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12 THE BALTIMORE SUN NEWS THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 2015 Bishop apologizes for his oversights Sutton has said, referring simply to "a difficult time" in her life. She was ordained a bishop on Sept. 6 of last year. Cook's attorney, David B. Irwin, could not be reached for comment.

He said last month that Cook had entered a treatment program at Father Martin's Ashley in Havre de Grace, a treatment center for alcohol abuse, and had plans for further treatment. The crash and its aftermath have roiled the church, sparked controversy about how it chooses its leaders and left members pressing officials for explanations. "Many Episcopalians are asking what people in positions of authority in the church knew about Cook's history of addiction and driving while under the abuse of alcohol," the Rev. Gay Clark Jennings, a leader in the national church's governing body, said in a statement last week. "The church needs to "repent for our role in Thomas Palermo's death," she added.

Jennings said she planned to press for reform in the way the church elects bishops and referred to the church's "systemic denial about alcohol and other drug abuse." Asked about Sutton's Lenten statement, one communications expert questioned the wisdom of discussing the case in a religious message. "Does the Cook matter, and Sutton's apparent effort to set the record straight on what he knew, belong in this message about Lent to his people, who have plenty of their own everyday preoccupations and spiritual challenges?" said Louise Schiavone, a senior lecturer in business communication and leadership ethics at the Johns Hopkins Carey School of Business. "I have to wonder how this helps," she said. Sutton's statement opened with seven paragraphs on the broader meaning of Lent, a period of prayer, fasting and reflection in which, he said, "we are called to self-examination, called to identify what holds us back from walking in the light of God." This process, he said, calls us to say "I'm sorry" words of repentance he said are reflected in the very origins of Christianity, when John the Baptist asked followers to confess their sins as he prepared the way for the coming of the Messiah. In his case, Sutton went on, repentance meant coming to terms with several elements of the Cook case, including the "unbearable loss" suffered by Palermo's family and Sutton's lack of knowledge of "all the details" of Cook's 2010 arrest.

"I humbly repent relying on the information we were given rather than insisting on getting more detailed information about her earlier arrest," he said. The diocese has said Cook's previous employer, the Diocese of Easton, strongly recommended her for the position of bishop even though the 2010 DUI arrest occurred during her ministry there. Cook is free on $2.5 million bail. The diocese has asked her to resign, but she has not responded to the request. Spokesmen for the Episcopal Church have said canon law prohibits the national church from firing Cook before its formal disciplinary inquiry is complete.

jonathan.pittsbaltsun.com SUTTON, From page 1 children. She is accused of hitting Palermo with her car Dec. 27 while texting and driving drunk along Roland Avenue in North Baltimore. She has not entered a plea The diocese has acknowledged that when it was conducting a search for a new bishop in 2013, its search committee learned that Cook had been arrested on a DUI charge three years earlier while employed by the Easton diocese. Spokesmen have said, however, that they never learned the details of the Sept.

10, 2010, incident, including that Cook's blood-alcohol was measured at 0.27, more than three times the legal limit, or that police said she had two bags of marijuana in the car at the time. A local paper, the Easton Star-Democrat, published that information at the time. Concluding that the incident was "a one-time problem," the Maryland diocese chose to leave it to Cook to disclose information about her arrest to the church members who would vote in the election for bishop. She never did so explicitly, Panel urges test of body cameras for police "This is just the beginning." Councilman Brandon Scott expected to turn them off and how to store the footage. In the coming months, bid proposals will be sought from vendors.

Unresolved issues include protocols for filming officers' responses to reports of sexual assaults, for interviewing victims in hospitals and for responding to crimes inside medical centers. A policy must also be developed on whether prosecutors should have direct access to the recordings. Some council members backed the mayor's approach to the program. "It had to be done right It had to be fiscally responsible," said Councilwoman Rochelle "Rikki" Spector. "I think it really shows the difference between the mayor's and the council president's approach." Councilman Brandon Scott, a task force member, said city residents have "decades and generations of police mistrust." He predicted that Baltimore's program would become a model across the country.

"This is just the beginning," he said. Councilman Eric Costello said he is glad to see the program moving forward. "Everyone across the board wants body cameras," he said. "The disagreement was over how to implement it. If this is the way we get there, it's a step in the right direction." luke.broadwaterbaltsun.com mpuentebaltsun.com twitter.comMarkPuente the mayor and City Council.

Council members passed a bill that the mayor vetoed to require every officer in the city to wear a body camera. The bill was sponsored by Council President Bernard C. "Jack" Young and Councilman Warren Branch. After studying the recommendations, Young said: "I'm glad we're moving forward with the pilot program. I'm looking forward to working with the mayor." Several other council members said Wednesday that they wanted a more robust program rolled out more quickly.

"We need more than a pilot," said Councilwoman Mary Pat Clarke. "I think we should budget and begin the fiscal year on July 1 with a very good representation of police officers equipped with body cameras." Councilman Warren Branch said he didn't see "anything new or different" in the task force report. "I would have loved to see it take place during the summer. The mere fact she's going to do it this year is good," he said. Councilman Nick Mosby also said he'd like to see body cameras on more officers.

"We need to get to a full-scale approach as quickly as possible." The mayor contended that many practical issues must be resolved before cameras are used, such as when officers might be CAM AS, From page 1 other misconduct. Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake said she is committed to starting a pilot program this year, but noted that there will be challenges as the program expands across the city. She reiterated that she and other community leaders are aware of residents' complaints. "We're fighting like hell every day to make a difference in their lives," she said. A citywide program could cost Baltimore $5.5 million to $7.9 million yearly to furnish cameras to 1,500 patrol officers, depending on the type and number of cameras used, the 16-member task force said.

A pilot program would allow a thorough review of different cameras and data storage capabilities while giving police leaders time to vet policies and practices, the task force said. The group, which has been meeting since last year, is led by the Rev. Jamal Harrison Bryant, the pastor at Empowerment Temple, and attorney James Benjamin Jr. The task force called for testing the cameras in high-crime areas. Other recommendations include: Notifying residents that they are being recorded as soon as an interaction starts.

Residents should be able to ask officers to turn the recorder off if the encounter isn't related to an arrest or search, but the request must be captured on camera Not recording private conversations with confidential informants or uploading recordings to any social media sites. Camera data should be stored for four years. Prohibiting the use of the recordings to create a database of mug shots or use in photo arrays. The data should not be searched by facial or voice recognition software. Task force member Del.

Curt Anderson, who chairs Baltimore's House delegation and is a frequent critic of rogue officers on the force, said the pilot program is the most important aspect of the report "The recommendations are a great basis that will become a policy in the Baltimore Police Department," he added. Rawlings-Blake urged residents to submit comments on the recommendations by March 6. Comments can be sent to feedback.bodyworncamerabaltimoreci ty.gov. The goal is to have a citywide program by July 2016. Equipping Baltimore officers with body cameras has been a contentious issue for Our Winners Traveled to NYC via Amtrak Acela Express Spent a luxurious night at the Radisson Martinique Dined at Blue Fin in Time Square Received tickets for Broadway's new hit, Honeymoon in Vegas! MARTINIQUE www.Radisson.com Vl ill If you are a subscriber, YOU are a Sun Insider! Register today at Sunlnsider.com.