Baltimore deputy police commissioner suspended

The Baltimore Police Department’s deputy commissioner overseeing internal affairs and officer discipline has been suspended.

Deputy Police Commissioner Brian Nadeau was placed on suspension, the department’s chief spokesperson, Lindsey Eldridge, confirmed.

She said the department was “aware of an investigation involving allegations made in reference to a member of our command staff.”

Commissioner Richard Worley told The Banner that the allegations did not involve Nadeau’s work overseeing investigations, discipline or any cases. But he declined to characterize the accusations further.

Nadeau’s police powers are suspended pending the outcome of the investigation, Eldridge said. Nadeau could not be reached immediately for comment.

In a rare move, the weekly meeting of commanders called Comstat was canceled, sources said.

Speaking to reporters at his weekly news conference Wednesday, Mayor Brandon Scott declined to disclose the nature of the allegations against Nadeau. The fact that someone of his rank was under investigation, however, represented progress in the agency, Scott said.

“Things like this used to get pushed under the rug, especially when it was someone at this level,” Scott said. “We’re showing that everybody can be held accountable in the police department, even someone in the role he’s in.”

Nadeau, who spent more than 20 years with the FBI, joined the Baltimore Police Department in 2019 at a pivotal time, agreeing to oversee the newly formed Public Integrity Bureau amid implementation of a federal consent decree requiring reforms to the department.

Nadeau regularly stands alongside the police commissioner at news conferences to explain the circumstances of police shootings.

On Monday night, along with Worley, Nadeau appeared virtually at the monthly meeting of Baltimore’s Police Accountability Board, at one point stepping in to answer a question from the body about a backlog of trial boards for officers investigated for misconduct.

He’s also been the target of a number of lawsuits in recent years by officers alleging disparate treatment in the disciplinary process.

A federal complaint filed in August on behalf of a former detective who worked for the department for 15 years alleged 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 accused Nadeau of leading internal affairs detectives to “recommend preordained findings consistent with his desired outcomes” and coercing and intimidating administrative officers to dole out discipline in line with his desired outcomes.

The former detective, David Johnson, was fired in 2023 for a “low-level timekeeping infraction,” according to the complaint. The lawsuit alleges that investigators recommended a one-day suspension for Johnson, but that Nadeau overrode their recommendation and “drove the matter to termination.” The lawsuit is ongoing.

While at the FBI, according to an official department biography, Nadeau led an investigation that resulted in the indictment of several members of the East Haven, Connecticut, police department for civil rights violations. In 2012, he was appointed chief of the FBI’s Public Corruption Unit, overseeing public corruption cases across the country.

Nadeau’s salary in 2025 was $231,000, according to city records.

This story has been updated.