The Justice Department recently announced that the City of Baltimore and the Baltimore Police Department had made significant progress in policing reforms.
According to a press release, the DOJ and the City of Baltimore filed a joint motion on Friday seeking court approval to declare the city and the police department have been compliant with the DOJ’s consent decree requirements from a 2015 investigation of BPD practices. An independent monitor found BPD in full and effective compliance with all three sections of the decree.
“The First Amendment’s protections are fundamental to a free society, and the Baltimore Police Department has successfully implemented reforms proven to protect people’s rights during protests and demonstrations,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division.
In 2015, the Justice Department opened an investigation into the Baltimore Police Department after the community uproar over the police death of Freddie Gray. In 2017, the city and courts …