Baltimore PD commissioner takes stage at concert to apologize for 200 years of policing, gets booed

Baltimore Police Commissioner Darryl De Sousa apologized for "200 years" of police behaviors during a stage appearance at a hip-hop concert on Wednesday, according to WJZ-TV.

De Sousa was joined on stage by Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh.

What did he say?

During his brief speech, De Sousa explained his regrets over the way Baltimore police historically conducted their civic duties.

"I want to take about 20 seconds to apologize for all the things the police have done dating back 200 years," he said. "Two hundred years ago all the way to civil rights. All the way to the '80s where crack was prevalent in the cities and it affected disproportionately African-American men. All the way to the '90s. All the way to the 2000s when we had zero tolerance."

"I want to take the time to apologize for what policing did and I promise you we’re going to make a change in the future," he added.

The crowd generally did not react well to De Sousa's apology. While some concertgoers applauded his remarks, Instagram videos featuring De Sousa's short speech documented other concertgoers shouting profanities and booing in response to the commissioner's apology.

Sorry buddy maybe next time

A post shared by Dreamchaser™>>>>>$$$$ (@m.t.s._zae) on Apr 19, 2018 at 5:58am PDT

What have others said?

On Thursday, Gene Ryan — president of the Fraternal Order of Police Lodge #3 — said that he didn't think De Sousa's apology was appropriate.

"I’m not sure that a blanket apology covering 200 years is appropriate," Ryan said.

"Law enforcement was created to protect and serve the citizenry despite race and that is what we strive to do, daily," he added. "Are we perfect? No, of course not, but as a profession we work very hard to care for all of our citizens."