Judge Approves Baltimore Police Reform Deal Over Objections Of Trump DOJ

Despite the opposition of Attorney General Jeff Sessions, a federal judge in Baltimore on Friday locked in place a consent decree between the city's police force and the Department of Justice. He said that he had come to see their usefulness in making justice equal for everyone, and making the city police department more effective in fighting crime.

The U.S. attorney general is not pleased that the police department of the Atlantic coast city of Baltimore, Maryland, has made a decision to adhere to an agreement negotiated with the Obama administration.

Jeff Sessions is sworn in as attorney general in February.

In response to the comments, acting city solicitor David Ralph said the city stands by the deal, which he said was crafted with deep input from the community, careful consideration of public safety and measures to better train and equip police officers. Today, we learn that the first move in their battle was a failure. Consent decrees are aimed at "patterns and practices" within troubled police departments.

"As Judge Bredar noted, Baltimore can not flourish without effective and lawful policing, and this consent decree represents the first step towards that reality", NAACP LDF president and director-counsel Sherrilyn Ifill said in a statement released Friday.

Several speakers denounced racist and discriminatory policing affecting black residents in Baltimore.

Sessions went on to cite a spike in violent crime and homicides in the majority-black city, and he questioned whether the mayor and police commissioner were serious enough about reform.

The hearing began at 9:30 a.m. and concluded about 1:15 p.m., after all members of the public present _ 49 in total _ had their chance to speak.

U.S. District Judge James Bredar, who's overseeing the proceedings, on Wednesday rejected a request from the Justice Department to delay the hearing, saying any postponement would be a "burden and inconvenience" to the court, and to the public.

It should not come as a surprise, though, that Sessions is woefully uninformed of the Department of Justice's objective - despite opposing police department reforms, the attorney general has openly admitted to not reading federal reports highlighting the need for law enforcement changes. Earlier this week, Sessions ordered a review of all consent decrees between police departments and the Justice Department.

Booker, a former mayor of Newark, saw firsthand the effects of such consent decrees. The Justice Department can't change those agreements without court intervention.

Rafael Goyeneche, president of the independent watchdog New Orleans Metropolitan Crime Commission, said a massive paper trail is necessary for the courts to determine if police departments are complying with a consent decree's terms.

Perhaps our new attorney general should take a look at his department's publicly available mission statement which says that its role, in addition to enforcing federal laws, is to "provide federal leadership" as well as "to ensure fair and impartial administration of justice for all Americans".

Bredar simply responded, "Thank you, Mr. Gore". Davis has also emphasized the importance of community policing and rebuilding trust with city residents as crucial tools in the fight against violent crime. That review could threaten plans that are in negotiation or have not yet been reached, but the judge's decision Friday was a reminder it would be more hard to change those that already exist in cities such as Albuquerque, New Mexico; Cleveland and Ferguson, Missouri.

The judge also heard from mothers whose sons were killed by police.