A Baltimore police officer acquitted in the death of a black man who suffered a broken neck in a police van is set to receive almost $127,000 in back pay. The city reached a $6.4 million settlement with Gray’s family, while Mosby faces suits from most of the officers and multiple complaints seeking her disbarment.
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In 2015, the Justice Department released an in-depth report into the fatal shooting of Michael Brown, an unarmed black man, by Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson.
Among the findings: Baltimore police too often stopped, frisked and arrested residents without legal justification, and such activities fell disproportionately on black residents and drivers, the people said. The Justice Department can sue agencies that refuse to make the changes.
The Justice Department’s so-called “pattern or practice” review is expected to be the first step in a court-enforced agreement that will hold the city accountable for making reforms and monitoring its progress for years to come.
The prosecutors argued that Brian Rice had killed Gray failing by placing him in the police van without fastening his seat belt. City officials imposed almost a week of curfew, along with the deployment of the state’s National Guard.
Last May, Rice and five other officers were charged after Gray died on April 19, a week after his arrest. The review was requested by Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake. “DOJ’s findings will serve to solidify our road map”.
“Racial disparities in stops and arrests of suspects by police, poor training, a lack of effective community policing, inferior internal-affairs investigations of alleged misconduct by officers and a historical failure to fully investigate allegations of sex crimes”, are among the areas examined, according to the Journal. Three were acquitted during bench trials and prosecutors dropped charges for the remaining three officers last month.
A Justice Department spokesman did not immediately return messages.
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Sources tell ABC2 the civil rights investigation into the department will likely be released Wednesday.
