Baltimore Police Undergoing EPIC Program To Intervene When Witnessing Other Officer Misconduct
BALTIMORE (WJZ) — As former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin knelt on the neck of George Floyd, several other officers stood by.
"If officers would have intervened in the moment, who knows what today would look like," said Baltimore City Police Commissioner Michael Harrison.
It's a situation the Baltimore Police Department is looking to avoid, by implementing the Ethical Police is Courageous Program, known as EPIC.
"This is about changing police culture. Not turning a blind eye to misconduct and stopping misconduct before it even happens," Harrison said.
EPIC was brought to Baltimore from New Orleans by Commissioner Harrison. It uses real life scenarios to show officers *how to intervene when fellow officers, or superiors, "cross the line."
"It gives them the courage to intervene when they know the situation isn't going the right way," said Detective. Cheryl Quomony.
Those involved hope this type of training sends a message to the community.
"It shows the community that we've begun holding ourselves accountable for the things that we do, so it kind of makes us our brothers and sisters keepers," Det. Quomony said.
All meant to hold themselves accountable as they work to change.
"This shows the commitment the Baltimore Police has to doing the right thing out there on the streets and providing the police service that we need to provide to keep this community safe and do it the right way," Harrison said.
Most of the department's officers have already completed the EPIC trainig.
