DOJ probe finds serious flaws in Baltimore PD: report

The Justice Department on Wednesday will release a report sharply critical of the Baltimore Police Department after a civil rights probe of the city’s law enforcement, The Washington Post reported.

{mosads}The “pattern or practice” review, which lasted more than a year, looked into the department’s use of force, searches, arrests and other policing methods, according to the Post.

The report, which outlines the conclusions of the federal investigators, will find discriminatory policing practices. As a result, a court-enforceable order will now likely have to be negotiated between local and federal officials to make sure reforms are put into place in the future.

The civil rights probe was announced shortly after the 2015 death of Freddie Gray, an African-American man who died from spinal injuries he suffered while riding in a police van after an arrest.

His death spurred protests and riots in Baltimore.

Six Baltimore police officers faced charges in connection with Gray’s death, but all were either acquitted or had the charges dropped against them. 

Baltimore police officials cooperated with the federal authorities through the probe, according to the Post.

When Attorney General Loretta Lynch announced the review last year, she said it would be a “collaborative reform process.”

“We’ve seen events change in Baltimore and become more intense over a short time,” Lynch said at the time.

“It was clear to a number of people looking at the situation that the community’s frayed trust — to use an understatement — was even worse and has in effect been severed in relationship to the police department.”

Due to the Justice Department’s investigation, Baltimore will now likely need to agree to various policing reforms, possibly including a federal monitor.