De Sousa suspended with pay in wake of federal tax charges

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Baltimore Police Commissioner Darryl D. De Sousa was suspended with pay by Mayor Catherine Pugh on Friday, one day after he was charged in federal court with three misdemeanor counts of failure to file taxes.

Pugh, in a statement Friday, praised De Sousa as “an effective leader” but said the suspension “is in the best interest of the Baltimore Police Department, the City of Baltimore, and him personally.”

Pugh had issued a statement Thursday saying she has “full confidence” in De Sousa. Deputy Commissioner Gary Tuggle will take over as acting commissioner.

De Sousa, in a statement Thursday, admitted to failing to file his state and federal returns between 2013 and 2015 but said he did for 2016 and requested an extension for 2017.

De Sousa added he paid federal, state and local taxes through salary withholding but “failed to sufficiently prioritize” his private affairs.

Federal court filings unsealed Thursday do not state how much money De Sousa owes.

The commissioner is being represented by Steven D. Silverman and Andrew C. White, of Silverman, Thompson, Slutkin & White LLC in Baltimore, who entered their appearances Thursday afternoon. Silverman, in a statement Friday, said his client did not know of the charges against him until they were filed.

“Criminal charges are usually a last resort by the government after the taxpayer has ignored the government’s warning,” Silverman said. “Had the government made an inquiry prior to charging, the government would have learned that Commissioner De Sousa was in the process of seeking assistance from a professional tax consultant to file all past due returns.”

If the federal charges are proven, Baltimore’s top cop faces a maximum sentence of one year in prison and a $25,000 fine for each of the three counts.

De Sousa, 53, was touted as a change agent when Pugh picked him earlier this year as commissioner, even though he joined the city’s force in 1988. He succeeded former commissioner Kevin Davis, who spent 2 ½ years at the top job. At the time, Pugh said the leadership change was needed, given the city’s eye-popping violent crime rate.

Some prominent activists have portrayed the federal case against De Sousa as a sign that Baltimore’s leaders don’t know what they are doing.

“So the feds say he missed taxes for three years. Now, if you vet a person the first thing you do is check out their money, correct?” said Duane “Shorty” Davis.

When asked at the press conference about the vetting process for De Sousa, the mayor said “we learned a few lessons.”

“I thought we vetted him pretty well. We went through all of his police credentials,” Pugh said.

According to a biography provided by the city, Tuggle is a Baltimore native who began his law enforcement career as a city police officer. In 1992, he joined the Drug Enforcement Administration, where he rose through the ranks, with posts eventually including Special Agent in Charge of the Philadelphia Field Division.

Tuggle returned to the Baltimore Police Department in March 2018.

“All Baltimore citizens can be assured that these developments will in no way impede our relentless efforts to make our city safer,” Pugh said in a statement Friday.