Baltimore Cops Slammed For Treating Blacks Worse Than Whites: Federal Report

BALTIMORE, MD — The Baltimore Police Department has routinely stopped, searched and arrested black people in the city without grounds to do so, according to a stinging Department of Justice report released Wednesday.

Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake requested the civil rights investigation following the April 2015 death of Freddie Gray, 25, in police custody, which touched off riots in parts of the city.

"We have a very long journey ahead of us," Rawlings-Blake said at a press conference Wednesday on the findings from the justice department's investigation.

The report evaluated policing from 2010 to 2016 but reflected issues such as racism that have been festering for decades.

"...law enforcement officers confront a long history of social and economic challenges that impact much of the city, including the perception that there are 'two Baltimores,' one wealthy and largely white, the second impoverished and predominantly black," the report stated.

"Community members living in the city’s wealthier and largely white neighborhoods told us that officers tend to be respectful and responsive to their needs, while many individuals living in the city’s largely African-American communities informed us that officers tend to be disrespectful and do not respond promptly to their calls for service," according to the report. "Members of these largely African-American communities often felt they were subjected to unjustified stops, searches, and arrests, as well as excessive force."

The federal probe substantiated the sentiment that African-American communities were targeted by police.

Approximately 44 percent of pedestrian stops conducted by the Baltimore Police Department occurred in two small, predominantly African-American districts where 11 percent of the city’s population lives, according to the report. Only 3.7 percent of pedestrian stops yielded citations or arrests.

"These challenges amplify the importance of using policing methods that build community partnerships and ensure fair and effective enforcement without regard for affluence or race..." the report stated. The solutions offered were robust training, close supervision, data collection/analysis and accountability for misconduct.

"These problems weren't created overnight," Deputy Assistant Attorney General Vanita Gupta said. "Police reform won't happen overnight or by chance." She said the goal now was "to remedy what have been longstanding practices here at the Baltimore Police Department."

As a result of the federal probe, the Baltimore Police Department (BPD) was found to be in violation of the Constitution or federal law for these reasons, according to the report:

• Unconstitutional stops, searches and arrests
• Severe and unjustified disparities in the rates of stops, searches and arrests of African-Americans
• Use of excessive force
• Retaliation against people engaging in constitutionally protected expression.

Police Commissioner Kevin Davis said that he was "very concerned" about the information in the report and noted that some people are no longer with the department. He said he fired six officers in 2016.

The commissioner said he believed this could be a "turning point for better policing not just in Baltimore but in our United States."

City and federal officials said police reform was a national issue, with lack of trust and respect at its core.

Next, federal officials will fan out across the city to learn what can be most beneficial for the Baltimore community, while negotiating a consent decree with the city, according to Gupta. Baltimore City and the Department of Justice have entered into a court-enforceable plan of action officials say will transform policing.

"Together we can build a stronger Baltimore — a Baltimore that protects the rights, safety and dignity of all," Gupta said.

Some changes were already in place and would continue to evolve to reform the department, officials said.

Unconstitutional Stops, Searches and Arrests

Justice officials found that police officers did not report all the stops they made, and in addition, many people were detained and searched without probable cause.

Racial Disparities

With regard to race, justice officials found that police targeted African-Americans in their policing strategies, stopping them on foot and in vehicles with more frequency.

Black pedestrians were stopped three times as often as white pedestrians, and officials found one African-American man in his mid 50s who was stopped 30 times in less than four years, without any citations or charges issued against him.

Excessive Force
The justice department found that the Baltimore Police Department resorted to "overly aggressive tactics" that failed to de-escalate situations, using force when people did not immediately respond to verbal commands, using the same level of force when dealing with juveniles as with adults and not modifying the response when faced with the mentally ill.

• Mayor Asks Justice Department to Investigate Baltimore Police
• Freddie Gray Case Ends With Final Charges Dropped, Zero Guilty Findings For Officers

Photo Credit: Shutterstock.