DOJ: ‘Significant milestone’ in policing reform

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Baltimore joined the Justice Department to file a motion Tuesday asking a federal court to declare the Baltimore Police Department (BPD) in full and effective compliance “with key consent decree provisions related to the safe transportation of people in custody and officer assistance and support,” Justice Department officials said Tuesday.

In 2015, Freddie Gray, a 25-year old African American male was arrested by BPD officers. Video footage captured by a witness showed BPD officers dragging Gray into a police van after he was handcuffed. One-week later, Gray died in police custody of a spinal injury. While his death sparked the 2015 Baltimore riots, it also sparked massive police reform.

The joint motion is based on BPD’s consistent progress towards achieving the goals of the consent decree. The independent monitor’s recent report on Dec. 29, 2023, found BPD in full and effective compliance with both provisions. If the court grants the motion, BPD must maintain compliance with the provisions for one year before the court can terminate these sections of the consent decree, according to Justice Department Officials.

Justice Department officials said they opened a comprehensive investigation of BPD practices in 2015 after considering requests from city officials and community members in the wake of the death of Gray. The city agreed to and the court approved a consent decree in 2017 to resolve deficiencies identified by the investigation, including transport practices that placed detainees at significant risk of harm.

Since approval of the consent decree, BPD has overhauled its fleet of transportation vehicles, safety equipment, data collection mechanisms, policies and training. BPD now closely tracks information about all transports, including any injuries suffered by detainees, and during the 17-month period assessed by the court-appointed independent monitor, there were only 11 reported injuries during more than 16,000 transports, Justice Department officials noted.

“We are pleased the Baltimore Police Department has successfully implemented the reforms needed to safely transport detainees in its custody,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division.

“Injuries during transport have become extremely rare, and BPD now has in place the equipment, training, policies and practices to maintain this safety record. The Justice Department is committed to collaboratively working with the Baltimore Police Department and the community to ensure constitutional, fair and nondiscriminatory policing for all Baltimore residents. The citizens of Baltimore deserve nothing less,” Clarke said.

*Key accomplishments include:

• Safe Transport Vehicles: BPD has overhauled its transport vehicles to outfit all with necessary safety equipment.
• Improved Video Recording Equipment: BPD has completed the installation of required video recording equipment and conducts and documents monthly inspections to confirm that the equipment is functioning.
• Proper Searches of Detainees: BPD has adopted policies that require searches of detainees by both the arresting officer and the transporting officer to protect the safety of the detainee during transport.
• Improved Data Collection: BPD has implemented a new records management system to streamline data collection, analysis and review. BPD now tracks important data, like whether a detainee reported an injury or medical distress, needed to be transported with individuals of the same sex or gender identity or required an accommodation for their medical equipment. The new software enables real time compliance assessment, which BPD can use to inform policy changes and identify training needs.
• Enhanced Auditing: BPD has developed an audit process to examine transport of detainees. The audit unit reviews the documentation and video recordings to determine the transporting officer’s compliance with policy. Violations of BPD policy constitute misconduct and result in referrals to BPD’s internal affairs unit for investigation.

*Source: U.S. Department of Justice

BPD has also devoted significant resources to officer assistance and support, another area found to be deficient in the department’s investigation, including creating an Officer Safety and Wellness Section within BPD, partnering with an employee assistance program to provide mental health and wellness servicers for officers and their families and establishing a network of peer support teams within BPD. Over the past few years, more than 10% of officers have consistently used the employee assistance program, with 31% using it in 2021.

As previously reported by the Wisconsin Law Journal, in the Summer of 2023, law enforcement officials in Milwaukee stood before the news media questioning why some remain active officers.

“Some of those officers, I have to wonder, do I really want them on the job?,” Assistant Milwaukee Police Department Chief Waldner said.

“That’s the truth. Not everyone should be an officer. If you shouldn’t, then you should go, because if this is not where you want to police in Milwaukee where there is diversity, and social differences, and all of these wonderful things … if you can’t see that then peace out, you gotta go,” Waldner said.

In response, Ashanti Hamilton the Director of the Milwaukee Office of Violence Prevention said, ” I want everybody in the room to just realize what’s happening. The Assistant (Police) Chief just stood before the press and said hold us accountable and if you don’t understand how to police in this community and police with constitutionality, dignity and respect, then you don’t need to be in this police department.

The consent decree, as well as additional information about the Civil Rights Division, are available on its website at www.justice.gov/crt/special-litigation-section-cases-and-matters.