Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake
A full seven months after Baltimore City Council President Jack Young began calling for a full-scale Department of Justice investigation into patterns and practices of violence and discrimination by the Baltimore Police Department, Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake has finally joined the call.
Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake said even though complaints of excessive force and lawsuits alleging misconduct our down over the last few years, "we all know that Baltimore has a fractured relationship with community."
The mayor's request came a day after new Attorney General Loretta Lynch visited the city. The mayor said Lynch understands the urgency of her request.
The DOJ currently has cases and binding agreements called "consent decrees" with
police departments and prisons all over the country that have been found to have unconstitutional patterns and practices. It was such an outside investigation that
determined that the Ferguson Police Department in Missouri had multiple instances of racism and a widespread pattern and practice of discrimination against African Americans in which constantly arresting them was seen as the primary profit engine for the city government.
Stay tuned as we cover the next steps of this investigation.
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11:23 AM PT: The DOJ just released the following statement:
“The Attorney General has received Mayor Rawlings-Blake’s request for a Civil Rights Division 'pattern or practice' investigation into the Baltimore Police Department. The Attorney General is actively considering that option in light of what she heard from law enforcement, city officials, and community, faith and youth leaders in Baltimore yesterday.