Anthony W. Batts (born 1960) is an American law enforcement officer who served as the chief of three different police departments in the United States: the
Long Beach Police Department, the
Oakland Police Department
The Oakland Police Department (OPD) is a law enforcement agency responsible for policing the city of Oakland, California, United States. As of May 2021, the department employed 709 sworn officers and 371 civilian employees. The department is div ...
, and the
Baltimore Police Department
The Baltimore Police Department (BPD) is the municipal police department of the city of Baltimore, Maryland. Dating back to 1784, the BPD, consisting of 2,935 employees in 2020, is organized into nine districts covering of land and of waterw ...
.
Early life and education
Batts was born in
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...
, and lived there until he was five years old, when his family relocated to
San Francisco
San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...
, and several years later, to
Los Angeles
Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...
.
He grew up in
South Los Angeles
South Los Angeles, also known as South Central Los Angeles or simply South Central, is a region in southwestern Los Angeles County, California, lying mostly within the city limits of Los Angeles, south of Downtown Los Angeles, downtown.
It is de ...
.
Batts has earned a Doctorate in Public Administration, a Master of Business Management, and a Bachelor of Science in Law Enforcement Administration.
Career
2000s
Batts was
chief of police
A chief of police (COP) is the title given to an appointed official or an elected one in the command hierarchy, chain of command of a police department, particularly in North America. A chief of police may also be known as a police chief or somet ...
for the Californian cities of
Oakland
Oakland is a city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area in the U.S. state of California. It is the county seat and most populous city in Alameda County, with a population of 440,646 in 2020. A major West Coast port, Oakland is ...
and
Long Beach
Long Beach is a coastal city in southeastern Los Angeles County, California, United States. It is the list of United States cities by population, 44th-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 451,307 as of 2022. A charter ci ...
. He worked in the
Long Beach Police Department for 27 years, rising to Chief of Police in 2002. Under Batts, homicides decreased by 45%, and overall crime decreased by 13% in Long Beach. The drop in the violent crime rate in the city was the lowest in nearly 40 years. He led the police department for seven years.
In 2006, while serving as chief of police in Long Beach, Batts became embroiled in "lobstergate": three officers reported colleagues for fishing for lobsters while on duty. Batts allegedly called the reporting officers "malcontents" and forced them into a variety of undesirable assignments in retribution; Batts denied the allegations. The officers sued the City of Long Beach in 2008 and were awarded $1 million each by a jury. Batts left the Long Beach PD shortly afterward.
Batts has stated that he was motivated to seek the Oakland Chief of Police position by the aftermath of the
killing of four Oakland police officers in March 2009. He was appointed Chief of Police in late 2009. In mid-2011, Batts applied to the San Jose Police Department without informing the Mayor of his intention to leave. Having lost the confidence of both the Mayor and the rank-and-file officers, he resigned in October 2011.
2010s
After a brief period in a research position at Harvard, Batts became the police commissioner of the
Baltimore Police Department
The Baltimore Police Department (BPD) is the municipal police department of the city of Baltimore, Maryland. Dating back to 1784, the BPD, consisting of 2,935 employees in 2020, is organized into nine districts covering of land and of waterw ...
on September 27, 2012. During his tenure in Baltimore, his team implemented reforms that led to dramatic reductions in all metrics used to assess police performance, including declines in all Part I crime statistics, excessive force complaints, and citizen grievances.
On December 23, 2014, Batts was named in a lawsuit filed by a whistleblower from the Baltimore Police Department for failing to protect the officer from retaliation after reporting severe police brutality. The lawsuit was settled on June 1, 2016, after Batts was dismissed, with the officer receiving a $42,000 settlement.
On July 8, 2015, Batts was dismissed from his position as Baltimore Police Commissioner in the aftermath of a spike in homicide rates following the
2015 Baltimore riots
On April 12, 2015, Baltimore Police Department officers arrested Freddie Gray, a 25-year-old African American resident of Baltimore, Maryland. Gray's neck and spine were injured while he was in a police vehicle and he went into a coma. On Apr ...
. Reports also cited the controversial handling of the
Freddie Gray case as a factor leading to his removal. Gray died in police custody.
Batts has received numerous awards and commendations for heroism, crime reduction, community activism, and innovative programs. These include the California State University Long Beach Alumni of the Year, Boy Scouts of America Distinguished Citizen Award in Long Beach and Oakland, and Leadership Long Beach Alumnus of the Year. Batts was also honored by the Anti-Defamation League for his community outreach efforts to combat antisemitism, bigotry, and other forms of intolerance. He has served on various boards, including the Long Beach Memorial Hospital Board of Trustees, the Board of Governors for Long Beach City College, the Board of Directors for the Boy Scouts of America, and the Long Beach Children's Clinic.
[
Batts currently serves as an instructor at the FBI-Law Enforcement Executive Development Association.
]
Personal life
Batts's former wife is Laura Richardson, a Californian Democrat and former member of the United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...
.
References
External links
*
''Q&A'' interview with Batts
c-span.org, March 1, 2015.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Batts, Anthony
1960 births
Living people
Law enforcement officials from California
Commissioners of the Baltimore Police Department
Chiefs of the Oakland Police Department