* WARNING: THIS IS AN UNOFFICIAL, INTRODUCTORY COPY OF THE BILL.
THE OFFICIAL COPY CONSIDERED BY THE CITY COUNCIL IS THE FIRST READER COPY.
INTRODUCTORY*
CITY OF BALTIMORE
COUNCIL BILL R
(Resolution)
Introduced by: Councilmember Henry
A RESOLUTION ENTITLED
A COUNCIL RESOLUTION concerning
title
Informational Hearing - Baltimore Police Department - Dismissal of Misconduct Cases
FOR the purpose of inviting the Baltimore Police Commissioner to report to the City Council on the recent mass dismissal of internal misconduct cases involving city police officers and to explain the Police Department's procedures for handling such discrimination cases and misconduct complaints.
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Recitals
The Baltimore Police Department has long recognized the importance of having a well established internal process for resolving allegations of police misconduct. The integrity of this process and the public's recognition of its fairness is essential to maintaining the trust of the citizens of Baltimore in the Department that is necessary for the effective functioning of police officers in our community.
However, recent events and media reports have undermined the public image of the Department's internal misconduct investigation process. The April firing of a high level official in the internal misconduct system and the subsequent dismissal of what media reports indicate to be more than 80% of all then pending misconduct cases has brought the Department's misconduct resolution process a great deal of negative attention. These events have led to the publication of charges and countercharges of malfeasance related to the police misconduct resolution process against both current and former Department officials, as well as individual police officers. There have also been public threats of legal action against the City arising from these mass dismissals.
Presently, the Department has disclosed only that a number of internal misconduct cases have been dropped due to "administrative concerns". The nature of those concerns, who may have been responsible for the actions that led to them, and precisely which cases have been dismissed due to these concerns have not been disclosed to the public.
The possibility that concerns relating to the mass dismissal of these misconduct charges may cause the Department to lose the confidence of the people can best be addressed through greater transparency. It is therefore necessary to set the record straight about what cases were dismissed and precisely what "administrative concerns" led to their dismissal. It is also necessary to bring to light what procedures broke down to allow these administrative issues to arise and what steps the Department has taken to ensure that similar issues do not arise again in the future.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF BALTIMORE, That the Baltimore Police Commissioner is requested to report to the City Council on the recent mass dismissal of internal misconduct cases involving city police officers and to explain the Police Department's procedures for handling such discrimination cases and misconduct complaints.
AND BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That a copy of this Resolution be sent to the Mayor, the Baltimore Police Commissioner, the Director of the Mayor's Office of Criminal Justice, and the Mayor's Legislative Liaison to the City Council.
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