Justice department criticizes BPD conduct

The Department of Justice (DOJ) Civil Rights Division released an extensive report on Aug. 10 reviewing the policing practices of the Baltimore Police Department (BPD). The report revealed that there has been a pattern of violations of federal and constitutional law and systemic discrimination against African Americans by the BPD.

The investigation began in 2015 following the death of Freddie Gray while in police custody and the subsequent Baltimore uprising. It is also part of a push by the Obama administration in investigating unconstitutional policing in numerous U.S. cities.

Four major types of abuse were detailed by the report: unconstitutional stops, searches and arrests; use of excessive force; retaliation against people expressing themselves freely and discriminatory practices against African Americans.

Due to zero-tolerance law enforcement policies implemented in the late 1990s, many BPD officers were instructed to make frequent stops and arrests for minor offenses. The report details that from Jan. 2010 to May 2015, 300,000 pedestrians were stopped, primarily African Americans.

In stop and frisk practices, many officers violated the permissible scope of search. Additionally, there were instances of officers performing public strip searches prior to arrest.

BPD officers were found to have made arrests without probable cause. Police detained individuals for “loitering” or “trespassing” on public sidewalks without providing adequate notice.

The report also found that the BPD  often used excessive force, which can escalate non-threatening situations, making them more dangerous. Individuals with mental health disabilities and juveniles were often subjected to unreasonable force.

The death of Freddie Gray in April 2015 was attributed to a “rough ride,” an intentionally unsafe ride in the back of a police transport vehicle. The report noted that there was a lack of data, but there was evidence that there was a common practice of routinely failing to secure arrestees.

The BPD also violated the First Amendment by detaining and arresting citizens for expressing speech that is critical or disrespectful to officers.

An underlying characteristic behind these police abuses was their discriminatory nature, particularly against the African-American community.

“Racially disparate impact is present at every of BPD’s enforcement actions, from the initial decision to stop individuals on Baltimore streets to searches, arrests and uses of force,” the report stated.

Black pedestrians and drivers are both stopped and searched at disproportionate rates.

The report found that BPD stopped black residents three times as often as white residents after controlling for the population of the area. Black drivers were 82 percent of all BPD vehicle stops while being only 60 percent of the driving age population in the city.

Furthermore, the BPD is found to have charged African-Americans with discretionary offences, or offences that are given out by the judgment of the officer. Such offences are “failure to obey,” “disorderly conduct” or “trespassing.” African Americans were 84 percent of all the individuals arrested for “disorderly conduct.” The report also notes that the BPD failed to hold officers accountable for using racial slurs or making other racially charged statements.

The report attributes this pattern to systemic deficiencies in training and accountability at the BPD.

“Providing policing services in many parts of Baltimore is particularly challenging where officers regularly confront complex social problems rooted in poverty, racial segregation and deficient educational, employment and housing opportunities,” the report stated. “The [BPD] fails to provide officers with sufficient policy guidance and training; fails to collect and analyze data regarding officer’s activities; and fails to hold officers accountable for misconduct.”

The report noted that the path for reform requires significant examination and a change within the current system. The DOJ and the City of Baltimore have entered into an “Agreement in Principle,” which identifies the reforms needed to remedy the issues found in the report.

The next step will be the negotiation of court-enforceable consent decree by the DOJ, BPD and members of the Baltimore community to implement the necessary reforms.

Senior Corey Payne, co-chair of Hopkins Students for a Democratic Society (SDS), was not surprised by the results of the findings, citing a lack of community engagement.

“I think that anyone who was surprised about the findings in this report needs to ask themselves why they hadn’t been listening to the people who are living in these occupied communities throughout the city,” Payne wrote in an email to The News-Letter. “The report is validation for everything that we’ve been hearing from these communities for years. I think everyone should be glad that there is validation from the federal government — but we also need to ask, why do we require validation to move forward?”

Payne also addressed the the implications of this report on the relationship between the University and the greater Baltimore community.

“We need to start addressing our own inherent racism and classism,” Payne wrote. ”But more than that we can start affecting real change by re-evaluating our University’s relationship with Baltimore before we try to go in and ‘save’ anyone.”

Payne suggested several measures the University could implement to improve community relations.

“That starts by pushing the administration to have fair and just hiring practices, by pushing for better benefits and unionization for the employees across the University, and by not allowing the University to engage in destructive gentrification as it does. If we begin to understand that the University, and other city ‘anchor institutions,’ have contributed to the problems the city is facing, then we can start addressing the problems.”