Baltimore mayor fires police chief as murders continue to spike

Deputy police commissioner will step in as interim police commissioner

(Getty Images)

Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake has fired the city's police commissioner as murders continue to climb in the troubled town.

Anthony Batts already had faced a tumultuous 2015 after the death of Freddie Gray and the subsequent protests that briefly devolved into riots and looting.

Now, Mayor Rawlings-Blake has decided that parting ways with the city's top cop is the best option to help the city battle its rising murder rate.

Mr Batts will be replaced by Deputy Police Commissioner Kevin Davis as the force’s interim commissioner, Ms Rawlings-Blake announced.

The announcement of Mr Batt's departure comes the day a report was released that said the Baltimore response to the rioting was "lacking in many areas", according to Politico.

So far in 2015, Baltimore has 154 murders, more than double the number seen over the same period last year.

“Collectively, we will return this city back to normal,” Mr Batts said in June. “Together we’re here to collectively say we’re serious about this fight and we’re serious about bringing people to justice.”

Now, it is clear that Baltimore will be moving forward without him as it continues to work to return the city back to normal. Mr Batts had served as police commissioner since 2012, the Baltimore Sun reported.

Follow @PaytonGuion on Twitter.