DOJ: Baltimore Police Department Violated Civil Rights (VIDEO)

Yesterday evening, the Department of Justice released a report on the state of the Baltimore Police Department. The scathing report highlighted civil rights and constitutional rights violations by BPD officers and has shocked many across the nation.

It didn’t, however, come as a shock to anyone who’s been living in Baltimore for the past five years. However, the report was enough to cause the federal government to take action.

The DOJ’s investigation has concluded that the Baltimore Police Department must take part in a federal consent decree in order to shore up the city’s police brutality and systemic racism issues. It is one step in a long road for the city of Baltimore, one that many hope will stem the discontent between the city’s residents and the officers sworn to protect them.

The Baltimore Police Department and Freddie Gray

The Department of Justice puts Baltimore’s police department under investigation after the death of Freddie Gray. He was a 25-year-old black man who died in April of 2015 while in police custody.

Six Baltimore police officers were charged in connection to Gray’s death. There were no convictions in the case, leaving many in the community suspicious of the department.

His death, which was ruled a homicide, set off a set of the worst riots in the city in nearly 50 years.

The worst riot in Baltimore happened in April of 1968. That riot was a response to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s assassination. That riot ended with 6 people dead, 700 people injured, and hundreds of small businesses utterly destroyed.

The Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division conducted the investigation of the Baltimore Police Department due to Gray’s death. However, his death was just the tip of the iceberg. The city’s police department has been subject to outrage from the public since before Gray’s death took place.

The investigation took over a year to complete. At that time, DOJ investigators conducted interviews with Baltimore residents and elected officials. They also accompanied police officers on ride alongs. They also discussed strategies for reform with public defenders and prosecutors.

The Department of Justice Report On The Baltimore Police Department

The DOJ’s report on Baltimore’s police force is incredible. It is nothing short of a harrowing glimpse into racial profiling by the department. The 163-page report runs through a variety of civil rights and constitutional rights violations. Instances of excessive use of force and profiling were also present in the report. 

On the unconstitutional arrests made, the DOJ reported:

“Our investigation likewise found reasonable cause to believe that BPD’s approach to street level crime suppression has contributed to officers making thousands of unlawful arrests over the past five years.” (Section 3)

The DOJ also commented on the unlawful arrest of people not committing crimes on Baltimore streets:

“BPD’s application of city ordinances banning loitering, trespassing, and failing to obey an officer’s order violates the Fourteenth Amendment.” (Section 3.b.)

Press Conference Leads To Admissions But Little Responsibility

The press conference that Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake held today was a necessity. Baltimore residents have been hurt and targeted by the department. The very least the city could do was admit to their mistakes. And so they did.

It rang hollow.

Both the mayor and recently-appointed Baltimore Police Department Commissioner Kevin Davis talked about the injustices. However, neither took responsibility. This is understandable for Commissioner Davis, as he took over the leadership position in October of last year.

Mayor Rawlings-Blake is a different matter. She served as mayor for the 5 years of police brutality at the center of the investigation. Though she has spoken at great lengths about healing the city, she has yet to take responsibility for her part in the matter.

She also stated at the press conference that Gray’s death was a separate issue and not part of the investigation.

As mayor, Rawlings-Blake was responsible for the Baltimore Police Department. Very few people believe she didn’t know about the abuses or the complaints, and so the question remains:

Why didn’t Mayor Rawlings-Blake do anything about the Baltimore Police Department’s violations?

The Consent Decree And What Comes Next

Mayor Rawlings-Blake, who will not seek re-election next year, spoke about what will come next for the Baltimore Police Department. She spoke briefly about current police reforms that ran concurrent with the investigation, saying:

“We have not been standing still while this inquiry was underway.”

It is not yet clear what reforms are in the implementation stages.

Vanita Gupta, head of the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division, concluded that the way forward for Baltimore is community policing. She said:

“Effective proactive policing is community policing. It requires a different set of tactics than those employed by Baltimore for many years.”

However, Baltimore residents, who were angry but not surprised by the systemic racism and unconstitutional acts by the police department, did get one bit of good news:

The Baltimore Police Department faces a federal consent decree. This is a court-enforced decree that will see the police department implement and comply with police reforms and recommendations that are forthcoming from the DOJ.

Any failure to comply with the consent decree will result in a lawsuit against the city.

While this information may not warm the hearts of the residents who have been victimized, it may help give Baltimore another chance to do policing right.

You can find out more about the consent decree here. In the meantime, take a look at the press conference:

Image is a YouTube screengrab.