Time After Time (The Wire) - Plot - Summary - Politics

Politics

Mayor Clarence Royce leads the demolition of the West side's high rise housing projects. He makes a speech claiming that the destruction of the towers will be good for the community and is a sign of his administration's commitment to reform. The speech is well received but as the dust cloud envelops the audience the applause falters.

Councilmen Tommy Carcetti and Tony Gray preside over a police department review meeting. They grill Acting Commissioner Burrell and Deputy Commissioner William Rawls about increased violent crime in the eastern part of the city and learn that they have reassigned the flex squad and other local units to patrol at high crime rate times of day. Marla Daniels has the ear of state delegate Odell Watkins as they observe the meeting. Afterwards Carcetti, the chairman of the review board, asks Burrell out to lunch. Gray comments on the presence of Watkins and Carcetti asks if he recognized Daniels.

At their lunch Carcetti regales Burrell with political tales of hardnosed Baltimore Democrats from the first district. Carcetti offers Burrell help if the mayor shorts him on funding and support as he can use the crime review subcomittee that he chairs to help Burrell. Burrell tells Carcetti that he believes in chain of command and is loyal to Royce. Burrell later tells fellow African American officer Major Reed of the audacity of Carcetti's approach, asking: "What can a white councilman give me that a black mayor can't?"

Rawls holds a ComStat meeting and berates Eastern District Major Marvin Taylor for treating a spate of robberies in his district as separate incidents. Colvin expresses sympathy for Taylor to Lieutenant Mello who then points out "better him than us" implying that the Western District is next in line to get berated at a ComStat meeting. At the next subcomittee meeting Carcetti has filled the room with press. Burrell meets with the mayor and his chief of staff Coleman Parker about Carcetti's actions. Parker speculates that Carcetti is preparing for a run at the mayor's seat as Carcetti's district is getting its share of funds and representation in Baltimore politics and his ambitions are exceeding his district's needs. Royce scoffs at the idea claiming "Not my chair, not in this town! If the man came off any whiter, he'd be see-through." Royce believes that Carcetti has no chance of winning the mayoral election given the fact that with Baltimore's African American majority, Carcetti is likely to lose on the basis of his race alone. Parker, however, points out that crime rates have risen under Royce's administration and claims that Carcetti will exploit the figures as his campaign foundation. Burrell then asks if there is any way to call Carcetti off. Parker then claims that Royce's administration is not able to negotiate favors with people from Carcetti's district, a majority white ethnic section of Baltimore which has a history for voting against Baltimore's African American politicians. Out of options, they pressure Burrell to have the department reduce violent crime citywide by 5% or more in each district and keep murders under 275 for the year. Burrell agrees as a means of preventing Carcetti from continuing to draw negative media coverage of the department.

At the next ComStat meeting Burrell tells his men to cut the felony rate by 5% and reduce the murder rate to 275. Raymond Foerster, now colonel in charge of the criminal investigation division including the homicide unit, is dismayed at the directive. Rawls then claims that there will be no excuses given to the commanders, observing that if Baltimore had New York City's population, it would see 4,000 murders annually. Major Colvin, the western district commander, realizing how the commanders have been encouraged to water down their crime figures then states "you can reclassify an agg assault, unfound a robbery, but how do you make a body disappear?" questioning how to "juke the stats" with murder victims. Rawls is visibly angry. Burrell responds with a threat of replacing district commanders who cannot provide the numbers they need. Major Valchek asks Colvin what got into him, surprised and amused that he would stand up to Rawls and he tells him that he is nearing retirement and there is little they can do to ruin his career.

Daniels attends a meeting at his home with Marla's political contacts including Watkins. Once they have left Marla thanks him and he returns to sleep at the office.