Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake asks Justice Department to look into ‘patterns and practice’ of police department in the wake of charges over Freddie Gray death

This article is more than 5 years old

This article is more than 5 years old

Baltimore’s mayor, Stephanie Rawlings-Blake, has requested a federal civil rights investigation into the “patterns and practice” of the city’s police and announced an ambitious drive to equip officers with body cameras by the end of the year.



The mayor’s request on Wednesday followed a meeting with the US attorney general, Loretta Lynch, in Baltimore the day before, and widespread civil unrest in the city last week following the death in custody of 25-year-old Freddie Gray last month.

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“We have to get it right. Failure is not an option,” Rawlings-Blake said. “In order to achieve the kind of sustainable and significant reform that we want to see, that I want to see, that the citizens want to see in Baltimore, I am requesting the Department of Justice conduct a federal pattern or practice investigation into the Baltimore city police department.”

Rawlings-Blake said she requested the investigation examine whether the Baltimore city police had engaged in “a pattern or practice of stops, searches or arrests that violate the fourth amendment” and whether any forces exist within the department that “can contribute to excessive force and discriminatory policing”.

Rawlings-Blake said she expected Lynch to respond to the request shortly.

“She [Lynch] understands the urgency of this request, and I do not believe they will delay an answer,” Rawlings-Blake said.

Immediately after Rawlings-Blake’s press conference, the Department of Justice acknowledged receipt of the request, stating Lynch was “actively considering that option in light of what she heard from law enforcement, city officials, and community, faith and youth leaders in Baltimore yesterday”.

Later on Wednesday the Maryland governor, Larry Hogan, rescinded the state of emergency declared in Baltimore last Monday in response to the rioting and looting that left around 250 businesses and 170 cars in Baltimore damaged and a total of 130 law enforcement officers injured.

The state of emergency prompted the deployment of 3,000 Maryland national guard troops, along with 1,000 additional law enforcement officers from around the state and other parts of the US.

Hogan also controversially extended the time limit of detention without charge to 48 hours, resulting in hundreds of people jailed for two days without charging documents. The move prompted a slew of habeas corpus petitions from the Baltimore city public defenders office, leading to the release of more than 100 people arrested during the riots.

In a statement Governor Hogan said the total costs incurred by during the state of emergency were yet to be fully calculated, but that the state would be withdrawing $20m from a “Rainy Day Fund” to cover part of the expense.

Rawlings-Blake announced a collaborative Department of Justice review of the police department in October last year, following an investigation by the Baltimore Sun, which revealed the city had paid $5.7m in settlements over lawsuits alleging police brutality since 2011.

But on Wednesday the mayor conceded her police reform agenda needed to be enhanced after Gray’s death.

While stopping short of committing to a consent decree, meaning the city would commit to a binding settlement with the Department of Justice once it had produced findings, Rawlings-Blake said she would “hold those accountable if change is not made”.

“We cannot be timid in addressing this problem,” she said.

The mayor also announced an ambitious drive to equip the force with body cameras by the end of the year. She described the program as the largest in the country and said she had instructed her administration to “cut through any bureaucratic red tape” to implement it as soon as possible.

All six officers involved in Freddie Gray’s arrest and detention were charged last Friday after Baltimore city state’s attorney Marilyn Mosby found they had illegally arrested the 25 year-old and acted negligently throughout the incident. Gray suffered a broken neck while detained in a police van in handcuffs and leg shackles but without being put into a seatbelt. The driver of the van, officer Caesar Goodson, has been charged with second-degree murder, with four officers facing manslaughter charges.

In an indication of the likely backlash against the charges, officer Edward Nero, charged with two counts of assault, two of misconduct and one of false imprisonment, has attempted to compel Mosby to produce the knife Gray was carrying at the time of his arrest.

In a motion filed with the Maryland district court on Tuesday Nero contends that Gray was in fact carrying an illegal “switchblade” knife and therefore his arrest was justified.



Mosby has indicated she has no intention of releasing any evidence before trial.



Rawlings-Blake declined to comment on the motion at her press conference on Wednesday.

