The embattled Baltimore Police Department has brought in a civilian as its new top spokesman, following the exit of a 13-year police officer in the post in July.
T.J. Smith, a 16-year veteran of the Anne Arundel County Police Dept. south of Baltimore, has joined the BPD as director of media relations.
The US Dept. of Justice is investigating the Baltimore PD in the wake of large protests against police this year that followed the death of a 25-year-old man, Freddie Gray, while in police custody.
Interim BPD Commissioner Kevin Davis called Smith a "native son" of the city and "trusted voice" over 16 years in his previous post. “There is a cosmic shift in thinking underway in modern policing and this situation highlights the importance of communication and will become a model in law enforcement,” he said.
Smith will work as a civilian with the BPD with a salary of $120,000 per year.
BPD Capt. Eric Kowalcyzk stepped down after two years as the force's spokesman this year and formed PR shop The INVIA Group to advise law enforcement on messaging.
Husch Blackwell Strategies has added FleishmanHillard alum Michael Slatin as a principal in its public affairs group.
Rory Cooper, a veteran Republican operative and policy specialist, has joined Teneo’s Washington office as senior managing director in its strategy & communications practice.
Brian Fallon, who served as national press secretary for Hillary Clinton’s 2016 presidential run, is signing on next month as Vice President’s Kamala Harris’ campaign communications director.
TikTok is nothing more than a Chinese propaganda tool that poses “a grave threat to America’s national security and, in particular, impressionable children and young adults,” say two Congressmen who want the platform registered as a foreign agent.
Public Strategies Washington has added Abbie Sorrendino, a former aide to now Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer.
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