It’s unacceptable for police to get away with misconduct and violence in Baltimore.
Today is a big day. There are new policing and parole laws going into effect that you helped get passed:
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- Policing: Anton’s Law/Maryland Public Information Act reform (SB178)
- Policing: No–knock warrants (SB178)
- Parole: Juvenile Restoration Act (HB409
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Did you know that between 2015 and 2019, there were 13,392 complaints of misconduct filed against 1,826 Baltimore City police officers and 22,884 incidents where police used force?
Even more appalling, in Baltimore City, 90.7 percent of those who the police used force on were Black people, even though Black people make up 63 percent of the city’s population.
The report examines race disparities in different aspects of policing and how police departments contribute to violence in the community. This matters because it furthers community distrust of both the legal justice system and the internal disciplinary process.
Importantly, Chasing Justice also shows the consequences of failing to hold officers and departments accountable for misconduct and abuse.
Our policing system is working exactly as intended from its inception when white men in slave patrols targeted and captured Black freedom seekers to now when police still target and abuse Black people.
Across Maryland, Chasing Justice details how police officers were charged with 271 crimes in 18 counties and Baltimore City, including 138 crimes of violence.
Officers in Baltimore City had sustained complaints that ranged from criminal sexual offenses to fabrication of evidence – without losing their jobs and still keeping special protections that shield them from discipline.
Thanks to the determined advocacy from the large, diverse Maryland Coalition for Justice and Police Accountability, Maryland finally passed a statewide use of force policy this past legislative session.
The ACLU also worked with the coalition to successfully repeal the state’s extreme Law Enforcement Officer’s Bill of Rights. But there is more work to do to fully implement the most important element of police accountability – independent community oversight.
The work continues. Will you join us in advocating for police accountability? Read Chasing Justice today.
Thanks for advocating to save Black lives,
P.S. In publishing Chasing Justice the ACLU honors and remembers the countless Marylanders killed by police, and who are disproportionately Black, including Freddie Gray, Tyrone West, Christopher Brown, Korryn Gaines, Emanuel Oates, Anton Black, Robert White, William Green, Gary Hopkins Jr., Leonard Shand, and many others across the state. You can download a #SayTheirNames poster on the ACLU of Maryland website.
