Justice Department Announces Significant Progress in Policing Reforms by the Baltimore Police Department and the City of Baltimore

The Justice Department and City of Baltimore filed a joint motion on Friday seeking court approval to declare the city and the Baltimore Police Department (BPD) in full and effective compliance with key consent decree requirements related to First Amendment-protected activities, community oversight and coordination with Baltimore City school police.

The joint motion is based on BPD’s consistent progress towards achieving the goals of the consent decree. The independent monitor’s reports on these topics found BPD in full and effective compliance with all three sections. If the court grants the motion, BPD must maintain compliance with the provisions for one year before the court can terminate these sections of the consent decree.

“The First Amendment’s protections are fundamental to a free society, and the Baltimore Police Department has successfully implemented reforms proven to protect people’s rights during protests and demonstrations,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “The 2020 racial justice demonstrations and protests posed serious challenges to law enforcement nationwide. Because of the hard work done under the consent decree to prepare officers for encounters with the community during demonstrations, the Baltimore Police Department has been able to successfully navigate these moments, while supporting the right to protest and keeping the peace. The Justice Department remains committed to collaboratively working with the Baltimore Police Department and the community to ensure constitutional and fair policing — the people of Baltimore deserve nothing less.”

The Justice Department opened a comprehensive investigation of BPD practices in 2015 after considering requests from city officials and community members in the wake of the death of Freddie Gray. The city agreed to, and the court approved, a consent decree in 2017 to resolve the violations identified by the investigation and their root causes.

Since approval of the consent decree, BPD has revised policies and training to ensure officers respect First Amendment protected activity, including the right to peacefully record police officers performing their duties in public. According to the monitor’s reports, key accomplishments include:

• No evidence that BPD obstructs individuals’ ability to observe or record police activity.
• Almost no incidents in which BPD officers violated the First Amendment between Jan. 1, 2020, and June 30, 2022, though BPD officers have had thousands of interactions with the public during that period.
• BPD demonstrated compliance with the consent decree’s requirements related to protest activity during the 2020 racial justice protests, protests related to a speech by the Vice President of the United States in 2020 and a separate protest in November 2023.

The consent decree also required the city to work with community leaders to better understand challenges to civilian oversight in Baltimore and how to improve accountability when working with the Baltimore City school police. The monitor’s reports show that BPD has achieved those objectives, including implementing certain recommendations from the Community Oversight Task Force and improving transparency and coordination regarding its interactions with the Baltimore City school police.

In addition to these reforms, BPD continues to make significant progress in other key areas of the consent decree. For example:

Stops, Searches and Arrests

• BPD implemented new policies and training on how to make lawful arrests and the independent monitor has determined that BPD makes significantly fewer arrests without probable cause.
• Notably, cases in which people who are arrested by BPD are released without being charged by prosecutors, which can indicate an unlawful arrest, decreased 91% between 2020 and 2022 — from an average of 43 per month to four per month.

Transportation of People in Custody

• BPD successfully implemented reforms to ensure the safe transportation of people in custody and officer assistance and support. If the court grants the parties’ joint motion and finds these additional sections of the decree are in full and effective compliance, nearly 30% of the substantive sections of the consent decree will be in full and effective compliance. If BPD maintains compliance with these sections for one year, the requirements could be successfully terminated.

Responding to and Interacting with People with Behavior Health Issues

• BPD officers now use force less frequently and are improving compliance with constitutional requirements and BPD policy.
• BPD and the city also have worked to divert behavioral health calls that do not require a law enforcement response.
• When BPD does respond to behavioral health calls, BPD has improved its response and more often resolves incidents without use of force or arrest.

Since January 2021, the Justice Department has opened 12 investigations into law enforcement agencies pursuant to 34 U.S.C. § 12601 and has been actively monitoring over a dozen agreements with law enforcement agencies that were secured prior to that period. Since 2021, the department has successfully concluded agreements and portions of consent decrees with the Yonkers, New York Police Department; the Albuquerque, New Mexico, Police Department; the Suffolk County, New York, Police Department; the Portland, Oregon, Police Bureau; and the Seattle Police Department.

The department has issued findings reports concerning several agencies including: Louisville, Kentucky, Metro Police Department; the Minneapolis, Minnesota, Police Department; the Phoenix, Arizona, Police Department; the Lexington, Mississippi, Police Department; the Trenton, New Jersey, Police Department; the Memphis, Tennessee, Police Department; the Worcester, Massachusetts, Police Department, and the Mt. Vernon, New York, Police Department.

In Louisville, the department entered into a court enforceable agreement with Louisville Metro Government to resolve its findings.

Investigations are ongoing regarding the Louisiana State Police; the New York City Police Department’s Special Victims Division; the Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, Police Department; and the Rankin County, Mississippi, Sheriff’s Department.