing, and it’s entertaining to boot. (Although maybe Batts’s ignorance is a step forward, considering our previous commissioner’s feelings about the show…)
@BaltimorePolice Commissioner can you win the drug war, and if ‘no’ how much longer will you continue to fight it?
— Anthony Lozupone (@loZuponeFellsPT) January 30, 2014
But Batts also said a number of other interesting things, like how the department is not willing to give up on the drug war and plans to increase the number of walking beat cops on the street. Despite the worryingly high number of murders in the first month of 2014, Batts says that the pace “has slowed and I’m confident our strategy will work.”
@matthew_loftus 1/2 I’m disturbed by the pattern of the past 5 years, I have no tolerance for this, job 1 of PSAB is to bring it to and end
— Baltimore Police (@BaltimorePolice) January 30, 2014
Are the commissioner’s television watching preferences really the most important part of this conversation? I can’t believe I’m about to say this but– can we all shut up about The Wire for once?
@BaltimorePolice also, i noticed you have never watched the wire, so my next question is: would you like to borrow my dvd box set?
— kelly connelly (@ohbaltimore) January 30, 2014
For a nuanced take on Batts’s tweets, read the always-on-top-of-it Justin Fenton here.
