In one of her final acts as attorney general, Loretta Lynch announced Thursday that the Department of Justice has reached an agreement with Baltimore officials that would mandate extensive reforms to the city’s police department under the supervision of a federal monitor. The 227-page agreement can be read here, via the Baltimore Sun.
In a press conference, Lynch joined Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh in unveiling the agreement, which arrives a little less than two years after the death of Freddie Gray, the black 25-year-old who sustained fatal injuries in the back of a police transport van. It also arrives five months after the release of a searing report by the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division on unconstitutional and racially biased policing practices—including use of force—in Baltimore.
“The purpose of this Agreement is to ensure that the City and BPD protect individuals’ statutory and constitutional rights, treat individuals with dignity and respect, and promote public safety in a manner that is fiscally responsible and responsive to community priorities,” the introduction to the proposed agreement says. Vanita Gupta, the head of the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division, said in her remarks that under the consent decree, the Baltimore Police Department will:
- Ensure that officers conduct stops, searches, and arrests in a manner that complies with the law and promotes public safety.
- Ensure that officers use appropriate de-escalation techniques and attempt to resolve incidents without force when possible; and use force in a manner that is proportional to the threat presented.
- Transport detainees in a manner that keeps them safe.
- Ensure that officers investigate sexual assault thoroughly and without gender bias.
- Dispatch officers who are properly trained in interacting with people in crisis or with behavioral health disabilities when a police response is appropriate.
- Ensure that allegations of officer misconduct are fully, fairly and efficiently investigated; and ensure that the disciplinary system is fair, consistent and provides due process.
If those promises strike you as—to quote the old Chris Rock bit—“some shit they just supposed to do,” well, perhaps it would be worth revisiting the findings of the DOJ’s report on Baltimore. Among them: “many instances in which officers strip search individuals without legal justification,” “overly aggressive tactics that unnecessarily escalate encounters, increase tensions, and lead to unnecessary force,” and “BPD officers [using] force against members of the public who are engaging in protected speech.” So, there’s a ways to go.
“Through this agreement we are moving forward together to work to heal tension and the relationship between BPD and the community,” said Lynch, before cautioning that change will not come overnight. Indeed, the road to implementation will be long. From the Sun:
Once the consent decree is signed by both sides, it will be filed jointly in U.S. District Court as a proposed settlement within a Justice Department lawsuit related to the summer findings report. A federal judge overseeing the case will then assess the proposal to determine if it is fair, reasonable and adequately serves the public good, experts said. It’s unclear how long that will take.
[…]
The judge could approve the agreement through a written order, experts said, or schedule a hearing to gather input from other stakeholders, such as community groups or the local police union. Outside groups could potentially file motions to intervene in the case to register objections.
Once approved by the court, the agreement is expected to take years to implement, all under the oversight of the court and a federal monitor paid by the city.
It’s not clear how the consent decree would be affected by the incoming Trump administration’s opposition to imposing federal oversight on local police departments. During the confirmation hearing of Alabama Sen. Jeff Sessions on Tuesday, Trump’s nominee for attorney general said he didn’t think it was fair that entire police departments get sued by the Justice Department for the actions of a few bad officers. “These lawsuits undermine the respect for police officers and create an impression that the entire department is not doing their work consistent with fidelity to law and fairness, and we need to be careful before we do that,” Sessions said.
(The Department of Justice has entered into consent decrees with about 20 cities nationwide in the wake of investigations into police practices.)
At the press conference Thursday, Lynch gave assurances that the handover of power in the White House would not disrupt the process. The consent decree, she said, “will live on past this administration, because it really is for the city of Baltimore, and we know that Baltimore will pick it up and carry it forward.” Asked by a reporter whether the new attorney general would have the power to undo key aspects of the consent decree, Lynch was unequivocal: “It is court-enforceable, there will be an independent monitor. … It will live on as a binding agreement between the city and the Department of Justice.”
