Pratik Handore
‘We Own This City‘ follows the Baltimore Police Department’s Gun Trace Task Force officers and their corrupt actions. The series is based on Justin Fenton’s eponymous 2021 nonfiction book. It highlights the impact of the GTTF scandal and the overall state of policing in Baltimore. In the sixth episode, Mayor Catherine Pugh fires Commissioner Kevin Davis from his position and appoints Darryl De Sousa to replace him. However, De Sousa’s stint as the Commissioner of the BPD is brief. Therefore, viewers must be curious to learn more about De Sousa and his current whereabouts. Well, here’s everything you need to know!
Who Is Darryl De Sousa?
Darryl De Sousa is a former Baltimore Police Department Officer best known for his stint as the department’s Commissioner. De Sousa was born and brought up in New York City. However, he moved to Baltimore in 1983 to attend college. He studied at Morgan State University located at 1700 E Cold Spring Lane, Baltimore. He obtained a degree in applied liberal arts from the university. After graduating, De Sousa joined the Baltimore Police Department in 1988.
De Sousa worked several undercover cases during the 1990s. He later became a Deputy Commander of the Northeast District in 2008. De Sousa was promoted to the rank of Commanding Officer of the Northeast District in 2011. A year later, he was again promoted and became the Lieutenant Colonel of the Patrol Division. By 2013, De Sousa was appointed as the Chief of Patrol.
During his time in the Northeast District, De Sousa proved effective in bringing down the city’s crime rate by 7% in 2012. In 2018, De Sousa served as the Deputy Commissioner in charge of the Patrol Bureau. At the time, BPD Commissioner Kevin Davis was fired by Mayor Catherine Pugh, and he was replaced with De Sousa. Thus, De Sousa became the 40th Police Commissioner of the BPD.
Where Is Darryl De Sousa Now?
In early 2018, Darryl De Sousa was appointed as the Commissioner of the Baltimore Police Department. One of his first significant actions as the Commissioner was the reinstatement of the plainclothes unit that his predecessor dissolved. However, De Sousa’s term as the BPD Police Commissioner ended after he was charged with federal tax evasion. The BPD veteran officers faced three counts of failing to file individual federal tax returns. As a result, De Sousa officially resigned from the role on May 15, 2018, mere months after he was appointed Commissioner.
During the investigation of De Sousa’s tax filings, it was discovered that he had falsely claimed several tax deductions to which he was not entitled. Thus, De Sousa reduced the amount of taxes he owed to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and the State of Maryland. De Sousa admitted he did not file federal returns or state taxes for 2013, 2014, and 2015. “There is no excuse for my failure to fulfill my obligations as a citizen and public official,” De Sousa said in a statement. “My only explanation is that I failed to sufficiently prioritize my personal affairs,” he added.
De Sousa pleaded guilty to the charges against him and was sentenced to 10 months in federal prison, followed by one year of supervised release. The court also ordered him to perform 100 hours of community service and pay the total amount he owes the government in taxes. In May 2019, more than a year after his resignation, De Sousa entered a federal prison in Fairton, New Jersey, to serve his sentence. He was released on November 11, 2020, after spending 275 days in jail. After his release, De Sousa likely returned to life in Baltimore, Maryland. He shared a memoir of his time in prison in 2021.
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