* 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
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Request for State Action - Baltimore City Police Commission
FOR the purpose of calling on the General Assembly to enact, and the Governor to sign, legislation authorizing Baltimore City to establish a Police Commission composed of City residents appointed by the Mayor and confirmed by the City Council to oversee the Baltimore City Police Department.
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Recitals
Many factors have contributed to the violence plaguing our city over the last few months, but it has become clear that little progress will be made in addressing any of them until the relationship between the Baltimore City Police Department and the people of Baltimore has been drastically improved.
Too many Baltimoreans simply do not trust the Police Department, and too many police officers are wary of those in the communities they serve. With this mutual mistrust it is easy for misunderstandings to escalate into unnecessary confrontations, difficult for the Department and citizens to cooperate in the ways necessary to ensure public safety, and all too common for innocent or well-intentioned actions to be viewed as something sinister.
Baltimore cannot succeed while this gap between her citizens and their appointed protectors yawns so wide. We must find a way to get everyone working together as one toward the common goal of making our city a safer and more ...
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