Baltimore Police Department (Maryland )

Summary:

In October 2014, city and BPD leadership requested to enter a collaborative reform process with the Justice Department’s Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS office). The Civil Rights Division opened a pattern-or-practice investigation in May 2015.

The the Civil Rights Division of the US Department of Justice (the Division) announced its findings in August 2016. The Division found that BPD made stops, searches and arrests without the required justification; used enforcement strategies that unlawfully subjected African Americans to disproportionate rates of stops, searches and arrests; used excessive force; and retaliated against individuals for their constitutionally-protected expression. In January 2017, the Division and the City of Baltimore entered into an agreement to resolve these findings.

Fast Facts

Case Status: Ongoing
City and State: Baltimore, Maryland
Year Initiated: 2014
Year Closed: Ongoing