Wednesday Open Thread | Justice Department: Baltimore police routinely discriminated against blacks

Posted on August 10, 2016 by SouthernGirl2

DOJ REPORT BALTIMORE(BALTIMORE) — Baltimore police officers routinely discriminate against blacks, use excessive force too often and are not adequately disciplined for misconduct, according to a harshly critical Justice Department report being issued Wednesday.

The report, the culmination of a yearlong investigation into one of the country’s largest police forces, also found that officers make large numbers of traffic stops — mostly in poor, black neighborhoods — with dubious justification and unlawfully arrest citizens for making speech deemed rude or offensive.

Justice Department officials were expected to make their findings public at an event in Baltimore on Wednesday. A copy of the report was posted on the website of The New York Times on Tuesday evening.

The report is a damning indictment of how officers carry out the most fundamental of policing practices, such as traffic stops and searches and responding to First Amendment expression. But it could also serve as a blueprint for change and could force the department to commit to sweeping changes in order to avoid a federal lawsuit.

Justice Department David Jacobs declined to comment on the timing or content of the report.

The federal investigation was launched after the April 2015 death of Freddie Gray, a 25-year-old black man whose neck was broken while he was handcuffed and shackled but left unrestrained in the back of a police van. The death set off protests and the worst riots in decades. The report examined a slew of potentially unconstitutional practices, including excessive force and discriminatory traffic stops, within the department.

Federal investigators spent more than a year interviewing Baltimore residents, police officers, prosecutors, public defenders and elected officials, as well as riding along with officers on duty and reviewing documents and complaints.

State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby, the city’s top prosecutor, said she expected the report to “confirm what many in our city already know or have experienced firsthand.”

Justice Department Full Report

About SouthernGirl2

A Native Texan who adores baby kittens, loves horses, rodeos, pomegranates, & collect Eagles. Enjoys politics, games shows, & dancing to all types of music. Loves discussing and learning about different cultures. A Phi Theta Kappa lifetime member with a passion for Social & Civil Justice.
This entry was posted in African Americans, Baltimore, Black Lives Matter, Civil Rights, Corruption, crime, Criminal Justice, Current Events, Department of Justice, discrimination, Human Rights, Institutional Racism, Jim Crow laws, Justice, Justice for Freddie Gray, News, Open Thread, Police bruality, Police violence, Racial Bias, Racial Profiling, Racism, Terrorism, US Department of Justice, White Supremacy. Bookmark the permalink.

114 Responses to Wednesday Open Thread | Justice Department: Baltimore police routinely discriminated against blacks

    • Ametia says:
      August 11, 2016 at 7:41 am

      Marilyn Mosby KNOWS the truth about these RACISTS cops.

      I’ve said it time & again: POLICE are for the safety & protection of white folks.

      Reply
    • Ametia says:
      August 11, 2016 at 7:46 am

      But of course, we’re not going to See AG Loretta Lynch roll up in Baltimore streets and tell the citizens, we’re here for YOU!!!!!!!

      Reply
  12. rikyrah says:
    August 10, 2016 at 6:29 pm

    This is a terrific interactive piece on Simone Biles at the NYT

    The things she can do on each apparatus…..amazing.

    Reply
  16. rikyrah says:
    August 10, 2016 at 6:21 pm

    Professor Uncovers New Evidence that May Help Solve 1965 Murder of Black Female Attorney Who Put Away Violent White Men
    August 10, 2016 |
    Posted by Ricky Riley

    After three years of researching and investigating, a Louisville, Kentucky professor may have found new evidence in the 1965 unsolved murder of lawyer Alberta Jones.
    Jones was a pioneer in many regards. She was the first Black woman to pass the bar in Kentucky and was the first woman of any color to serve as prosecutor of Jefferson County.

    According to WAVE 3 News, Dr. Lee Williams has discovered fingerprints that could lead to a witness who saw Jones’ murderer. Williams started researching the unsolved murder case at Bellarmine University and continued for three years.

    “This was an African-American woman in 1965 prosecuting white men for domestic violence, so she did not go out of the house,” Williams states.

    On the night of Jones’ murder, she went out with friends on a rare occasion and was never seen alive again.

    At the time, locals saw the woman getting beat by a man but thought it was a domestic dispute and did nothing. Jones was discovered in a nearby river at a boat park in Jefferson County, where she drowned to death.

    A day after, police found Jones’ rented car with blood and fingerprints scattered throughout the car.

    Reply
  24. rikyrah says:
    August 10, 2016 at 6:14 pm

    Vann R. Newkirk II ✔ @fivefifths
    Black Twitter is the greatest intelligence agency in the world

    Reply
  33. rikyrah says:
    August 10, 2016 at 6:04 pm

    From sag over at POU about the Baltimore Police Department:

    sagittarius • 2 hours ago

    Afternoon Fam!

    I hope all is well. I will add my 2 cents to the DOJ report on Baltimore PD (and I will ask any legal eagles to add their coins to the comments):

    — Marilyn Mosby is vindicated. All up and down, sideways and diagonally. Straight up vindicated.

    — This report is why I was not down for blaming Marilyn Mosby for the lack of convictions in the Freddie Gray case. As I said a few weeks ago, white supremacy will not give up without a fight.

    — If the Freddie Gray cops continue their pursuit of a lawsuit against Mosby, this DOJ report opens THEM to cross examination on how THEY were not like the cops portrayed in the report. NO way this report doesn’t come into evidence.

    — Those 6 indicted Freddie Gray cops who are trying to jump bad and sue Marilyn Mosby for prosecuting them? I believe this is Isiah 54:17 at work here. I also think God is asking ‘who you finna try?’

    Carry on…

    Reply
  36. rikyrah says:
    August 10, 2016 at 5:59 pm

    Don’t Worry About Malia Obama; Worry About Your Eyebrows
    Awesomely Luvvie — August 10, 2016 0 8

    Do we remember the walking messes that were the Bush Twins, Jenna and Barbara? Them two got into so much mayhem that they were basically Mario and Luigi. There’s pics on pics of them falling over themselves, drunk, as their daddy flushed the country’s economy down the toilet. In comparison, the Obama girls have been angels. Even without comparison, those girls have carried themselves with much more grace than they should even know how at this point in life.

    I needed to start this there because LEST YE FORGET. Them two didn’t even try that hard to act like they had couth so any critiques of the Obama girls needs to be tempered, because what came before them was that. The Bush Twins did not get lambasted like they could have. And y’all ain’t gon come for the edges of my baes, Malia and Sasha. NO YOU WILL NOT.

    Malia Obama, First Daughter, First of Her Name, She of House Obama, Daughter to Barack and Michelle, has been in the news lately. First, for a video that was captured on someone’s phone of her dancing and hiking up her skirt at Lollapalooza. People said she should behave better, and I wanted to tell all those people to shut their mouths wide open.

    She was at Lollapalooza, a concert where having behavior is super optional. She was dancing and she had on shorts. She exposed nothing. WHAT is the gahtdamb problem??

    Also important, the Obama girls have maintained decorum for so long. I’d wanna shake something too if my every move was monitored by Secret Service and I was basically caged up at the White House for 7 long ass years. I do not wanna hear from the “she should know better” crew. She is 18, and her flipping up her skirt (while wearing shorts underneath) is the least of troubles she could get into.

    Reply
    • Liza says:
      August 10, 2016 at 8:09 pm

      Ha ha, and she skipped the Democratic convention. I love that part. Smart girl, why spend an evening listening to politicians lie about each other?

      Reply
  42. SouthernGirl2 says:
    August 10, 2016 at 5:01 pm

    Put them in jail. Otherwise they’ll go from police departs to police departs spreading toxic hate

    https://twitter.com/SocialIssueNews/status/763490303852576768

    Reply
    • Liza says:
      August 10, 2016 at 4:19 pm

      AG Lynch says “blah blah blah” as usual. Put some of the worst of these criminals on trial, ma’am. Then convict them and put them in federal cages.

      Anyhow, the “bond of trust” wasn’t broken. Broken implies that at some prior time there was a bond of trust, and that is simply not true.

      Reply
    • Ametia says:
      August 10, 2016 at 4:44 pm

      ‘Bond of trust, AG Lynch is just another duck, dodge, and placate these heathen cops.

      Have a seat, lady, you’ve broken our bond of trust with your being an effective AG.

      Reply
    • sunshine616 says:
      August 11, 2016 at 7:18 am

      Lynch is a huge disappointment. She panders to cops and lies to the community. She gives 0 fucks about black and brown people but don’t u dare fuck with soccer cuz her ass is coming for you. Make sure u a Clinton that needs a favor she comes a running. People actually dying at the hands of American trained, badge wearing, constitution smashing individuals in blue….crickets from Lynch. She can have several seats at a soccer stadium in Rio right now cuz I don’t care about or believe in her, her words or her actions.

      Reply
  48. SouthernGirl2 says:
    August 10, 2016 at 1:43 pm

    Baltimore Police Department JIM CROW policing made black people lives a living hell

    https://twitter.com/washingtonpost/status/763445320957173760

    Reply
    • eliihass says:
      August 10, 2016 at 6:09 pm

      Much worse than Enron..

      These uniformed tax payer employed murderers were targeting and murdering black folks just for shits and giggles .. And just because they could..

      Pure evil..

      Reply
    • Ametia says:
      August 10, 2016 at 2:20 pm

      These BDP cops are despicable ANIMALS.

      Reply
      • Liza says:
        August 10, 2016 at 3:43 pm

        It’s the tip of the ‘berg. And it has been such a crock of sh1t from the start that these states were going to prosecute the cops who committed even the most egregious crimes and get a conviction. Never going to happen with the current “system” as they call it.

        Reply
  52. SouthernGirl2 says:
    August 10, 2016 at 1:08 pm

    Oh look! Baltimore sun journalist has a problem with Marilyn Mosby being right. I smacked him good.

    https://twitter.com/RectorSun/status/763413591592669184

    Reply
    • Ametia says:
      August 10, 2016 at 3:01 pm

      If the Baltimore Sun, and a few other so-called newspaper journos would actually report unbiased news counts of what’s happening in Baltimore’s PD, they wouldn’t have to resort to these sophomoric Tweets about Marilyn Mosby and her husband Nick.

      and yes, Marilyn Mosby did TELL US All—–SO

      ALSO TOO, BOO!

      Reply
  56. SouthernGirl2 says:
    August 10, 2016 at 11:42 am

    Some folks need to apologize to @MarilynMosbyEsq. #DOJOnBPD #FreddieGray

    Reply
  57. Liza says:
    August 10, 2016 at 11:32 am

    Now that the DOJ’s report on the Baltimore PD has been released, it is time to follow up with some arrests on federal charges of the cops who killed Freddie Gray.

    Reply
  62. SouthernGirl2 says:
    August 10, 2016 at 11:21 am

    This is for @MarilynMosbyEsq. #DOJReport has vindicated her. “No weapon formed shall prosper”!

    Reply
  71. Ametia says:
    August 10, 2016 at 7:49 am

    The reality of the purpose of cops IN America is to POLICE BLACKS & other POC.

    As far as safety and protection, well that’ reserved for WHITES, to ensure those ‘BLAH’ folks don’t upset their universe.

    Reply
  72. sunshine616 says:
    August 10, 2016 at 6:43 am

    The difference in the comment sections when an old innocent white lady is shot…..wow. It’s like literally night and day…or black and white????

    https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2016/08/10/woman-fatally-shot-in-accident-during-fla-citizen-police-academy-lethal-force-simulation/?tid=sm_tw#comments

    Reply
  75. rikyrah says:
    August 10, 2016 at 6:17 am

    SG2,
    Sending you positive thoughts and prayers.

    Reply
  76. rikyrah says:
    August 10, 2016 at 6:16 am

    Good Morning 😊, Everyone 😆

    Reply
  78. SouthernGirl2 says:
    August 10, 2016 at 1:08 am

    Baltimore police were harassing the hell out of black people. And some folks wonder why #FreddieGray ran? Thug police!

    Reply

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