Civilian Review Board Suing Baltimore Police Department

The Baltimore Civilian Review Board is suing the city's Police Department.

The board said the Police Department has ignored 11 subpoenas that requested 60 case files involving misconduct complaints about officers.

Calling on the courts, members of the Civilian Review Board are suing the Baltimore Police Department, requesting a judge step in and force the Police Department to stop withholding files in allegations of officer misconduct.

"We are using everything we have to fight back, including the law itself," Civilian Review Board Chairman Bridal Pearson said.

It's part of a battle that has been brewing since July when Baltimore City Solicitor Andre Davis asked the board to sign a confidentiality agreement. Board members refused, saying it would forbid them from sharing their findings and recommendations with the public.

"It's ironic (that) two bodies that should uphold the law choose to break the law instead, but the CRB chooses to use the law to fight back," Pearson said.

Some of the residents who are part of the lawsuit shared their stories. Ericka Hamlett said an off-duty Baltimore City officer dressed in street clothes approached her 16-year-old son in Howard County.

"When he did not like the dialogue, he pulled his service weapon and pointed it at my son's waist side," Hamlett said.

April Holmes claimed officers used excessive force on her son.

"The officers charged my son with second-degree assault on an officer, but as you can see, his tooth is knocked out, his mouth is busted open, he had a footprint in his head," Holmes said.

City police would not comment because of the pending litigation, and Davis told 11 News he had no statement about the lawsuit.

The board said some of the complaints have timed out, meaning it's too late for the BPD to discipline officers for misconduct that might have been revealed by the board's investigations.

In a written statement, a spokesman for Mayor Catherine Pugh said the Law Department will respond appropriately in court to whatever is alleged once the lawsuit has been filed and served on the Police Department.