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(CNN) — A Justice Department investigation found that the Baltimore Police Department engages in unconstitutional practices that lead to disproportionate rates of stops, searches and arrests of African-Americans, and excessive use of force against juveniles and people with mental health disabilities.
The Department of Justice monitored the department's policing methods for more than a year at the request of the Baltimore Police Department, after the 2015 death of Freddie Gray, who suffered a fatal injury while in police custody.
The long-awaited report, which covered data from 2010 to 2016, attributed the practices to "systemic deficiencies" in training, policies, and accountability structures that "fail to equip officers with the tools they need to police effectively."
As a result of the probe, the city and the Justice Department have agreed to negotiate a court-ordered consent decree that will prescribe steps for reform, in addition to steps Baltimore already has taken, city and federal officials told reporters in Baltimore on Wednesday. In June, the department announced an overhaul of its use of force policy.
"Change is painful. Growth is painful. But nothing is as painful as being stuck in a place that we do not belong," Police Commissioner Kevin Davis said.
The report blamed "zero tolerance" enforcement practices that emphasized stops, searches and arrests for repeated violations of constitutional rights that eroded the community's trust.
Encouraged by BPD supervisors, "zero tolerance" policing continues in certain neighborhoods, leading to unconstitutional stops, searches and arrests, with little to no suspicion, the report said.
• About 44% of those stops occurred in two small predominantly African-American neighborhoods that contain only 11% of the city's population
• Hundreds of individuals were stopped at least 10 times during this period, and seven were stopped more than 30 times
• Only 3.7% of those stops resulted in citations or arrests
• From 2010 to 2015, prosecutors and booking supervisors rejected more than 11,000 charges made by BPD officers because they lacked probable cause or did not merit prosecution
There is a lot more please read:
Baltimore police have racial bias, Justice Department reports - CNN.com
The Department of Justice monitored the department's policing methods for more than a year at the request of the Baltimore Police Department, after the 2015 death of Freddie Gray, who suffered a fatal injury while in police custody.
The long-awaited report, which covered data from 2010 to 2016, attributed the practices to "systemic deficiencies" in training, policies, and accountability structures that "fail to equip officers with the tools they need to police effectively."
As a result of the probe, the city and the Justice Department have agreed to negotiate a court-ordered consent decree that will prescribe steps for reform, in addition to steps Baltimore already has taken, city and federal officials told reporters in Baltimore on Wednesday. In June, the department announced an overhaul of its use of force policy.
"Change is painful. Growth is painful. But nothing is as painful as being stuck in a place that we do not belong," Police Commissioner Kevin Davis said.
The report blamed "zero tolerance" enforcement practices that emphasized stops, searches and arrests for repeated violations of constitutional rights that eroded the community's trust.
Encouraged by BPD supervisors, "zero tolerance" policing continues in certain neighborhoods, leading to unconstitutional stops, searches and arrests, with little to no suspicion, the report said.
• About 44% of those stops occurred in two small predominantly African-American neighborhoods that contain only 11% of the city's population
• Hundreds of individuals were stopped at least 10 times during this period, and seven were stopped more than 30 times
• Only 3.7% of those stops resulted in citations or arrests
• From 2010 to 2015, prosecutors and booking supervisors rejected more than 11,000 charges made by BPD officers because they lacked probable cause or did not merit prosecution
There is a lot more please read:
Baltimore police have racial bias, Justice Department reports - CNN.com