Baltimore Police Used Force 2,818 Times In Six Years. They Found One Violation
A Department of Justice report found the police force holds an “us-versus-them mentality” and routinely abuses residents’ rights.
WASHINGTON ― The Baltimore Police Department routinely abused residents’ civil rights, performed unconstitutional searches, retaliated against individuals exercising free-speech rights and failed to hold cops accountable for misconduct, according to a damning federal report.
The Justice Department report, to be formally released on Wednesday, confirms what some Baltimore residents already know ― that Baltimore police routinely and disproportionately stop, frisk and arrest poor black residents without legal justification.
“Baltimore’s legacy of government-sanctioned discrimination, serious health hazards, and high rates of violent crime have persisted and compounded for years ― making Baltimore a challenging city to police fairly and effectively,” the report says.
Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake requested the DOJ investigation of the police force in May 2015 after 25-year-old Freddie Gray, a black man, sustained a spinal injury following a rough ride in a police van and later died. Protests and riotsrocked the city following Gray’s funeral, which residents said police handled with unnecessary aggression.
As the federal probe got underway, police equipped officers with body cameras, installed cameras in police vans, and provided commanders with additional training. Criminal charges were filed against six officers involved in Gray’s death. After three were acquitted, Baltimore State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby last month dropped the charges against the remaining three officers. The DOJ report is likely a step in a reform process that will hold the police department accountable for making changes.
DOJ investigators found a police force infected by an “us-versus-them” mentality, with officers throughout the chain of command who “openly harbor antagonistic feelings towards community members.”
When asked about community policing, one supervisor said he didn’t “pander to the public,” while another said he approaches Baltimore like a war zone. Officers told investigators they see themselves as controlling the city, rather than being a part of it, and said that many commanders “view themselves as enforcing the will of the ‘silent majority.’” One patrol officer emphasized the importance of being able to “own” the block.
“You’ve got to be the baddest motherfucker out there,” the officer said.