BALTIMORE — In a newly released report, Baltimore City's Inspector General uncovered multiple security breaches that led to a former Deputy Comptroller gaining access into City Hall, resulting in the destruction of several official documents.
Bernice H Taylor was captured on surveillance entering City Hall on August 6 and 7.
She'd already been retired for several months, after serving 23 years as Deputy Comptroller and Clerk for Baltimore City's Board of Estimates.
Baltimore Police officers assigned to the entrances of City Hall, and tasked with vetting who comes and goes, never checked for any credentials.
The IG found Taylor had made previous arrangements with a current employee to come and clean out her office.
Prior to officially retiring in March, Taylor was busy dealing with personal family matters and never got the chance to gather her things.
During the time Taylor was granted access, the Comptroller's office was the subject of a Federal Department of Labor Investigation.
At that point the city had set up several new protocols, prohibiting access to certain buildings and measures to preserve official records.
It turns out, management within Human Resources signed off on Taylor showing up, but with the understanding she'd be supervised.
The Comptroller employee accompanying Taylor did not notify her of the new policies, and failed to monitor her activity in the office.
RELATED: Former deputy comptroller shreds documents amid federal investigation
Although Taylor didn't destroy any evidence relevant to the federal investigation, records she deemed non-essential to her successor were destroyed.
In response, Baltimore Police Commissioner Michael Harrison said the issue is being addressed internally with the officers involved.
Outgoing Comptroller Joan Pratt also stated new protocols have been reinforced to prevent any future security breaches.
Read the entire report below.
