Baltimore Police Commissioner Anthony Batts has reassigned the department's public information chief after criticism in the wake of gun violence which saw 28 people shot over less than a week.
Batts said the PR pro, five-year vet Anthony Guglielmi, was reassigned to a police community relations office to help the police "improve overall." The move came after public officials, citizens and media criticized the spokesman's statements downplaying the violence.
"We got hit in the media blitz not only for our crime but our messaging too at the same time," Batts told local media. "We did have issues take place this weekend and we should have been in front of you telling exactly what was going on. Our messaging this week was terrible."
In one briefing over the weekend, Guglielmi told reporters, "This is a bit of a spike in terms of the weekend, but, all in all, we're pretty satisfied with the way the city is headed, violence-wise."
City council member Carl Stokes said he believes Guglielmi is a "fall guy" for an inept police department.
Guglielmi is a former deputy director of PA for PR agency Spectrum and director of corporate communications for Somnia. He was also director of congressional and public affairs for the U.S. Office of the Special Counsel.
Ten people have died in the shootings since June 21.
The Baltimore Sun said homicides in the city dropped to a three-decade low in 2011 but are on pace to increase for the second straight year.
Ten people have died in the shootings since June 21.
The Baltimore Sun said homicides in the city dropped to a three-decade low in 2011 but are on pace to increase for the second straight year.
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