Police Reforms In Baltimore County Proposed: Use Of Force, Hiring

TOWSON, MD — Police reforms are ahead in Baltimore County, according to local leaders, including updates to use of force, disciplinary and recruitment policies. Baltimore County Executive Olszewski and Police Chief Melissa Hyatt presented the proposed changes at a news conference Friday morning at the Baltimore County Public Safety Building on East Joppa Road.

The goal is to improve accountability and promote equity in policing.

“The protests we’ve seen in Baltimore County and around the country are shining a bright light on what we already knew — that we have a long way to go to achieve equal justice for African American communities and all communities of color,” Olszewski said in a statement. "Local leaders have a responsibility to take action. This moment demands more than words."

Baltimore County plans to sign the Obama Foundation Pledge to review and update its use of force policy with community input.

To increase transparency, add diversity and improve community relations, Baltimore County Police Chief Melissa Hyatt and Olszewski announced these reforms:

• Use of force policy will be updated to include the concept of "sanctity of life, the duty to intervene and report unnecessary use of force and the importance of constitutional policing."
• Training will address deescalation; integrating communications, assessment and tactics (ICAT); and implicit bias.
• All Baltimore County Police Department employees will be trained on fair and impartial policing by a nationally recognized police training program.
• The county will build public dashboards displaying data on number and status of complaints against police officers, uses of force and traffic stops, including information about race.
• The Baltimore County Workgroup on Equitable Policing, which was formed to look at traffic stops, will expand to become a permanent task force on the issue of equitable policing overall.
• A third-party organization will review hiring and recruitment practices, reviewing data to look for potentially discriminatory practices in testing and background investigations.
• To increase transparency about police disciplinary actions, Baltimore County plans to support legislation in Annapolis to amend the Maryland Public Information Act.

“We are listening to those in our community who have been marginalized," Olszewski said, "and we are recommitting to making real change.”

Accountability in policing has been in the national spotlight following the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis on Memorial Day.

Floyd, 46, died in police custody, and a video shows an officer kneeling on his neck for several minutes. Across the country, protests have called for change in the way police relate to the communities they are sworn to protect and serve. Demonstrations have been held around Baltimore County in the past week, from Reisterstown to Dundalk to Towson.

“I’m grateful to the men and women of the Baltimore County Police Department who serve honorably and put their lives on the line every day to serve our communities,” Olszewski said, "and I believe that these steps will make the Department even stronger."

The news conference announcing the police reforms was streamed on Facebook.

See Also:

• Baltimore County Introduces Police Reforms: Cameras, Sex Detectives, Outside Review
• To Reduce Crime Baltimore County Releases Public Safety Plan