Baltimore police deputy commissioner Brian Nadeau suspended pending investigation
Baltimore Police Department Deputy Commissioner Brian Nadeau has been suspended pending an investigation, a police spokesperson said.
Police said the department was made aware of an investigation involving allegations against a member of its command staff.
"In accordance with BPD protocol, the member's police powers were suspended, pending the outcome of the investigation," a department spokesperson said.
Police have not disclosed what Nadeau is being investigated for or who made the allegations.
Nadeau joined the Baltimore Police Department in 2019 after retiring from the FBI following 22 years of service. When he joined BPD, Nadeau oversaw the Public Integrity Bureau.
The bureau handles investigations into allegations of police misconduct.
Nadeau currently oversees the department's Internal Affairs and officer discipline operations.
He is also frequently seen alongside Police Commissioner Richard Worley at news conferences.
According to The Baltimore Banner, Nadeau has previously been sued by officers who alleged disparate treatment in the disciplinary process.
The Banner reported that a federal complaint filed in August on behalf of a former Baltimore police detective who worked for the department for 15 years alleges Nadeau became "personally and intricately involved in investigations that were of interest to him, routinely directing detectives on how to proceed, whom to interview, and what findings to reach."
The lawsuit further alleges that Nadeau directed Internal Affairs detectives to "recommend preordained findings consistent with his desired outcomes" and coerced and intimidated administrative officers into imposing discipline consistent with those outcomes, according to The Banner.
The former detective, David Johnson, was fired in 2023 over what the lawsuit described as a "low-level timekeeping infraction."
According to the complaint obtained by The Banner, investigators recommended a one-day suspension for Johnson, but the lawsuit alleges Nadeau overrode that recommendation and "drove the matter to termination."
The allegations in the lawsuit have not been proven in court.
BPD has not disclosed whether the allegations in the lawsuit are related to the investigation that led to Nadeau's suspension.
