Judge: Police pact will weather political ‘drama and trauma’

BALTIMORE – A federal judge enforcing a sweeping police reform agreement in Baltimore has stressed that political winds change but court orders do not.

In the wake of a scandal engulfing Baltimore’s mayor, U.S. District Judge James Bredar said the consent decree agreement to reform Baltimore’s beleaguered force will withstand any “drama and trauma” in city leadership.

The judge’s comments come as multiple officials are pressing Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh to resign amid investigations into lucrative deals she negotiated to sell her self-published children’s books.

Pugh is on a leave of absence, citing health reasons. She went on leave indefinitely as the state prosecutor’s office began a criminal investigation.

At a Wednesday hearing, Bredar acknowledged he was “frustrated and fatigued” by the city’s latest turmoil.