Chasing Justice - Addressing Police Violence and Corruption in Maryland

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Chasing
Justice

Addressing Police Violence
and Corruption in Maryland

Contents
5

Summary of
Findings

Introduction

History

Race and
Policing

13 Crimes by
Police
Chasing Justice
Addressing Police Violence
and Corruption in Maryland
January, 2021
Joe Spielberger
Public Policy Counsel
American Civil Liberties Union of Maryland

ACIU
Maryland

3600 Clipper Mill Road
Suite 350
Baltimore, MD 21211

Learn more and get involved:
www.aclu-md.org

15 Baltimore City
Data
27 Conclusion
28 Methodology
28 Legal
Disclaimer

“

A government which can protect and defend its
citizens from wrong and outrage and does not
is vicious. A government which would do it and
cannot is weak; and where human life is insecure
through either weakness or viciousness in the
administration of law, there must be a lack of
justice and where this is wanting, nothing can
make up the deficiency.

Frances Harper
To those who have said “Be patient and wait,”
we have long said that we cannot be patient.
We do not want our freedom gradually,
but we want to be free now! We are tired.
We are tired of being beaten by policemen.
We are tired of seeing our people locked up
in jail over and over again. And then you holler,
“Be patient.” How long can we be patient?
We want our freedom, and we want it now.

John Lewis

“Speech at the March on Washington,” 1963

3
Chasing Justice: Addressing Police Violence and Corruption in Maryland

Michael Brown ›
Tamir Rice ›
Elijah McClain ›
Eric Garner ›
George Floyd ›
Philando Castile ›
and Tony McDade
Jason Harrison ›
Charles Kinsey ›
James Earl Green ›
Ben Brown ›
Phillip Gibbs ›
Amadou Diallo ›
Botham Jean ›
Breonna Taylor ›
Rayshard Brooks ›
Sandra Bland ›
Walter Scott ›
Hannah Fizer ›
Ace Perry ›

[He] wasn’t jaywalking.

He wasn’t outside playing with a toy gun.
He didn’t look like a “suspicious person.”

He wasn’t suspected of “selling loose, untaxed cigarettes.”
He wasn’t suspected of passing a counterfeit $20 bill.
He didn’t look like anyone
suspected of a crime.

He wasn’t mentally ill and in need of help.
He wasn’t assisting an autistic patient who
had wandered away from a group home.
He wasn’t walking home
from an after-school job.

He wasn’t walking back from a restaurant.
He wasn’t hanging out on a college campus.
He wasn’t standing outside of his apartment.

He wasn’t inside his apartment eating ice cream.
She wasn’t sleeping in her bed.
He wasn’t sleeping in his car.

She didn’t make an “improper lane change.”

He didn’t have a broken tail light.
She wasn’t driving over the speed limit.

He wasn’t driving under the speed limit.

– U.S. District Judge Carlton W. Reeves, Jamison v. McClendon, 2020

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Summary of Findings
From 2015 through 2019
in Baltimore, Maryland,
»

There were misconduct complaints filed against 1,826 individual Baltimore
Police officers.

Ten percent of complaints were for false arrest or imprisonment.

86 officers had complaints related to domestic violence.

There were 40 complaints of criminal association.

Six percent of BPD officers received approximately
33 percent of all complaints.

Only eight percent of external complaints, including resident
complaints, were sustained.

Complaints by white residents were sustained
at higher rates.

Complaints against Black officers were sustained
at higher rates.

Officers remained on the force after sustained complaints of domestic violence,
criminal sexual offenses, DUI, DWI, hit-and-run, and theft.

91% of officers’ use of force was targeted toward
Black residents.

Police officers used force twice as often in the majority Black Southwestern
District, as in the majority white Northern District.

Less than 10% of force was used in self-defense or to make an arrest.

Most arrest charges after a use of force incident were low-level,
non-violent charges.

More than 400 individual officers would have triggered a Phase 1 intervention
under current BPD policy.

With a stronger warning system, BPD may have prevented up to
20.4% of complaints.

Recent legislative proposals by Annapolis lawmakers to reform the Public
Information Act would allow public disclosure of between two and seven
percent of all complaints in Baltimore City, which is not nearly enough.

5
Chasing Justice: Addressing Police Violence and Corruption in Maryland

Introduction
As of early 2021, the Baltimore Police Department (“BPD”) remains under a
U.S. Department of Justice consent decree to reform its systemically racist,
corrupt, and abusive practices. The city still reels from the fallout of the Gun
Trace Task Force (“GTTF”) scandal, criminal cases are being vacated upon
further investigation into old arrests, and the Baltimore City State’s Attorney’s
Office maintains an internal list of police officers it has found to be discredited.
Families across Maryland continue to mourn the
senseless police killings of Freddie Gray and Tyrone
West in Baltimore City; Christopher Brown, Korryn
Gaines, and Emanuel Oates in Baltimore County;
Anton Black in Caroline County; Robert White in
Montgomery County; William Green, Gary Hopkins
Jr., and Leonard Shand in Prince George’s County;
and many others across the state.
Meanwhile, police departments, police unions, state’s
attorneys, and too many legislators are content to
keep in place the culture of secrecy around officer
misconduct that shields officers from accountability
for wrongdoing. Although a few officers will
undoubtedly continue to be arrested and charged
with criminal behavior, countless others will escape
responsibility, and be known as a danger only to
those in the neighborhoods they patrol.
Police officers are often asked to make split-second
decisions, but they must do so in deference to
Constitutional rights and the preservation of human
life, and uphold the dignity and humanity of Black
people. It is precisely because of the extraordinary
power officers have – to lawfully kill and deprive us
of our liberty – that they must be held accountable
when they abuse their authority in the line of duty.
At this moment, we are tasked with ending police
violence that robs communities of Black lives –
fathers and mothers, sons and daughters, brothers
and sisters, parents and children, grandparents,
neighbors, and cherished friends. To that end, we
must do no less than fundamentally transform the
abusive practices that fester throughout the legal

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justice system, because anything less will fail to bring
about real, lasting change. The problem is not a lack
of solutions. The problem is a lack of political will
and courage. As we reimagine policing, now is the
time to act boldly.

The purpose of this report is to examine

1
2

race disparities in different
aspects of policing;

consequences of failing
to hold officers and
departments accountable.

how police departments contribute
to violence in the community
and further distrust of both the
legal justice system and internal
disciplinary process; and

Although police violence and
misconduct are pervasive statewide,
much of this report focuses on data
analysis of individual officers in
the Baltimore Police Department,
from 2015–2019. This report seeks
to better understand the scope of
officer misconduct and use of force,
and identify intervention points to not
just reform police departments, but to
change how policing is done.

History
On police violence and anti-Black vigilantism, author Tim Wise wrote, “Those
who deny the racial angle…can only do so by a willful ignorance, a carefully
cultivated denial of every logical, obvious piece of evidence before them, and
by erasing from their minds…the entire history of American criminal justice.”i
They must also necessarily disregard everything that Black people have said
and the behavior that they continue to experience and witness firsthand.
The roots of organized American policing lie not in
preventing crime, but maintaining race- and classbased inequity by preserving wealth, controlling
Black, Indigenous and People of Color and lowincome and working-class people, and enforcing
segregation and white supremacy.ii Policing in this
country began loosely – in the north with elected
sheriffs and constables, and in the south with
patrols of whites terrorizing Black people who were
enslaved. The first organized police forces were
established in the mid- to late-19th century to quash
labor protests and actions by low-wage workers.iii
But race, segregation, class, and police violence have
been inextricably linked. Where Black communities
successfully accumulated wealth on their own
terms, police deputized lynch mobs to kill people
and destroy businesses that threatened the white
community’s control over the region’s capital.1 And
it is only when popular uprisings threaten property
damage, not just human lives, do militarized police
move into American cities and lay siege like an
occupying force.2
In 1963, Cambridge, Maryland police chief Brice
Kinnamon infamously declared the city had no
racial problems during the race riots between civil
rights activists and police-backed segregationists
that had engulfed the town.iv Four years later, the
town erupted again during the unrest of 1967, as
Black residents protested racist local laws and
historic inequity.
Almost fifty years after, Black Baltimoreans rose up
in response to the police killing of Freddie Gray, after
1

See Tulsa Race Massacre of 1921.

See Watts Rebellion of 1965.

officers took him for a “rough ride.” Shortly after, the
U.S. Department of Justice released a scathing report
exposing a long history of violence, racism, and
corruption within BPDv – a history that city residents
had claimed for generations – and brought the
department under a federal consent decree. Governor
Larry Hogan, however, has not prioritized addressing
inequity imposed on the city – the root cause of the
uprising – instead chastising Black residents about
crime, declaring recently, “I want to know where is
the outrage from the city—from the residents of the
city—to say ‘enough is enough.’”vi
The Governor’s failure or refusal to understand was
predicted by the 1968 Kerner Commission Report:
“What white Americans have never fully understood
but what the Negro can never forget—is that white
society is deeply implicated in the ghetto. White
institutions created it, white institutions maintain
it, and white society condones it.”vii Not only did
the report lay out the root causes of social unrest
– lack of jobs and economic mobility, a broken
education system, racism, white media, and police
brutality and misconduct – but it also identifies the
triggering event:

Almost invariably the incident
that ignites disorder arises from
police action…precipitated by
arrests of Negroes by white
police for minor offenses.viii

7
Chasing Justice: Addressing Police Violence and Corruption in Maryland

History

The report got it right. The problem is that nobody
in power listened, and too many have forgotten it, or
choose to ignore it today.

legislators went further, declaring, “A vote against the
bill is a vote for the criminal element [and] a criminal
act on your part.”x The bill passed easily.

The violence and corruption within BPD were
known long before the DOJ report, and well before
the Kerner Commission, too. In 1965, before Donald
Pomerleau became Baltimore Police Commissioner,
he issued a report that “declared the Baltimore
force to be among the nation’s most antiquated
and corrupt, and characterized its use of force as
excessive and its relations with the city’s black
community as nonexistent.”ix

The dangerous fallout was soon clear. In Howard
County, the police chief abandoned a call for
public disciplinary hearings. In Prince George’s
(“PG”) County, after a pattern of police violence,
state legislators amended LEOBR to prohibit the
county’s human relations commission from accessing
internal police misconduct files and investigating
misconduct.xi This period of time also coincided
with the PG County Police Department’s “death
squad” – a group of detectives who planned, incited,
and entrapped people in violent crimes resulting in
multiple deaths.xii

Unfortunately, the response of police departments
and police unions across Maryland has been to
protect themselves first, to the detriment of the
communities they are supposed to serve. Despite the
outrage of rising incidents of police brutality during
the Civil Rights Movement, Maryland legislators
passed the Law Enforcement Officers’ Bill of Rights
(“LEOBR”) in 1973, the first of its kind in the country,
and one of the most extreme, even today. At the
hearing, the executive director of Baltimore’s police
union pushed the narrative of cops as long-suffering
victims, testifying that police have “no rights for
themselves, no defense. A policeman is never
advised of his rights because he has no rights.” Some

ACLU MD

Despite this history, police reform has been illusory
because of a fundamental misconception about
policing: only a fraction of police work is responding
to calls about criminal offenses, and even then, only
5 percent of arrests are for so-called violent crimes.xiii
In practice, too much of police work consists of
surveilling and targeting disproportionately Black
and low-income people for low-level, non-violent
offenses. Police budgets are spent on practices that
criminalize poverty, and are often marked by fraud
and abuse of the overtime system. And police have
been entrusted to police themselves.

Race and Policing
Racial disparities have been widely documented nationwide in all aspects
of policing and the legal justice system, including stops,xiv searches,xv use
of force,xvi arrests,xvii charging,xviii pretrial detainment,xix plea bargaining,xx
disposition,xxi and sentencing.xxii Black communities face the paradox of being
both over- and under-policed, criminalized at higher rates than whites for petty
offenses, without the protection they need against serious threats that police
are supposed to provide.

Like a schoolyard bully, our criminal justice system harasses people
on small pretexts but is exposed as a coward before murder. It hauls
masses of black men through its machinery but fails to protect them
from bodily injury and death. It is at once oppressive and inadequate.
– Jill Leovy, Ghettosidexxiii
Traffic Stops and Searches
Despite a prevalence of community-based policing, reducing police violence
requires limits to rather than expansion of police presence in communities.
Traffic stops are the most common police-resident encounter, one that most
adults of all races have experienced, although the outcomes often differ by race.
Maryland police officers in all jurisdictions stop and search Black motorists at
disproportionate rates even though data show that white motorists are often more
likely to possess contraband.xxiv
While the total number of searches of all drivers increased between 2013 and
2017, searches of white drivers increased by 84 percent, while searches of Black
drivers increased by 170 percent.xxv If we limit the number of armed officers
responding to routine traffic stops, we can reduce the likelihood of death for Black
residents who are grossly targeted, like in the police killings of Philando Castille
and Sandra Bland.

Arrests and Incarceration
While Black people make up about 31 percent of Maryland’s population, they make
up 52 percent of Marylanders in jailxxvi and 70 percent of Marylanders in prison.xxvii
Mass incarceration is far from only an urban issue; rural counties, particularly
Wicomico, Worcester, and Dorchester on the Lower Eastern Shore, incarcerate
the highest number of their residents per capita.xxviii Pretrial detention, while

9
Chasing Justice: Addressing Police Violence and Corruption in Maryland

Race and Policing

decreasing in larger, urban jurisdictions like Baltimore City, continues to increase
in smaller, more rural counties like Garrett County in Western Maryland.3 However,
although the total incarceration rate in Maryland has recently begun to decline, the
percentage of Maryland’s prison population that is Black remains the highest in the
country, twice as much as the average state, and more than 25 percent higher than
the second highest state, Mississippi.xxix Recent studies have found significant racial
disparities in marijuana arrests in Baltimore City,xxx despite a decriminalization
law enacted in 2014, as well as racial disparities in total police interactions in
Montgomery Countyxxxi and in misdemeanor arrests in Prince George’s County.xxxii

Officer Shootings
From 2010 to 2016, police officers shot at people during 30 incidents in Baltimore
County, 56 in PG County, and 81 in Baltimore City. Fatality rates of these shootings
were 42 percent in Baltimore County, 29 percent in PG County, and 36 percent in
Baltimore City. Black people were 87 percent of those shot at in Baltimore City,
47 percent in Baltimore County, and 87 percent in PG County.xxxiii

Race of Victim in Police Shootings
(fatal and non-fatal), 2010–2016
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0

Baltimore City

Baltimore County

Prince George’s County

■ Black ■ white ■ other
Vice News, “Shot by Cops and Forgotten”

ACLU MD

From 2005 to 2015, pretrial detention decreased by 45 percent in Baltimore City, while increasing
30 percent in Garrett County.

Race and Policing

Killings
Over the past 20 years, police in Maryland have killed more than 500 people.xxxiv
From 2013 to 2019, police killed 128 people in 16 jurisdictions in Maryland.xxxv
■ Allegany (1)
■ Anne Arundel (9)

■ Baltimore City (31)

■ Baltimore County (27)

■ Caroline (1)

Police
Killings
by
County

■ Carroll (1)
■ Cecil (6)
■ Charles (2)
■ Frederick (5)
■ Harford (7)
■ Howard (4)
■ Montgomery (10)
■ Queen Anne (1)
■ Prince George’s (17)
Washington (1)
■ Wicomico (4)
Analysis from Mapping Police Violence

Black residents make up 63 percent of those killed by police in Maryland,
even though only 31 percent of Marylanders are Black. This percentage is
the second highest percentage in the country,4 and fifth highest disparity
of any state between percentage of the population and percentage
of people killed.xxxvi

Percentage of police killings that are Black residents

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100
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
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Analysis from Mapping Police Violence

Only the District of Columbia has a higher rate, 88 percent.

Chasing Justice: Addressing Police Violence and Corruption in Maryland

Race and Policing

At least 18 percent of Maryland residents killed by police exhibited signs of mental
illness. At least 22 percent were unarmed, 60 percent of whom were Black. Four
percent were allegedly “armed” with a toy. The fact that someone may have been
armed does not by itself justify killing them. The relevant question is not whether
a person was armed but whether they posed a threat, and whether the officer had
reasonable alternatives to ending their life. Government actors who shoot and kill at
will directly subvert fundamental rights and the promise of American values.

Violent Crime Clearance Rates
Despite aggressive policing, police have an abysmal response record in solving
serious violent crimes. The homicide clearance rate in Maryland has decreased from
94 percent in 1965 to just 42 percent in 2019.xxxvii
A 2018 ProPublica study found low clearance rates for sexual assaults across
four Maryland counties, and also shows how police departments pad clearance
rates without making an arrest by liberally using an “exceptional clearance”
categorization if they have enough evidence for an arrest but cannot do so for
reasons outside their control.xxxviii This helps departments enhance the narrative
that they are preventing violent crime, without actually making communities safer.
RAPE CLEARANCE RATE BY COUNTY, 2016
County

Total Clearance Rate

Arrest Made

Exceptional Clearance Rate

Baltimore City

38%

25%

13%

Baltimore County

68%

28%

39%

Howard County

41%

15%

26%

Montgomery County

83%

22%

61%

ProPublica, “Could Your Police Department Be Inflating Rape Clearance Rates?”

Furthermore, police departments in the two jurisdictions with the highest Black
population, Prince George’s County (64 percent) and Baltimore City (63 percent),
had the lowest homicide clearance rates in 2019, 56 percent and 31 percent,
respectively.xxxix This presents the dangerous reality where the same institutions
and individuals who terrorize Black communities are also deployed to protect them.
The same often holds true for others who are vulnerable to police abuse, including
immigrants,xl the LGBTQ+ community,xli and sex workers.xlii More aggressive
policing is also associated with undermining the effectiveness of informal social
control systems, that help keep communities safe.xliii Higher arrest rates and
ordinary police violence hinder vulnerable communities’ ability to prevent harm,
and routine police harassment deters people from reporting crimes or seeking help
from police, because they view law enforcement as the greater threat.

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Crimes by Police
Addressing crime and improving public safety requires accounting for crimes
committed by police officers themselves. From 2005 to 2011, police officers
in Maryland were charged with 271 crimes in 18 counties and Baltimore City,
including 138 crimes of violence.xliv However, officers are rarely convicted, and
even a criminal conviction does not always result in employment discipline in
the department.

Discipline for Officer Criminal Convictions, 2011–2015
-

■

Terminated (67)
Resigned (53)

■

Suspended Only (50)

■

No Discipline (5)

■

Analysis from The Henry A. Wallace Police Crime Database, Bowling Green State University

Officers who were convicted of criminal offenses but received no internal discipline
include Prince George’s County officers convicted of larceny and driving under
the influence, and a Baltimore City deputy sheriff convicted of aggravated assault.
The data omits, of course, the countless illegal police assaults, sexual assaults, and
other violent crimes on the job for which they are never charged and are shielded
from accountability by the Law Enforcement Officers’ Bill of Rights.

13
Chasing Justice: Addressing Police Violence and Corruption in Maryland

Crimes by Police

Transferring Agencies
Even when a criminal conviction prompts an officer’s termination or resignation,
they can often simply transfer to a different department. In 2012, Baltimore Police
officer John King was forced to resign after he was investigated for sexual assault.
He then moved to Utah and soon became chief of the Provo Police Department
before being forced out after another sexual assault investigation. Utah officials
were unaware of the Baltimore case, and said had they known, they would not have
hired King.xlv A Yale research study found that three percent of officers in Florida
had previously been fired by another law enforcement agency.xlvi A recent study in
California identified 630 current officers who had criminal convictions over the past
decade.xlvii In Maryland, open source research has identified several officers with
criminal convictions who transferred to different agencies, and currently work as
law enforcement officers, including in Frederick and Wicomico Counties. There is
also no reliable way for the public to track officers who transfer to agencies in other
states, like former BPD officer Eric Snell, who worked as an officer in Philadelphia
when he was indicted for his involvement in the GTTF scandal.

Decertification
Of the 45 states that allow decertification, Maryland has ranked last since 1963,
decertifying only four officers until 2019 when one of the officers involved
in the killing of Anton Black was de-certified.5 During this time period, 26
states decertified more than 100 officers each, and five states decertified
more than 1,000.xlviii

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The police chief pled guilty to misconduct while in office after investigators discovered the officer’s
application failed to disclose more than two dozen use of force complaints from his previous job
in Delaware.

Baltimore City Data
In the wake of the consent decree, BPD agreed to provide Code for America’s
Project Comport with five years of data about misconduct complaints, use of
force incidents, and officer-involved shootings, from 2015 through 2019.xlix
Use of Force
From 2015–2019, there were 22,884 use of force incidents in Baltimore, showing
both race- and district-based disparities. Black residents are approximately 63
percent of Baltimore City’s population, but are 90.7 percent of those against whom
officers used force, while white residents experienced only 7.3 percent of all force
used by officers.

Use of Force Incidents by District
3000
2500
2000
1500
1000
500

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15
Chasing Justice: Addressing Police Violence and Corruption in Maryland

Baltimore City Data

TYPE OF
FORCE USED

Officers’ Body (Hands, Fists, Feet, Knees)

58.8%

Firearms

22.3%

Taser/CEW

8.8%

Forcible Takedowns

7.5%

OC Spray/Pepper Spray

1.1%

Tackling Without Injury

1.0%
Analysis of Project Comport data

The data show that people in Baltimore interact with police officers in very
different, racialized ways. Residents in the “White L”7 of North and South Baltimore
do not witness and experience firsthand close to the level of police violence as
Black residents do in the “Black Butterfly”8 of East and West Baltimore. While
some may assume racial disparities in force relate to increased levels of crime in
neighborhoods, and that police must use force to protect themselves and others,
officers actually cited self-defense and defense of others at low rates for why
they used force.

REASONS FOR
OFFICERS’ USE
OF FORCE

Suspect Resistance/Combative Suspect

60.5%

Gain Tactical Advantage

20.7%

Defense of Others

6.3%

Self Defense

5.1%

Make an Arrest

4.3%
Analysis of Project Comport data

Only 40.9 percent of force incidents were from a 911 call for service. The types of
arrests involved with force incidents also contradict the narrative that police are
responding to serious crimes. The majority of arrests after a use of force incident
are for low-level charges, which would include baseless charges to justify the force,
or where the supposed offense occurred as a result of the force officers used.

ARREST
CHARGES AFTER
USING FORCE

CDS (Controlled Dangerous Substance) Violation

22.9%

Second Degree Assault

11.8%

Handgun Violation

9.2%

Resisting Arrest

8.5%

Assault on Police

7.6%

Disorderly Conduct

4.6%

First Degree Assault

4.2%

Traffic Violation

3.4%
Analysis of Project Comport data

ACLU MD

Conducted Electrical Weapon

Brown, Lawrence. (2016, June 28). Two Baltimores: the white l vs. the black butterfly. Baltimoresun.
com. https://www.baltimoresun.com/citypaper/bcpnews-two-baltimores-the-white-l-vs-the-blackbutterfly-20160628-htmlstory.html

Ibid.

Baltimore City Data

Addressing community violence also requires examining the role that police
play in sparking violence. While killings and high-profile incidents garner the
most attention, the more routine, low-level incidents maintain the cycle of
violence as well.

Misconduct Complaints
From 2015 to 2019, 13,392 complaints of misconduct were filed against 1,826
Baltimore City officers, even though as of December 2017, only 809 officers in total
were patrolling the streets in BPD’s nine districts.l This includes complaints that are
mis-categorized, under-reported, or plea bargained down by the officer in order to
accept punishment for a lesser charge.
Top Complaints

Percentage of Complaints

Conduct Unbecoming

12.9%

False Arrest and/or Imprisonment

10.5%

General Misconduct

8.7%

Unnecessary and/or Excessive Force

7.7%

Lawsuit Filed

6.7%

Harassment

6.3%
Analysis of Project Comport data

Similarly, there was a significant range in the number of complaints by residents in
neighborhoods with different racial demographics.

Complaints by District, 2015–2019
1800
1600
1400
1200
1000
800
600
400
200

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■ Complaints by District, 2015–2019
Analysis of Project Comport data

17
Chasing Justice: Addressing Police Violence and Corruption in Maryland

Baltimore City Data

Trends in Number of Complaints, 2015–2019
1200
1000
800
600
400
200
0

2015 Q2
Q1

Q4 2016 Q2
Q1

Q4 2017 Q2
Q1

Q4 2018 Q2
Q1

Q4 2019 Q2
Q1

Trends in Complaints, 2015–2019
Analysis of Project Comport data

Only a small percentage of total complaints is sustained, and complaints are
sustained disproportionately depending on the source, race of complainant, and
target of the complaint.
Source of
Complaint

Percentage of Total
Complaints

Percentage of
Sustained Complaints

Rate Complaints are
Sustained

Ethics Board

7.5%

12.1%

21%

Internal

17.4%

40.9%

30%

75.1%

46.9%

External

Analysis of Project Comport data

Race of Complainant

Total Complaints

Rate of Complaints Sustained

Black

73.2%

7.7%

White

13.7%

12.4%
Analysis of Project Comport data

Race of Officer

Total Complaints

Rate of Complaints Sustained

Black

44.5%

32.9%

White

46.5%

22.9%
Analysis of Project Comport data

469 individual BPD officers were the subject of at least one complaint of physical
violence against a member of the public.10
Additionally, there were domestic violence-related complaints for 86 individual
officers. There were 40 complaints of criminal association.
Officers remained on the force after sustained complaints of domestic violence,
criminal sexual offenses, DUI, DWI, hit-and-run, and theft. For example, Richard
Pinheiro, convicted of fabricating evidence during a 2017 incident, was still a BPD
officer as of 2020.li
Overall, six percent of BPD officers received approximately 33 percent
of all complaints.

ACLU MD

Includes complaints from city residents.

Assault, excessive force, unnecessary force, or domestic violence-related complaints.

COMPLAINTS AGAINST BALTIMORE POLICE OFFICERS, 2015–2019
Officer

Complaints

Officer

Wayne Jenkins

227 11

Luke Shelley

Evodio Hendrix

164

Marcus Taylor

161

Daniel Hersl

130

Maurice Ward

119

Jemell Rayam

Complaints

Officer

Complaints

Mark Gurbelski

David Crites

Stephen Halstead

Alexander Ames

Thomas Hodas, Jr.

Anthony Weems

Jason Leventhal

Clemmie Anderson

Rafiu Makanjuola

107

Betavia Elliott

David MacNeill

Steven Mahan

Frank Friend, Jr.

Phillip McMorris

Joseph Donato

Charles Thompson

Michael Nolan-Anderson

Calvin Moss

Adam Tondeur

Lonnie White, Jr.

Edward Creed

Arthur Williams

Devin Yancy

Momodu Gondo

Derick Allen

Nicholas Betz

Fabien Laronde

Scott Armstrong

Kevin Brown

Rashard King

Phoenix Frey

Bryan Chenowith

Benjamin Critzer

Sufian Hassan

David Ciotti

Charles Baugher

Denishia Jordan

Morgan Clasing

Courtney Wright

Sherrod Biggers

Orice Custis

James Klein

Aaron Dail

Gary Fanning, Jr.

Steven Foster

Ben Frieman

Johnta Gray

David Burch

Demario Harris

Darrell London

Erwin Scofield

Charles Manners

Jamil Shakir

Richard Guy

Keith Perry

Kurt Yourkovik

Sharod Watson

Leon Riley

Jason Zimmerman

Michael Mercado

Timothy Romeo

Bijay Ranabhat

Aisha White-Bey

Carl Ross

Aaron Cain

Christopher Lehman

Kenneth Sanchez

Jordan Distance

Ethan Newberg

Chris Sullivan

Deonte Duck

Joseph Wiczulis

Norman Jones

Kyle Gaskin

Scott Lawrence

Ian Meertens

Michael Jones

Brandon Smith-Saxon

Robert Messner

Supreme Jones

Richard Watts

Valentine Nagovich

Akeem Nelson

Ryan Hill

Ricardo Ojeda

Paulo Pereira

Robert Moorhead

Antonio Saunders

Brandon Sanchez

Rico Perry

Gabriel Barnett

Gregory Shuttleworth

James Craig

Anthony Casabona

Charles Smith

Bruce Dhaiti

Brandon Chambers

Christopher Amsel

John Gossett

Steven Angelini

Jacob Antignano

Dylan LaPorta

Alan Chanoine

Darius Carter

Hovhannes Simonyan

Taulant Halilaj

Nicholas De Jesus

Duane Williams, Jr.

Cody Holliday

Gregory Edleman

Shawn Fuksa

John Jaimes

Colin Harner

Ronald Rinehart

Tyler Scott

Thomas Kirby

Andres Severino

Laron Wilson

Brian Loiero

Joshua Hall

Jorge Bernardez-Ruiz

Thomas Mistysyn, Jr.

Clayton Leak

Jamal Brunson

Darryl Parker

Yolanda Nelson

Eric Dodson

Giusseppe Polanco

Andres Rodriguez

James Edge

Analysis of Project Comport data

Numbers of complaints for GTTF officers Jenkins, Hendrix, Taylor, Hersl, Ward, Rayam, and Gondo include complaints after they were indicted.
However, in only the short period of time from January 2015 up until the 2017 indictments, Hersl, Rayam, and Jenkins received accumulated 40,
46, and 4711 complaints, respectively.

Chasing Justice: Addressing Police Violence and Corruption in Maryland

Baltimore City Data

COMPLAINTS SUSTAINED AGAINST BALTIMORE POLICE OFFICERS, 2015–2019
Officer

Sustained
Types of Sustained Complaints
Complaints

Rashard King

Discourtesy (7), False Arrest/Imprisonment (6), Assault (3),
Firearms Regulations (3), Medical Leave Violation (2), DUI (1)

Jemell Rayam12

False Arrest/Imprisonment (5), Theft (5), False Report (4), Harassment (3),
Assault (1), Excessive Force (1), Reckless Driving (1)

Wayne Jenkins

False Arrest/Imprisonment (6), Improper Stop/Search/Seizure (4), Theft (4),
False Report (3), Harassment (3), Hit and Run (1), Racial Bias (1)

Fabien Laronde

Assault (3), Theft (3)

Daniel Hersl

Theft (4), False Statement (4), False Arrest/Imprisonment (3), Excessive Force (1)

Erwin Scofield

Unnecessary Force (5)

Carl Ross

Child Pornography (11)

Duane Williams

Assault (4), Child Abuse (4), Excessive Force (1)

Bijay Ranabhat

False Statement (4), Nonfeasance (4)

Robert Mesner

Assault (3), False Arrest/Imprisonment (3), Malfeasance in Officer (3)

Paulo Pereira

Improper Stop/Search/Seizure (3)

Lonnie White, Jr.

False Statement (4), Nonfeasance (4)

Calvin Moss

Abusive or Discriminatory Language (2)

Steven Angelini

Inappropriate Comments (4)

David Burch, Jr.

Vehicle Pursuit (1)

Sherrod Biggers

Improper Stop/Search/Seizure (3)

Damon Cephus

False Arrest/Imprisonment (2)

Momodu Gondo

False Arrest/Imprisonment (2)

Ezekiel Abdi

Failure to Supervise (3), Neglect of Duty (3)

Jacob Antignano

Excessive Force (1), Unnecessary Force (1)

Brandon Chambers

Neglect/Body-Worn Camera (4)

Frank Schneider

Inappropriate Comment (3), Neglect of Duty (3)

Adam Tondeur

Failure to Supervise (2), Neglect/Firearms Related (2), Neglect/Prisoner Related (2)

Kyle Gaskin

Failure to Supervise (4), Neglect of Duty (4)

Valentine Nagovich

DUI, DWI, Armed While Intoxicated, Negligent Driving, Failure to Stop for
Police Vehicle

Yolanda Nelson

Neglect/Body-Worn Camera (5)

Alan Chanoine

Inappropriate comments, Profanity, or Gestures to a Departmental Member (3)

Stephen Halstead

Neglect of Duty (5)

Dylan LaPorta

Vehicle Pursuit (1), Unsafe Operation of Departmental Vehicle (1)

Spencer Moore

Violation of Criminal Statute (2)
Analysis of Project Comport data

Sustained complaints for Rayam, Jenkins, Hersl, and Gondo include complaints sustained after they were indicted.

ACLU MD

Baltimore City Data

Not only are complaints sustained at low rates, but they are sometimes not
sustained even when officers admit to the misconduct. On December 1, 2017,
Sharod Watson lied on the witness stand by falsely claiming to have seen a
defendant “on a daily basis” and witnessing him selling drugs, even though the
defendant was already in jail at the time. On cross-examination, Watson admitted
that his testimony was “factually impossible,” and the defendant was acquitted.lii
The Baltimore Sun reported this incident to BPD on January 11, 2018, and a perjury
complaint was lodged against Watson. On August 1, 2018, BPD closed its internal
investigation into Watson’s perjury. The complaint was not sustained.

BALTIMORE POLICE OFFICERS IN 90TH PERCENTILE
FOR BOTH COMPLAINTS AND USE OF FORCE, 2015–2019
Officer

Complaints

Use of Force
Incidents

Benjamin Critzer

James Klein

Steven Foster
David Burch, Jr.
Erwin Scofield

Officer

Complaints

Use of Force
Incidents

Charles Smith

113

Deonte Duck

Brandon Sanchez

Paulo Pereira

Gregory Edleman

Ryan Hill

Brian Loiero

Hovhannes Simonyan

120

Giusseppe Polanco

James Craig

Christopher Amsel

John Gossett

Thomas Kirby

Andres Rodriguez

Colin Harner

Luke Shelley

Jacob Antignano

Scott Armstrong

James Deasel

Leon Riley

Nicholas Yinger

Aaron Dail

David Colburn

Gabriel Barnett

Donald Waldron

Taulant Halilaj

Daniel Waskiewicz

Cody Holliday

Kevin Fassl

Jason Leventhal

Jeffrey Santos

Mark Gurbelski

Victor Villafane

Michael Nolan-Anderson

Tyler Sentz

Jamil Shakir

James Kostoplis

Kurt Yourkovik

Richard Whittaker

Analysis of Project Comport data

21
Chasing Justice: Addressing Police Violence and Corruption in Maryland

Baltimore City Data

COMPLAINTS OF VIOLENCE13 AGAINST BALTIMORE POLICE OFFICERS, 2015–2019

.
Officer

Number of Violent
Complaints

Officer

Number of Violent
Complaints

David Crites

John Gossett

Joseph Donato

Michael Nolan-Anderson

Betavia Elliott

Andres Rodriguez

James Klein

Robert Moorhead

Derick Allen

Brian Loiero

Alexander Ames

Hovhannes Simonyan

Alan Chanoine

Anthony Casabona

Gary Fanning, Jr.

Brandon Chambers

Taulant Halilaj

Ben Frieman

Ronald Rinehart

Richard Guy

Aisha White-Bey

Rafiu Makanjuola

Charles Baugher

Robert Messner

Edward Creed

Andres Severino

Eric Dodson

Analysis of Project Comport data

A 2019 study in Chicago found that officers who are partnered or in units with
officers who have high numbers of excessive force complaints are more likely
to receive such complaints themselves in the future.liii Contact-tracing research
would help identify newer officers who are more at risk of causing harm because of
working alongside seasoned officers with high complaint totals.
BALTIMORE RISING “STARS”: NEW OFFICERS FASTEST TO THE MOST COMPLAINTS, 2015–2019
Officer

Joined BPD

Total Complaints

Time Until 10 Complaints

Arthur Williams

May 2017

1 year, 3 months

Christopher Valis

April 2015

2 years, 0 months

Brandon Smith-Saxon

June 2016

2 years, 2 months

Devin Yancy

March 2017

2 years, 2 months

Alex Young

July 2017

2 years, 2 months

Clayton Leak

February 2017

2 years, 5 months

Jacob Antignano

April 2015

2 years, 6 months

Gabriel Barnett

November 2016

2 years, 8 months

Nicholas Yinger

March 2016

3 years, 2 months

Anthony Taurisano

April 2015

3 years, 2 months

Wayne Adams, III

April 2016

3 years, 3 months

Luke Shelley

February 2016

3 years, 8 months

Joshua Cornelius

March 2015

4 years, 3 months

Derek Bristow

March 2015

4 years, 7 months

Terrell Howard

January 2015

4 years, 8 months
Analysis of Project Comport data

Assault, excessive force, unnecessary force

ACLU MD

Baltimore City Data

Discredited Officers
Baltimore City State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby’s office recently compiled an
internal list of more than 300 officers with “integrity” issues.liv While the list is not
publicly available, and it is unclear how the list was compiled, from 2015–2019 there
were at least 252 officers with complaints about credibility,14 not including 1,659
additional complaints for a false stop, search, strip search, vehicle search, arrest, or
imprisonment. This also does not include officers with sustained complaints of false
arrest whose arrests are still being prosecuted.
The clear inclination of police departments to cover up the truth about misconduct
shows why police chiefs and sheriffs are eager to support recent legislative
proposals to supposedly reform Maryland’s Public Information Act: the proposals
would only allow the disclosure of between two and seven percent of all
complaints. Lower-level complaints – those hidden from view behind language of
“general misconduct” and “conduct unbecoming,” brushed aside by officers, ignored
by departments, and acknowledged only by the complainant and people they choose
to tell – are just as corrosive to police-community relations as high-profile incidents.
Incidentally, former Prince George’s County Police Chief Hank Stawinski, one of the
main law enforcement negotiators for these proposals, was forced to resign earlier
this year after a lawsuit brought by Black and Brown PGPD officers and an expert
report that showed systematic racism, retaliation, and corruption in the PG County
Police Department.lv

Where BPD Officers Come From
Only approximately 25 percent of BPD officers live in Baltimore City,lvi with
the vast majority of officers with extensive records of misconduct coming
from other counties.
HOME COUNTIES OF BPD OFFICERS WITH THE MOST COMPLAINTS
Residence

Percentage of Officers
with Most Complaints

Residence

Percentage of Officers
with Most Complaints

Baltimore County

31.3%

Cecil County

2.7%

Baltimore City

27.2%

Howard County

2.7%

Harford County

12.9%

Queen Anne’s County

2.7%

Anne Arundel County

7.5%

Dorchester County

0.7%

Pennsylvania (all counties)

6.8%

Montgomery County

0.7%

Carroll County

3.4%

Wicomico County

0.7%

Open source research and analysis of publicly available information

Early Intervention System
The Baltimore Police Department’s early intervention system [“EIS”] ostensibly
flags for intervention officers who accumulate high numbers of adverse incidents
and pose a greater risk to the community. Under its internal policy, the Department
tracks excessive force complaints, misconduct allegations, preventable
14

Discriminatory policing, false information on search warrant, false probable cause statement, false
report, false statement, lack of probable cause for warrant, misrepresentation of facts, perjury,
planting evidence, race-based policing, racial bias, racial discrimination

Chasing Justice: Addressing Police Violence and Corruption in Maryland

Baltimore City Data
departmental accidents, substance abuse, domestic-related incidents, and any
violations of departmental policy. Three or more EIS alerts within a 12-month
period may trigger referral for a Phase 1 intervention.lvii In practice, this has proven
to be inadequate at intervening with problematic officers.
Akeem Nelson had a sustained DWI complaint in 2015, and remained on the
force after subsequent complaints for excessive force, sexual misconduct, and
theft, before he was arrested for a hit-and-run in March, 2020.lviii Leon Riley has
had numerous complaints of false imprisonment, excessive force, abusive or
discriminatory language, improper stop/search/seizure, as well multiple lawsuits
before being charged again in August, 2020 for first degree assault, reckless
endangerment, and misconduct in office.lix And Ethan Newberg, the highest-paid
officer in Baltimore City, was indicted in late 2019 on 32 counts of harassing,
intimidating, and wrongfully detaining residents over the course of several months.lx
CURRENT BALTIMORE POLICE OFFICERS THAT EIS SHOULD HAVE FLAGGED, 2015–2019
Officer

Triggering Incidents

Subsequent Complaints After Triggering 15

Officer C.L.

Theft, False Arrest, Improper Search,
Harassment

Excessive Force, Neglect/Firearms Related, Vehicle
Pursuit, Unsafe Operation of a Departmental Vehicle,
False Statement

Officer B.D.

Excessive Force, False Arrest, Criminal
Misdemeanor

Discriminatory Policing, False Imprisonment, Improper
Stop

Officer A.W.

Criminal sexual misconduct, Harassment,
Improper Stop/Search/Seizure

Improper stop, Harassment, Unsafe operation of a
Departmental vehicle

Officer D.J.

Abuse of Authority, Harassment, Retaliation

Retaliation

Officer L.R.

Excessive Force, Abusive or Discriminatory
Language, Improper Stop

Excessive Force, Abusive or Discriminatory Language,
False Arrest, Harassment, Retaliation

Officer D.H.

Excessive Force, False Arrest/Imprisonment,
Harassment

Excessive Force, Theft

Officer J.D.

Excessive Force, Improper Search, Failure to
Write Report

False Imprisonment, Improper Stop, Sexual Misconduct,
Unsafe Operation of a Department Vehicle

Officer C.H.

Excessive Force, False Imprisonment,
Improper Stop/Search/Seizure

Excessive Force, False Arrest, False Imprisonment,
Improper Search, Improper Stop, Planting Evidence

Officer N.Y.

Excessive Force, Improper Stop/Search/
Seizure, Failure to Report Use of Force

False Arrest/Imprisonment, Improper Stop/Search/
Seizure, False Statement/Report, Theft

Officer R.O.

False Arrest/Imprisonment, False Statement/ Criminal Misdemeanor, False Statement/
Report, Harassment, Improper Stop/Search/ Untruthfulness, Neglect of Duty
Seizure

Officer J.J.

Abusive or Discriminatory Language,
Harassment, Improper Stop/Search/Seizure

False Arrest/Imprisonment, Harassment, Planting
Evidence

Officer E.N.

Abusive or Discriminatory Language,
Excessive Force, False Statement

Abusive or Discriminatory Language, Excessive Force,
False Arrest, Harassment, Vehicle Pursuit

Officer C.B.

Excessive Force, False Arrest/Imprisonment,
Harassment

Excessive Force, False Arrest/Imprisonment,
Harassment, Theft

Officer G.B.

False Arrest/Imprisonment, Harassment,
Improper Stop/Search/Seizure

False Imprisonment, Harassment, Improper Search,
Theft

Officer J.C.

Harassment, Improper Stop/Search/Seizure,
Theft

Excessive Force, False Imprisonment, False Statement,
Harassment, Improper Search, Theft
Analysis of Project Comport data

The dispositions of these complaints are unknown, and the data was published before the deadline for the Department to
complete its investigation.

ACLU MD

Baltimore City Data
Overall, more than 400 individual officers should have triggered at least a Phase 1
intervention under BPD’s policy. At the time of this writing, it is unclear how many
interventions that BPD has conducted, which undermines accountability.
With a stronger warning system, as well as more accountability by allowing release
under the Public Information Act of records concerning police misconduct under
the BPD, approximately 20.4% of complaints may have been prevented from mid2018 to end of 2019.

Financial Impact
Not only do officers use force and commit misconduct at exorbitant rates, they also
earn an excessive amount of money doing so.
BALTIMORE POLICE OFFICER SALARY AND OVERTIME, 2015–2019lxi
Officer

Complaints

Average
Annual Salary

Average
Annual Overtime

Total Pay
2015–2019

$83,215

$119,216

$1,012,152

Thomas Mistysyn, Jr.

$110,531

$101,194

$992,309

Ethan Newberg

$97,639

$94,279

$959,588

Rafiu Makanjuola

Steven Mahan

$82,818

$85,993

$844,053

Courtney Wright

$65,936

$73,905

$841,051

David C. Jones

$85,168

$81,881

$835,244

Frank Friend, Jr.

$88,999

$70,953

$799,760

Chris Sullivan

$78,442

$77,151

$777,963

Ronald Rinehart

$79,977

$72,614

$762,954

Billy Shiflett

$92,654

$50,757

$717,056

Courtney Wright

$65,935

$73,905

$699,202

Aaron Cain

$77,324

$59,424

$683,739

Daniel Martin

$90,269

$46,152

$682,103

Phillip McMorris

$88,597

$44,189

$663,924

Edward Creed

$84,082

$44,951

$645,063

Richard Guy

$71,866

$56,042

$639,539

Joel Hawk

$82,186

$39,487

$639,066

Keith Perry

$85,168

$41,264

$631,359

David Crites

$88,502

$35,526

$631,063

Scott Lawrence

$72,557

$52,032

$622,947

Analysis of BPD Watch, Open Justice Baltimore

In addition to salaries and overtime, Baltimore continues to spend millions of
dollars settling lawsuits against BPD officers. As of October 2020, Baltimore had
paid out $18.4 million to settle lawsuits just from 2015–2020, one of the highest
amounts of any American city.lxii In November 2020, the city agreed to pay out more
than $10 million in additional funds to settle GTTF lawsuits.lxiii Recent settlements
for non-GTTF officers range from $2,500 to $135,000.16 In addition to settlement
costs, Baltimore taxpayers are also funding countless hours that attorneys
in the Baltimore City Law Department and outside firms work and bill while
representing these officers.

Analysis of the Baltimore City Law Department website and open-source research

Chasing Justice: Addressing Police Violence and Corruption in Maryland

From the time of the GTTF indictments in 2017 through the end
of 2019, Baltimore police officers continued accumulating the
same complaints as the GTTF officers:

918

complaints of false
arrest or imprisonment

464

complaints of excessive
or unnecessary force

complaints of
planting evidence

173

complaints of
theft

IT IS ONLY THE NAMES THAT CHANGE.
THE CYCLE CONTINUES, UNINTERRUPTED.

ACLU MD

Conclusion
While the movement to reimagine policing grows stronger, many police officers
and departments continue to demonstrate their indifference to the suffering
of Black and Brown residents who they claim to serve. And there is no real
incentive for them to change.
A 2020 survey of BPD police officers conducted by
the Commission to Restore Trust in Policing garnered
few responses, even with assurances of anonymity.
But of the officers who did respond, 9 percent
reported observing fellow officers committing theft
or overtime fraud, selling or using drugs, planting
evidence, or engaging in other criminal misconduct,
and 35 percent agreed that it would be “easy for an
officer who engages in criminal misconduct to go
undetected,” suggesting a lack of faith of rank-andfile officers in BPD leadership.lxiv
While chiefs and departments may try to shift the
blame to avoid acknowledging their own complicity,
they either know or should have known that so many
of their officers have routinely engaged in criminal
misconduct and brutality. Greensboro Police Chief
Michael Petyo, who hired the officer who killed
Anton Black, should have known he was taking a risk
and listened to Black residents who protested the
hiring. PGPD Chief Stawinsky should have known he
was managing a corrupt department that mistreated
Black and Brown officers and community members.
And every Baltimore Police Commissioner in recent
history knew or should have known about the GTTF
officers and their equally culpable predecessors in
plainclothes units. Whether it is due to a lack of
reliable data, taking too many risks on dangerous
officers, the white supremacist culture of policing,
or simply indifference, law enforcement leaders
have proven themselves unable or unwilling to make
necessary changes.

Whether moved to act by the unacceptable loss of
Black lives, or the denigration of Constitutional
principles of freedom and personal liberty that
should be for all people, we should distrust those
authorized with so much power over our lives, do
everything we can to limit the scope of that power,
and reallocate it to communities so that they can
focus on real solutions that might finally end the
cycle of violence.
The moral cowardice Tim Wise wrote about can be
directed at police chiefs, sheriffs, officers, and their
unions; and states’ attorneys, prosecutors and the
entire criminal legal apparatus:

“They must choose to leave
the dots unconnected between
black men whose names –
were I to list them – would
take up page after page, and
whose names wouldn’t mean
shit to most white people even
if I did list them, and that
is the problem.”lxv

27
Chasing Justice: Addressing Police Violence and Corruption in Maryland

Methodology
In 2020, Project Comport published online five years of data from the Baltimore
Police Department that had been de-identified. Over the course of many months,
I cross-referenced the data of misconduct complaints, use of force incidents, and
officer-involved shootings with Maryland Judiciary Case Search, Baltimore City
Law Department records, Baltimore City employee data, Baltimore Sun and other
newspaper articles, social media posts, and other publicly available sources. Using
probabilistic matching, I identified the names of individual officers involved in
these incidents, linked their names to their misconduct records over this period,
and confirmed an officer’s identity in the databases through multiple incidents in
different years.
These lists are not inclusive, and for the officers listed, represent only their
histories over the five-year period from 2015–2019. For officers with longer careers,
these numbers likely represent only a fraction of their records. There are also
additional complaints and use of force incidents during this time period that were
unidentifiable because they were not assigned an officer’s identifying number.

Legal Disclaimer
By including an officer’s name, this report does not imply that the officer has
committed a crime, or that the officer committed the offense for which the
complaint was filed if it is not listed as sustained. The identification of an officer as
involved in a use-of-force incident does not imply that the use of force was unlawful
or unjustified. This analysis comes primarily from data provided by the Baltimore
Police Department. This report does not guarantee the accuracy of that data. The
author commits to being honest about any errors, transparent in the analytical
process, and welcoming of any critiques or evidence to the contrary.

ACLU MD

Endnotes
i

Wise, Tim. (2013, July 14). No Innocence Left to Kill: Racism,
Injustice, and Explaining America to My Daughter. Timwise.
org http://www.timwise.org/2013/07/no-innocence-left-to-killracism-injustice-and-explaining-america-to-my-daughter/

Vitale, Alex. (2017). The End of Policing. Verso Books.

iii

Mitrant, Sam. (2015, January 6). The Police Were Created
to Control Working Class and Poor People, Not ‘Serve and
Protect.’ Inthesetimes.com. https://inthesetimes.com/article/
police-and-poor-people

Levy, Peter. (2018). The Great Uprising: Riots in urban
America during the 1960s. Cambridge University Press.

U.S. Department of Justice. (2016, August 10). Investigation
of the Baltimore City Police Department. https://www.justice.
gov/crt/file/883296/download

Hellgren, Mike. (2020, September 16). Gov. Larry Hogan
meets with Baltimore leaders as shootings https://baltimore.
cbslocal.com/2020/09/16/gov-larry-hogan-meets-with-baltimoreofficials-on-city-violence/

vii

Report of the National Advisory Commission on
Civil Disorders. (1968). p.1. accessed at: http://www.
eisenhowerfoundation.org/docs/kerner.pdf

viii

Ibid. at 93.

Simon, David. (1991). Homicide: A year on the killing streets.
Page 15. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

Fenton, Justin. (2016, February 23). A brief look at how
the Law Enforcement Officer’s Bill of Rights was passed.
BaltimoreSun.com https://www.baltimoresun.com/maryland/
bal-a-brief-look-at-how-the-maryland-law-enforcement-officersbill-of-rights-was-passed-20160223-story.html

xii

xiii

Tan, Rebecca. (2020, August 29). There’s a reason it’s hard
to discipline police. It starts with a bill of rights 47 years
ago. Washingtonpost.com. https://www.washingtonpost.com/
history/2020/08/29/police-bill-of-rights-officers-disciplinemaryland/
Feinstein, John & Meyer, Eugene L. (1979, February 11).
1976 slayings by P.G. police squad probed. Washingtonpost.
com. https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/
politics/1979/02/11/1976-slayings-by-pg-police-squadprobed/90037a7e-0080-4bd6-bd37-67529757331e/
Speri, Alice. (2019, January 31). Police make more than 10
million arrests a year, but that doesn’t mean they’re solving
crimes. Theintercept.com https://theintercept.com/2019/01/31/
arrests-policing-vera-institute-of-justice/

xiv

The Stanford Open Policing Project. Findings. https://
openpolicing.stanford.edu/findings/

Ridgeway, Greg. (2007). Analysis of racial disparities in
the New York Police Department’s stop, question, and frisk
practices. Rand.org. https://www.rand.org/pubs/technical_
reports/TR534.html

xvi

Edwards, Frank, Lee, Hedwig, & Esposito, Michael. (2019,
August 19). Risk of being killed by police use of force in
the United States by age, race-ethnicity, and sex. Pnas.org.
https://www.pnas.org/content/116/34/16793; Fryer, Jr., Roland
G. (2016, July). Analysis of racial differences in police use of
force. Law.yale.edu. https://law.yale.edu/sites/default/files/area/
workshop/leo/leo16_fryer.pdf

xvii

Hinton, Elizabeth, Henderson, LeShae, & Reed, Cindy. (2018,
May). An unjust burden: the disparate treatment of black
americans in the criminal justice system. Vera.org. https://
www.vera.org/downloads/publications/for-the-record-unjustburden-racial-disparities.pdf

xviii

Sommers, Samuel R. & Marotta, Satia A. (2014). Racial
disparities in legal outcomes: on policing, charging
decisions, and criminal trial proceedings. Policy Insights
from the Behavioral and Brain Sciences, Vol. 1. https://journals.
sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/2372732214548431

xix

Sawyer, Wendy. (2019, October 9). How race impacts who is
detained pretrial. Prisonpolicy.org. https://www.prisonpolicy.
org/blog/2019/10/09/pretrial_race/

Equal Justice Initiative. (2017, October 26). Research finds
evidence of racial bias in plea deals. Eji.org. https://eji.org/
news/research-finds-racial-disparities-in-plea-deals/

xxi

Owens, Emily, Kerrison, Erin M., Da Silveira, Bernardo Santos.
(2017). Examining racial disparities in criminal case
outcomes among indigent defendants in San Francisco.
Law.upenn.edu. https://www.law.upenn.edu/live/files/6793examining-racial-disparities-may-2017-full

xxii

The Sentencing Project. (2018, April 19). Report to the United
Nations on racial disparities in the U.S. criminal justice
system. Sentencingproject.org. https://www.sentencingproject.
org/publications/un-report-on-racial-disparities/

xxiii

Leovy, Jill. (2015, January 27). Ghettoside: A true story of
murder in America. One World.

xxiv

Southern Coalition for Social Justice. OpenDataPolicing.com

xxv

OpenDataPolicing.com.

xxvi

Vera Institute of Justice. (2019, December). Incarceration
trends in Maryland. Vera.org. https://www.vera.org/
downloads/pdfdownloads/state-incarceration-trends-maryland.
pdf

xxvii

Justice Policy Institute. (2019, November). Rethinking
approaches to over incarceration of black young adults in
Maryland. Justicepolicy.org. http://www.justicepolicy.org/
uploads/justicepolicy/documents/Rethinking_Approaches_to_
Over_Incarceration_MD.pdf

xxviii

Incarceration trends in Maryland.

xxix

Rethinking approaches to over incarceration.

xxx

Baltimore Sun Editorial Board. (2019, January 3). More blacks
still arrested for marijuana charges. Baltimoresun.com.
https://www.baltimoresun.com/opinion/editorial/bs-ed-0103african-americans-marijuana-arrests-20190102-story.html

29
Chasing Justice: Addressing Police Violence and Corruption in Maryland

Endnotes

xxxi

Iannelli, Nick. (2020, July 29). ‘Wide’ racial disparities
discovered in Montgomery Co. police stops. Wtop.com. https://
wtop.com/montgomery-county/2020/07/racial-disparitiesfound-in-montgomery-county-police-interactions/

xxxii

Mettler, Katie. (2020, October 23). Black people are arrested
for misdemeanors at disproportionately higher rates, study
shows. Washingtonpost.com. https://www.washingtonpost.
com/local/public-safety/disproportionate-misdemeanorarrests-prince-georges/2020/10/23/f3baf4d4-130f-11eb-bc1040b25382f1be_story.html

xxxiii

xxxiv

Fatal Encounters. Fatalencounters.org.

xxxv

Sinyangwe, Samuel. Mapping Police Violence.
Mappingpoliceviolence.org.

xxxvi

Mapping Police Violence.

xxxvii

Murder Accountability Project. Clearance rates: uniform
crime report for homicides: 1965-2019. murderdata.org

xxxviii

Groeger, Lena V., Fahey Mark, & Greenblatt, Mark. (2018,
November 15). Could your police department be inflating
rape clearance rates? Projects.propublica.org. https://projects.
propublica.org/graphics/rape_clearance

xxxix

Clearance rates: uniform crime report for homicides.

Theodore, Nik. (2013, May). Insecure communities:
Latino perceptions of police involvement in immigration
enforcement. Policylink.org. https://www.policylink.org/sites/
default/files/INSECURE_COMMUNITIES_REPORT_FINAL.
PDF

xli

xlii

xliii

xliv

VICE News. (2017, December 10). Get data on nonfatal
and fatal police shootings in the 50 largest U.S. police
departments. Vice.com. https://news.vice.com/en_us/article/
a3jjpa/nonfatal-police-shootings-data

Agostini, M. Saida. (2018, December). Pushing back: a blue
print for change: lessons learned from the 2016 needs
assessment of LGBTQ Marylanders. Freestate-justice.org.
https://freestate-justice.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/
Pushing-Back-A-Blueprint-for-Change.pdf
Footer, K. H. A., Park, J. N., Allen, S. T., Decker, M. R.,
Silberzahn, B. E., Huettner, S., Galai, N. & Sherman, S. G.
Police-related correlates of client-perpetrated violence
among female sex workers in Baltimore City, Maryland.
Ncbi.nlm.nih.gov. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/
PMC6336048/
Schuck, Amie M. (2019, September 2). Examining the
community consequences of arrests for low-level criminal
activity. Journal of Community Psychology, Vol. 48. https://
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/jcop.22238

xlv

Ramseth, Luke & Miller, Jessica. (2017, August 2). A month
before he led Provo police, Baltimore paid $24K to settle a
sex assault against John King. Sltrib.com. https://www.sltrib.
com/news/2017/08/01/sex-assault-allegations-against-provosformer-police-chief-not-the-first/

xlvi

Lalwani, Nikita, & Johnston, Mitchell. (2020, June 16). What
happens when a police officer gets fired? Very often another
police agency hires them. Washingtonpost.com. https://www.
washingtonpost.com/politics/2020/06/16/what-happens-whenpolice-officer-gets-fired-very-often-another-police-agency-hiresthem/

xlvii

Lewis, R., Debolt, D., Paladino, J., Rusch, K., Du Sault, L., &
Defazio, Al. California’s criminal cops: who they are, what
they did, why some are still working. Ocregister.com. https://
www.ocregister.com/2019/11/10/californias-criminal-cops-whothey-are-what-they-did-why-some-are-still-working/

xlviii

Kelly, John, & Nichols, Mark. Search the list of more
than 30,000 police officers banned by 44 states.
Usatoday.com. https://www.usatoday.com/in-depth/
news/investigations/2019/04/24/biggest-collection-policeaccountability-records-ever-assembled/2299127002/

xlix

Project Comport. Code for America. Projectcomport.org

Baltimore Police Department. (2018, August). Baltimore Police
Department Staffing Study. Baltimorepolice.org. https://www.
baltimorepolice.org/resources-and-reports/staffing-study

Rector, Kevin. (2020, March 9). Caught fabricating evidence,
convicted Baltimore police officer remains on force 2½
years later. Baltimoresun.com. https://www.baltimoresun.
com/news/crime/bs-md-ci-cr-pinheiro-appeal-20200309ze3hkbq7vrfcfdnaeixx3rjqvu-story.html

lii

Rector, Kevin. (2018, January 18). A Baltimore police officer
was caught giving false testimony in court. He’s still on the
job. Baltimoresun.com. https://www.baltimoresun.com/news/
crime/bs-md-ci-watson-white-case-20180117-story.html

liii

Woodward, Aylin, & Mark, Michelle. (2020, June 3). Research
shows there are at least 6 proven ways to reduce police
brutality – and 2 strategies that don’t work. Businessinsider.
com. https://www.businessinsider.com/research-basedmethods-of-reducing-police-violence-2020-6

liv

CBS Baltimore. (2019, December 3). Marilyn Mosby flags
305 officers for ‘integriy’ issues: GTTF investigation has no
time, money limits. Baltimore.cbslocal.com. https://baltimore.
cbslocal.com/2019/12/03/mosby-flags-305-officers-for-integrityissues-gttf-investigation-has-no-time-money-limits/

Davies, Emily & Chason, Rachel. (2020, June 18). Prince
George’s County police chief Hank Stawinski resigns.
Washingtonpost.com. https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/
public-safety/prince-georges-police-chief-hank-stawinskiresigns/2020/06/18/c402fb94-b11a-11ea-8758-bfd1d045525a_
story.html

lvi

Investigation of the Baltimore City Police Department.

Henry A. Wallace Police Crime Database. Bowling Green State
University. https://policecrime.bgsu.edu/Home/Map

ACLU MD

Endnotes

lvii

Baltimore Police Department. (2018, May 30). Policy 1707:
Early intervention system. Baltimorepolice.org. https://www.
baltimorepolice.org/1707-early-intervention-system

lviii

Anderson, Jessica. (2020, March 2). Two Baltimore
police officers charged after hit-and-run in Baltimore
County. Baltimoresun.com. https://www.baltimoresun.
com/news/crime/bs-md-ci-cr-officer-hit-and-run-20200302srnjsaniibfg7dovvvfzlnyqra-story.html

lix

Prudente, Tim. (2020, August 27). ‘You choking me, sir’:
Baltimore police officer charged with assault, misconduct
over forceful arrest captured on video. Baltimoresun.com.
https://www.baltimoresun.com/news/crime/bs-md-ci-cr-leonriley-arrested-20200827-eorxtlj2x5b3fikekqntfr6gyy-story.html

Rector, Kevin. (2019, December 12). Baltimore police sergeant
charged with assault now indicted on 32 more counts;
‘pattern of harassment alleged.’ Baltimoresun.com. https://
www.baltimoresun.com/news/crime/bs-md-ci-cr-newbergindicted-20191212-nm5kvghikrbofgir7pd4fzzkzy-story.html

lxi

Open Justice Baltimore. BPD Watch. Bpdwatch.com.

lxii

Calvert, Scott, & Frosch, Dan. (2020, October 22). Police
rethink policies as cities pay millions to settle misconduct
claims. Wsj.com. http://www.wsj.com/articles/policerethink-policies-as-cities-pay-millions-to-settle-misconductclaims-11603368002

lxiii

Fenton, Justin. (2020, November 18). Baltimore approves
more than $10 million in new police settlements.
Washingtonpost.com. https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/
public-safety/baltimore-approves-more-than-10-million-innew-police-settlements/2020/11/18/cf0b1362-29e4-11eb-9b14ad872157ebc9_story.html

lxiv

Fenton, Justin. (2020, September 28). Baltimore police
officers largely refused to respond to survey on their
views of misconduct, discipline, GTTF commission says.
Baltimoresun.com. https://www.baltimoresun.com/news/crime/
bs-md-ci-cr-gttf-commission-misconduct-survey-20200928n5z6linro5eqrpwsrxtbotvj64-story.html

lxv

Wise. No Innocence Left to Kill.

31
Chasing Justice: Addressing Police Violence and Corruption in Maryland

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