Some Baltimore City Council members told the 11 News I-Team they’re undecided about whether to confirm Richard Worley as the city’s next police commissioner. At a June 8 news conference, Mayor Brandon Scott announced Michael Harrison would step down as commissioner and named Worley as acting commissioner. The I-Team confirmed on Thursday that Worley never interviewed for the BPD’s top job and was only told about his appointment at 11:30 p.m. the night before the news conference. On Thursday evening, Worley appeared before the City Council Public Safety and Governmental Operations Committee to discuss details of the Brooklyn Homes mass shooting on July 2.| RELATED: Council seeks to find out what BPD, city agencies knew before mass shootingAhead of Thursday’s hearing, the I-Team asked every member of the City Council whether they would vote to confirm Worley as commissioner if the vote happened right now.Ten members did not respond, and a representative for Councilman Isaac “Yitzy” Schleifer, D-District 5, said in a statement: “The councilman gives his full support to Commissioner Worley’s nomination and will be voting for him.”City Council Vice President Sharon Middleton, D-District 6, said she knows Worley well and has watched him move up over his more than two decades with the department. She called the city native a “Baltimore success story.”But when asked on Wednesday whether she’d vote to confirm him, Middleton told the I-Team: “I still want to have some conversations and … get him to answer some questions.” Middleton said that she and Worley are scheduled to meet individually, and added that he has already started meeting with other City Council members one-on-one.”We’re going through some troubling times with our gun violence, and I do want to interview him personally,” Middleton said.| 11 TV HILL VIDEO BELOW: Change of leadership at the Baltimore Police DepartmentVideo below: Harrison steps downVideo below: Worley steps upCouncilman Mark Conway, D-District 4, who chairs the Public Safety Committee, told WBAL NewsRadio 1090 AM and 101.5 FM that the mass shooting is a critical test for Worley. The I-Team on Thursday asked Conway whether that means Worley’s confirmation is in jeopardy.”I can’t say that necessarily,” Conway told the I-Team. “I will say, this is a test — not just for Commissioner Worley, but for all of us, including myself. I want to make sure that we do our job, do it well, and we are thorough in our response to the shooting.”Asked directly on Thursday whether he would vote to approve Worley, Conway told the I-Team: “We’ll assess when we have that opportunity.”Worley provided the most details released to the public so far on the Brooklyn Homes mass shooting — and the BPD’s response — at Thursday’s public safety meeting.Asked Friday morning whether the handling of the mass shooting will change his view on whether Worley should get the job permanently, Councilman John Bullock, D-District 9, told WBAL News Radio 1090 AM and 101.5 FM: “I will say, it hasn’t changed my view. And, I’ll say this for transparency purposes: I do believe that he’s an adequate pick — his experience coming up in the police department, his experience being in the city — but I will say also, even though we didn’t get the answers that we wanted to get, I was at least encouraged by his ability to say, ‘Look, we messed up,’ and then being willing to try to get it right.”
Some Baltimore City Council members told the 11 News I-Team they’re undecided about whether to confirm Richard Worley as the city’s next police commissioner.
At a June 8 news conference, Mayor Brandon Scott announced Michael Harrison would step down as commissioner and named Worley as acting commissioner. The I-Team confirmed on Thursday that Worley never interviewed for the BPD’s top job and was only told about his appointment at 11:30 p.m. the night before the news conference.
On Thursday evening, Worley appeared before the City Council Public Safety and Governmental Operations Committee to discuss details of the Brooklyn Homes mass shooting on July 2.
| RELATED: Council seeks to find out what BPD, city agencies knew before mass shooting
Ahead of Thursday’s hearing, the I-Team asked every member of the City Council whether they would vote to confirm Worley as commissioner if the vote happened right now.
Ten members did not respond, and a representative for Councilman Isaac “Yitzy” Schleifer, D-District 5, said in a statement: “The councilman gives his full support to Commissioner Worley’s nomination and will be voting for him.”
City Council Vice President Sharon Middleton, D-District 6, said she knows Worley well and has watched him move up over his more than two decades with the department. She called the city native a “Baltimore success story.”
But when asked on Wednesday whether she’d vote to confirm him, Middleton told the I-Team: “I still want to have some conversations and … get him to answer some questions.”
Middleton said that she and Worley are scheduled to meet individually, and added that he has already started meeting with other City Council members one-on-one.
“We’re going through some troubling times with our gun violence, and I do want to interview him personally,” Middleton said.
| 11 TV HILL VIDEO BELOW: Change of leadership at the Baltimore Police Department
Video below: Harrison steps down
Video below: Worley steps up
Councilman Mark Conway, D-District 4, who chairs the Public Safety Committee, told WBAL NewsRadio 1090 AM and 101.5 FM that the mass shooting is a critical test for Worley. The I-Team on Thursday asked Conway whether that means Worley’s confirmation is in jeopardy.
“I can’t say that necessarily,” Conway told the I-Team. “I will say, this is a test — not just for Commissioner Worley, but for all of us, including myself. I want to make sure that we do our job, do it well, and we are thorough in our response to the shooting.”
Asked directly on Thursday whether he would vote to approve Worley, Conway told the I-Team: “We’ll assess when we have that opportunity.”
Worley provided the most details released to the public so far on the Brooklyn Homes mass shooting — and the BPD’s response — at Thursday’s public safety meeting.
Asked Friday morning whether the handling of the mass shooting will change his view on whether Worley should get the job permanently, Councilman John Bullock, D-District 9, told WBAL News Radio 1090 AM and 101.5 FM: “I will say, it hasn’t changed my view. And, I’ll say this for transparency purposes: I do believe that he’s an adequate pick — his experience coming up in the police department, his experience being in the city — but I will say also, even though we didn’t get the answers that we wanted to get, I was at least encouraged by his ability to say, ‘Look, we messed up,’ and then being willing to try to get it right.”
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