Federal probe: Baltimore Police racially discriminated in practices that target blacks
The Baltimore Police Department has engaged in years of racially discriminatory policing that targeted black residents, illegally detaining and searching people and using excessive force, the Justice Department concludes in a report released Tuesday.
In a scathing review that includes the historical backdrop of Baltimore’s racially divided past, civil rights investigators declare that a “legacy of zero tolerance enforcement” that started in 1999 and officially ended a decade ago “continues to drive” the policing strategy of the city.
The federal investigators found that officers are poorly trained and that the department has fostered a culture in which complaints against police are often ignored. Most of the unconstitutional stops occurred in predominantly poor black neighborhoods, the report says, and some people were stopped simply because police perceived them as disrespectful.
“Racially disparate impact is present at every stage of BPD’s enforcement actions, from the initial decision to stop individuals on Baltimore streets to searches, arrests, and uses of force. These racial disparities, along with evidence suggesting intentional discrimination, erode the community trust that is critical to effective policing,” the 163-page report says.
The Justice Department is scheduled to announce the findings of its year-long review on Wednesday at Baltimore City Hall. A copy of the report was first posted by the New York Times. The Justice Department later made the report public.
The civil rights inquiry was announced the month after 25-year-old Freddie Gray died of a spinal cord injury suffered in police custody after running from officers who confronted him in a high-crime area. That incident sparked protests and rioting in the city, and it drew attention to what residents said was a long frayed relationship with law enforcement.
Six officers charged in connection with Gray’s death were either acquitted or had their cases dropped.