What this is about and who it impacts:

One of the most important vehicles we have to hold police accountable for misconduct is being threatened. The Civilian Review Board is currently the only body within the Baltimore City Office of Equity and Civil Rights that is empowered to subpoena and to complete independent investigations on misconduct complaints by citizens involving harassment, false imprisonment, excessive force, and abusive language. The CRB’s operations are currently facing termination. Without the CRB, or without transferring these powers to another entity, there are no checks and balances in place to be sure that those reviewing these cases have all of the information necessary to make informed recommendations for consequences for officers committing misconduct, and thus no way to try to protect our communities from them.

How this occurred and what is at stake:

Legislation this past November (Ordinance 24-311 and the passage of ballot question E) granted Baltimore City local control of the Baltimore Police Department. As an unanticipated result to many of us, the city has notified the Civilian Review Board, which is the oldest and only independent civilian oversight organization in the city, that this legislation also repeals the statute that enabled them to operate and thus, their operations will be terminated. Very few public conversations and discourse were had around the collateral impact of this legislation on independent investigations of BPD misconduct. This was done without the normal democratic process of debate and voting. It appears that the lawmakers did not explicitly know that this was going to be the outcome of Ordinance 24-311.

As things stand, the CRB will continue to investigate and process police misconduct complaints that were submitted through December 31, 2024. Complaints submitted on or after January 1, 2025 will now be reviewed by the Police Accountability Board which only reviews them, refers to law enforcement agencies for investigation, and makes some recommendations regarding policy. Then the Administrative Charging Committee, which decides disciplinary outcomes, only reviews internal law enforcement investigations on these cases, has limited staff, and has been receiving documents, new or updated from BPD, right before cases are set to expire, leaving no time to go through a thorough review. This is not sufficient to address cases of police misconduct.

Since the inception of the CRB, independent investigatory powers have consistently been a point of contention. It threatens those who would abuse their positions of power. The importance of civilian oversight in maintaining public safety can't be overstated. Since 1999, and particularly following the 2017 Federal Consent Decree, the CRB has conducted more than 1,400 independent investigations of police misconduct complaints. Their work has demonstrated the vital importance of having civilian investigators who operate independently from the police department.

We must act now:

The police Internal Affairs Department has a history of not sustaining community complaints against officers, particularly those involving violence. It is short sighted to think that the police can police themselves. By signing and submitting this petition we are demanding that our mayor and city council act on the following recommendations for solutions:

● Enact an Amendment to the Ordinance- City Council can amend Ordinance 24-311 to extend CRB’s authority to accept new cases and conduct investigations until such a time as those investigatory and subpoena powers are officially passed on to the PAB and ACC.

● Establish an Independent Quasi Office of Police Oversight and Accountability- The Baltimore City Council could sponsor emergency legislation to create an independent office for police oversight, which would operate autonomously from local government using investigatory and subpoena power to process cases, ensuring unbiased oversight of police practices. Nationally this is considered the best practice.

● Empower the PAB- Through City Council Ordinance, the PAB could be authorized to appoint its own independent investigators and hire independent counsel with subpoena power, enabling the ACC to conduct thorough and proper investigations of police misconduct promptly and without interference from the police department or other city agencies. As demonstrated by recent news articles, the ACC has been receiving police department’s internal investigations just days before the cases are set to expire, leaving no time for further research or investigation.

Emergency action must be taken to ensure that investigatory and subpoena powers remain a fundamental part of the city's police accountability framework. 

We, the undersigned, implore our City Council and Mayor to act on this immediately.