Former BPD Interim Commissioner Anthony Barksdale Named to Fill Position

BALTIMORE, MD. (Friday, July 8, 2022) - Today, Mayor Brandon M. Scott announced the appointment of Anthony Barksdale as Baltimore’s next Deputy Mayor for Public Safety.

Barksdale, a native Baltimorean and longtime champion of proactive public safety strategies, brings years of law enforcement expertise and a deep knowledge of Baltimore to the position, having served as Deputy Commissioner of Operations and later Interim Commissioner under former Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake after rising through the ranks at the Baltimore Police Department (BPD). During his tenure, homicides and violent crime both saw substantial drops – in 2011, Baltimore had fewer than 200 homicides for the first time in 30 years. He left the police department in 2012 for health reasons. Since his departure, he has served as Director of Security for Horseshoe Casino, Senior Vice President of Assured Protection, and a national Law Enforcement Analyst for CNN.

"Barksdale is one of the smartest, and most knowledgeable crime-fighting professionals that we can bring to the table," said Mayor Brandon M. Scott. "His track record speaks for itself. He will act with urgency to improve public safety for all of our residents, while continuing our progress on reforming BPD and implement the Consent Decree."

As Deputy Mayor for Public Safety, Barksdale will oversee the policies and operations of the City’s public safety agencies – BPD, the Mayor’s Office of Neighborhood Safety and Engagement (MONSE), and the Baltimore City Fire Department (BCFD), including the Office of Emergency Management (OEM) - and the implementation of the City’s Consent Decree. He will also be tasked with coordinating the implementation of the Mayor’s Comprehensive Violence Prevention Plan (CVPP) in partnership with MONSE, which is entering its second year of implementation – residents can find MONSE’s annual report here.

"I want to thank Mayor Scott for selecting me to fill this critical role," said Deputy Mayor for Public Safety Anthony Barksdale. "I plan on hitting the ground running to fulfill the Mayor’s vision for a safer, better Baltimore. I feel the urgency from our residents and promise to work closely with the leadership at BPD, MONSE, BCFD, and OEM to protect our communities in a way that fulfills the requirements of the Consent Decree, engages in proven violence prevention strategies, and emphasizes constitutional – yet proactive – law enforcement."

Barksdale is a native of West Baltimore, a proud graduate of Baltimore Polytechnic Institute, and currently lives in Baltimore City. He fills the position left vacant by the departure of former Deputy Mayor for Public Safety Sunny Schnitzer, who left the Scott administration in February to become a policy advisor for the Biden Administration within the U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Assistance. The Mayor’s Office went through an intensive and highly competitive process to select Barksdale for this position.

Barksdale will start in his new role Monday, July 11.