Baltimore police chief Anthony W. Batts was fired on Wednesday by Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake, who cited this year's "crime surge" as the motivating factor in her decision.
Since May 1, when six officers were charged in connection to the death of Freddie Gray, murders have "risen to a level not seen in decades,"
reported The New York Times.
The city has experienced 155 homicides so far this year, 50 more than in the same period last year. Nearly half of the killings have occurred since May 1. Additionally, non-fatal shootings have nearly doubled.
An "after-action review" of the April riots that followed Gray's death was also released on Wednesday. In it, the city’s police union reported that they "lacked basic riot equipment, training and, as events unfolded, direction from leadership."
"The officers repeatedly expressed concern that the passive response of the Baltimore police commanders to the civil unrest allowed the disorder to grow into full-scale rioting," Gene Ryan, president of the Baltimore Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 3, wrote in the report,
according to The Associated Press.
More than 150 officers were injured during the April riots.
The mayor's office criticized the report upon its release, and denied assertions that Batts' firing was a response to the report.
Rawlings-Blake originally appointed Batts as commissioner in September 2012.
Deputy Police Commissioner Kevin Davis was named interim commissioner following Batts' firing.
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