Baltimore police officials say they're reviewing whether a longtime homicide detective violated department policy in a social media post with a graphic photo of a homicide victim.
The Baltimore Sun reports that Sgt. Robert F. Cherry tweeted the photo of a man on a sidewalk with a large gash on his forehead early Friday. He commented that it "is but one of many incidents of violence in Baltimore city that our police officers deal with ... and this young Black man was NOT shot by police.” He also urged people to call police with tips on homicides and shootings.
Multiple elected officials, including Del. Marlon Amprey and Councilman James Torrence, denounced the post and called on Cherry to remove it. The post has since been deleted. Cherry did not return phone calls and text messages seeking comment.
“The Baltimore Police Department is aware of a disturbing tweet that was released and deleted by one its members,” spokeswoman Lindsey Eldridge said. “The Department has referred this incident to our Public Integrity Bureau for an internal investigation.”
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Police were certain that the photo was from a Baltimore case but didn't have the man’s identity.
Cherry served from 2004 to 2014 as police union vice president and president. He returned to patrol duties, and then rejoined the homicide unit in a supervisory role.
Earlier this year, he criticized the current deputy commissioner and called out department commanders as “incompetent, (who) only promote themselves and who never investigated/testified in any felony/murder cases in federal or state court.”
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He was involuntarily transferred to the midnight shift in April after more controversial comments.
