A federal judge has denied a request from the U.S. Justice Department to postpone a hearing on an agreement to overhaul the Baltimore Police Department.
Because the Baltimore decree has not yet been formally adopted, Sessions asked a federal judge to delay the legal proceedings surrounding its adoption for 90 days, presumably with the eventual aim of finding a way to scuttle it altogether.
Baltimore Solicitor David Ralph said Thursday that the plan was created to help police fight crime while also protecting residents' rights and repairing trust between the community and the department.
While it may be hard for the Justice Department to undo agreements authorized by courts and with independent monitors in place, reforms are at risk in cities where a judge has yet to approve a decree (Baltimore) or where negotiations are still underway (Chicago). Residents young and old, black and white, asked the court not to let the police department off the hook, and to maintain a role in forcing reforms through the consent decree. The settlement was the result of a 2015 investigation into the department that found Baltimore police were engaging in "a pattern or practice of conduct that violates the First and Fourth Amendments of the Constitution as well as federal anti-discrimination laws".
Justice Department attorney John Gore said Attorney General Jeff Sessions is anxious about "whether it will achieve the goals of public safety and law enforcement while at the same time protecting civil rights".
But lawyers for the city said in a court filing this week that it "strains credulity to believe that the release on March 31, 2017 of a two-page AG directive which reiterates long standing principles of federal-local law enforcement collaboration necessitates a ninety-day continuance".
"The primary goal of this hearing is to hear from the public; it would be especially inappropriate to grant this late request for a delay when it would be the public who were most adversely affected by a postponement", he wrote in an order on Wednesday afternoon. "It will take all of us - City government, the police department, and the families and residents of our great City - to see this reform process through".
Baltimore officials are telling a federal judge they want to move forward with a plan to overhaul the city's troubled police department despite a Justice Department request to delay it.
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Toys, teddy bears and flowers could be seen at a growing memorial for the victims outside of the elementary school Tuesday. Eight-year-old Jonathan Martinez died shortly after being airlifted to Loma Linda Hospital, according to Burguan.
Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh (c.) and Baltimore Police Department Commissioner Kevin Davis (r.) applauded the judge's decision Wednesday.
Bredar called the DOJ's request "untimely" in his denial, and the hearing will happen as scheduled.
Prudence Johnson urged the judge to sign the court-enforceable agreement, known as a consent decree.
President Trump would like to terminate the two dozen agreements reached between police departments and the Obama administration. Dixon said attempts by the Baltimore Police Department to reform itself have been unsuccessful, and have done little to reduce excessive force and racial profiling by officers.
With this line of the letter, Sessions demonstrates "either ignorance of or unconcern for the painful lessons that history has taught us", Stoughton said, adding that it "suggests an incomplete and ineffective approach to addressing problems in policing".
Gupta said that "the individual misdeeds of bad actors should not impugn" the work police officers perform "in keeping American communities safe".
"Please move forward on this". She called the consent decree "a step in the right direction".
The hearing Thursday provides the second opportunity for members of the public to share thoughts about the proposed deal.
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