Community Leaders Call For Names of Officers Mentioned in DOJ Report
BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- There are growing calls for action following the release of a damning U.S. Department of Justice report on the Baltimore Police Department.
Community leaders have called on city leaders to name the officers accused of misconduct in incidents mentioned in the report.
As WJZ's Meghan McCorkell reports, some within the community want the officers involved to face administrative discipline and criminal punishment.
Police strip-searched a woman on a sidewalk after she was stopped for a traffic violation, they detained a black man 30 times over the course of four years but never charged him, and a commander ordered officers to "lock up all the black hoodies." Those are just a few of the many incidents uncovered in the report that are fueling calls for accountability.
"We didn't need the report. We were living the report," said community activist Marvin "Doc" Cheatham.
RELATED: Baltimore Police Discriminate Against Black People, Use Excessive Force, DOJ Report Says
The incidents in the report don't sit well with Cheatham and other activists, like Michael Johnson.
"We're asking for the people who have done the wrong to be told they've done the wrong and to be penalized like they've penalized a lot of people," said Johnson.
Baltimore Police Commissioner Kevin Davis has made a formal request to the Justice Department to identify those officers so the incidents can be investigated.
The anecdotes contained within the report have also prompted responses from federal and state lawmakers.
"We need to find out all of the officers and the supervisors who are continuing to do these things today and have been doing them over the course of years," said Congressman Elijah Cummings (D-Md.).
State leaders have vowed to form an equal justice task force to oversee reforms called for by the Justice Department.
"I think we have to specifically root out the evil, and I think we have to specifically change the culture of the police department in order for that to happen," said Delegate Jill Carter (D-Baltimore City).
The groundswell is ongoing as the city and DOJ negotiate the reforms needed to overhaul the embattled police department.
One of the continuing concerns for community leaders is just who will have a say in that agreement, known as a consent decree.
"We don't want the wrong people at the table making decisions on this decree because then we're going to be right back where we were," said Tessa Hill-Aston, president of the Baltimore City branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.
That issue has them pushing for a seat at the table.
Community activists plan to hold public meetings, starting in September, to get feedback from the community about what needs to be addressed by the decree.
The Legislative Black Caucus of Maryland plans to hold a hearing in October about police reforms.
The consent decree is expected to be ironed out in November.
