Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan 'disgusted' by Baltimore councilman's comments on possibly removing police statue

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Outrage in Baltimore over the suggestion that fallen officer memorial be removed

Fox 45 News' Jeff Abell reports on the outrage in Baltimore.

Maryland’s Republican governor and a Democratic city councilman from Baltimore ripped into one another on social media over the latter’s comments about the fate of a public memorial to the city’s fallen police officers this week.

At issue is a memorial to fallen police officers outside the Baltimore Police Department’s headquarters.

Councilman Ryan Dorsey has been at odds with the city’s Fraternal Order of Police, which he recently called “a toxic, divisive organization.”

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On July 4, the same night protesters would tear down a Christopher Columbus statue in the city, he responded to a tweet about demonstrators passing by the police memorial, asking, “How is the FOP memorial not on the list of monuments to remove?”

The memorial is for fallen police officers, not the police union, Baltimore-based WJZ reported, a point that Dorsey conceded in a follow-up post.

Councilman Ryan Dorsey has been at odds with the city’s Fraternal Order of Police. (Baltimore City Council)

“Why would such an organization have a monument in Baltimore City?” he asked in a Facebook post Tuesday. “Some have answered that the FOP memorial is actually not an FOP memorial. So I guess that settles that. Thanks to everyone for the clarification.”

But on Thursday, Gov. Larry Hogan issued a statement of his own, calling Dorsey’s remarks “vile” and demanding an apology.

“I am disgusted by the vile remarks about removing the public memorial saluting Baltimore’s fallen police officers, which was funded and championed by their family members,” Hogan tweeted along with a longer statement.

Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan speaks at a news conference at the Maryland State House on Friday, April 17, 2020 in Annapolis, Md. (AP Photo/Brian Witte)

“Though recent weeks have prompted a discussion about how we should remember controversial historical figures, there is nothing controversial about honoring heroes who have lost their lives protecting the rest of us,” Hogan wrote.

Dorsey responded later in the day, arguing that Hogan’s criticisms were based on a “mischaracterizing” of his comments.

“At no time have I called for the removal of either of the city’s memorials to police officers, and I'm not now calling for that,” he wrote. “My original comment was a question inviting debate and nothing more.”

Dorsey went on to accuse the governor, the city’s Fraternal Order of Police and the  Sinclair Broadcast Group, which owns a local subsidiary that covered the remarks, of “coordinating with each other” to twist his comments.

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“On the topic of monuments, the only thing I have actually called for is for victims of police violence to receive their own memorial at a location in my district, and I’ve introduced substantive legislation to do so,” Dorsey concluded.

Neither Dorsey’s office nor Baltimore’s chapter of the Fraternal Order of Police responded to a Fox News request for comment.