Ed Norris
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Edward T. Norris (b. April 10, 1960) is an American radio personality who hosts the Ed Norris Show on WHFS in Baltimore, Maryland. He also served as police commissioner for Baltimore, Maryland, and was Deputy Commissioner for Operations and a 20 year veteran of the New York Police Department.
In March, 2000, Norris was selected to become Police Commissioner of the Baltimore Police Department by Mayor Martin O'Malley. He left the Baltimore Police Dept. in December 2002 in a flurry of media speculation about acrimony between Norris and staffers in the O'Malley administration. Norris continues to have an acrimonious relationship with members of the O'Malley administration.
In 2002, Maryland Governor Robert Ehrlich appointed Norris as Superintendent of the Maryland State Police. He resigned from the State Police when he was indicted on criminal charges. Norris continues to have a good relationship with Ehrlich, who is a frequent guest on the Ed Norris Show.
In December, 2003, Norris was indicted on three charges by U.S. Attorney Thomas DiBiagio. Two of the counts charged Norris had made illegal personal expenditures from the Baltimore Police Department’s supplemental account. The third count alleged that he had lied on a mortgage application, stating that approximately $9,000 he received from his father was not a gift—as was stated in the loan papers—but a loan. Norris has alleged political motivation behind the charges brought by DiBiagio. The political motivation has been alleged to be in furtherance of DiBiagio's own career, and in retribution for Norris's testimony before the 9/11 Commission.
As part of a plea bargain in May 2004, Norris pleaded guilty to the first two counts and was sentenced to six months in federal prison, six months of home detention, and 500 hours of community service, which Judge Dick Bennett said must be served in Baltimore. The plea bargain avoided a possible 30-year sentence on the mortgage fraud charge.
Today, Norris is host of the Ed Norris Show on WHFS 105.7 FreeFM in Baltimore, Maryland. The show broadcasts from 11:00AM to 3:00PM Eastern Time (previously 11:00AM to 2:00PM). The show is notable for its cynicism of Baltimore city and Maryland state politics. A highlight of the show is the crime reports and police department stories submitted by listeners via the Crimecall website.
Norris also has a recurring minor role as a homicide detective bearing the same name in HBO’s The Wire.
[edit] Sources
- Ed Norris at the Internet Movie Database
- Eddie (Baltimore City Paper 06/01/05)
- Back in town, Ed Norris begins a new life on the radio (Baltimore Sun 08/16/05)
