DOJ Says Baltimore And Its Police Are Making Progress In Policing Reforms

The Justice Department recently announced that the City of Baltimore and the Baltimore Police Department had made significant progress in policing reforms.

According to a press release, the DOJ and the City of Baltimore filed a joint motion on Friday seeking court approval to declare the city and the police department have been compliant with the DOJ’s consent decree requirements from a 2015 investigation of BPD practices. An independent monitor found BPD in full and effective compliance with all three sections of the decree.

“The First Amendment’s protections are fundamental to a free society, and the Baltimore Police Department has successfully implemented reforms proven to protect people’s rights during protests and demonstrations,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division.

In 2015, the Justice Department opened an investigation into the Baltimore Police Department after the community uproar over the police death of Freddie Gray. In 2017, the city and courts agreed to the consent decree to resolve the violations identified by the investigation and their root causes, according to the DOJ.

Since the consent decree’s approval, BPD has revised policies and training to ensure officers respect First Amendment-protected activity, including the right to peacefully record police.

The monitor also found:

• No evidence that BPD obstructs individuals’ ability to observe or record police activity.
• Almost no incidents in which BPD officers violated the First Amendment between Jan. 1, 2020, and June 30, 2022, though BPD officers have had thousands of interactions with the public during that period.
• BPD demonstrated compliance with the consent decree’s requirements related to protest activity during the 2020 racial justice protests, protests related to a speech by the Vice President of the United States in 2020 and a separate protest in November 2023.
• BPD implemented new policies and training on how to make lawful arrests and the independent monitor has determined that BPD makes significantly fewer arrests without probable cause.
• Notably, cases in which people who are arrested by BPD are released without being charged by prosecutors, which can indicate an unlawful arrest, decreased 91% between 2020 and 2022 — from an average of 43 per month to four per month.

“The 2020 racial justice demonstrations and protests posed serious challenges to law enforcement nationwide,” said Clarke. “Because of the hard work done under the consent decree to prepare officers for encounters with the community during demonstrations, the Baltimore Police Department has been able to successfully navigate these moments, while supporting the right to protest and keeping the peace. The Justice Department remains committed to collaboratively working with the Baltimore Police Department and the community to ensure constitutional and fair policing — the people of Baltimore deserve nothing less.”

The decree also required the city to work with community leaders to improve accountability when working with the Baltimore City school police, including implementing recommendations from the Community Oversight Task Force and improving transparency regarding its interactions with the students and the community.

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