Baltimore Police: 76 Misconduct Cases Allowed To Expire

BALTIMORE, MD — Baltimore Police are failing to investigate internal misconduct within the one-year limit allowed by the state of Maryland, resulting in 76 expired cases where an officer’s guilt or innocence was never determined, according to a report.

In emails between Baltimore Police commanders obtained by the Baltimore Sun through a public records request, the newspaper uncovered this pattern. The emails also show frustration among senior internal affairs officials with the system in place as well as the lack of urgency shown by department leadership to address the problem, the Sun reported.

A recent court hearing resulted in 12 unresolved cases being tossed by a judge, and the emails indicate the issue is more prevalent than initially thought. The emails also expand on this week’s finding by federal consent decree monitors that the department struggles to investigate its own, particularly when complaints come from the public. Those findings are scheduled to be discussed in federal court today.

The department said this week that 26 internal affairs cases were allowed to expire in 2018 out of more than 2,600 complaints, the Sun reported. The department previously said only eight cases expired last year. In 2017, 22 cases expired; in 2016, three cases; and this year, an additional 25 cases expired.

Maj. Stephanie Lansey-Delgado leads the internal affairs department, and emails show her urging others within the department to better track cases and work to create a system to ensure no cases expire.