A federal judge in Baltimore approved a sweeping consent decree Friday that outlines extensive reforms now required for the city's police department, finding that "time is of the essence".
Last week, Attorney General Jeff Sessions requested a review of all 114 reform agreements the Justice Department had secured with cities across the country during the Obama administration.
The future of law-enforcement reform for Baltimore's beleaguered police department is unclear after a Justice Department official said Thursday there are "grave concerns" over a reform plan between the city and federal government. However, Baltimore's Judge Bredar went ahead and signed the decree, explaining his decision by writing, "It would be extraordinary for the court to permit one side to unilaterally amend an agreement already jointly reached and signed". The Justice Department will likely have a hard time rolling back the consent decrees that are already in place, but those in cities with widespread discriminatory and unconstitutional policing will just have to look somewhere other than the Justice Department for relief.
Other community members told stories about how the police force inadequately handled rape cases or incidents involving mental illness.
In August, the U.S. Department of Justice issued a scathing report on its investigation of systematic discrimination and constitutional rights violations in the Baltimore Police Department.
In a memo made public earlier this week, the Trump Justice Department signaled that it may retreat from the consent decrees that have been put in place in recent years in such cities as Cleveland; Ferguson, Missouri; Miami; and Newark, New Jersey. Gray, 25, died in custody after sustaining neck and back injuries during a rough ride in a police van.
Speaking on behalf of the city's mayor and city council, Acting Baltimore City Solicitor David Ralph called the agreement "fair and reasonable" and "a heavily negotiated document".
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"I believe that it makes Baltimore safer", she said.
An attorney for the U.S. Justice Department says the agency has "grave concerns" about a proposed agreement to overhaul the Baltimore Police Department. The decree also limits the ways in which the department is allowed to engage with suspects, the Sun reports, and installs a federal monitor to ensure that the terms of the decree are kept. That means the Baltimore Police Department will be legally bound to implement reforms recommended by the DOJ, which were the result of a year-long investigation into Baltimore's policing practices.
At the time Baltimore's agreement was inked, the Justice Department was enforcing 15 such consent decrees.
The Baltimore government and police agreed on the decree a year ago, but the new administration of President Donald Trump, promising to empower police to crack down on crime, sought to delay and modify it. To accommodate the throngs of people, other judges cleared their dockets for the day, and the hearing was widely advertised, the judge said.
Kenji Scott, a longtime community activist, asked the court to delay the implementation of the consent decree.
Baltimore's elected leaders, and the police brass who answer to them, are clearly committed to reforms that improve community relations while protecting the work of good cops.
Last month Sessions gave a statement in which he expressed his desire to end the Department of Justice's legal actions against police departments found to be routinely violating civil rights.
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