Since being appointed in 2015 by former police commissioner Kevin Davis, T.J. Smith, who has been known for his blunt, straight-to-the-point approach, resigned effective immediately on Wednesday as the chief spokesman of the Baltimore Police Department.

“Dear Baltimore. It’s time,” Smith said in his letter to the city. “Goodbye for now and thank you for letting me be me.”

Citing an “unstable environment” and “political turmoil” as the cause for his departure, the Baltimore native believes that the city still has “historically and disproportionately been plagued with social ills, guns, violence, and drugs” long before the Freddie Gray riots.

“Everything’s happening at one time—this is a battleship we’re turning around,” Smith told us in a recent podcast interview about the police department. “But we’re turning it around in a canal.”

The BPD said on Wednesday that Smith’s duties will fall to Matt Jablow, a former WBAL-TV reporter and police spokesman who returned to serve as the department’s chief of strategic communications earlier this year.

In his farewell letter, Smith divulges his experiences growing up in West Baltimore, corruption inside the BPD, and the effect it has had on the community.

As a former director of media relations for Anne Arundel County Police, Smith had an unorthodox way of delivering the harsh news. Pulling no punches and sparing no feelings, he knew the community well and it was evident the way he would show up at crime scenes and beg for tips from the public.

“I’ve spoken to families who have been deeply affected by the violence,” Smith said. “And as fate would have it, I too, faced the devastation of a personal loss when my little brother, Dion, was killed . . . Prior to being affected by violence directly, I chose to speak on behalf of everyone’s loved one with the same level of passion and humanity.”

While working under Davis, Smith played a very prominent role in the community. The then commissioner trusted Smith to respond to public crises in a way that the public would understand. He had a way of making sure that the people were listening to him.

“He was beyond a media relations chief to me—he was a close adviser on anything and everything, and I relied heavily on his opinion,” Davis told The Sun. “He’s developed not only into the face and voice of the BPD, but the conscience of the BPD.”

Smith’s departure comes as Mayor Catherine Pugh prepares to name a new police commissioner by the end of this month. Interim commissioner Gary Tuggle—the fourth since Smith joined the BPD—was being considered but withdrew his application earlier this week.

Although he no longer works for the police department, he still considers himself a champion for the city. He’s not sure what he will do next, he writes, “Hmmm, consulting, teaching, media stuff, and maybe, just maybe a book and politics.” But he knows that he plans to continue to play his role in helping to heal Baltimore.

“I love this town,” he said. “And despite its flaws, this city possesses great beauty, is rich in history, and exudes promise. However, the last few years have cast a spotlight on our city’s urban, gritty landscape; from scandals, corruption, murders, riots, and more. Through it all, I walk all over the city and people approach me offering ideas, prayer, and hope. That’s Baltimore, my Baltimore, a deeply resilient town.”

Last week, it was revealed that Baltimore City police commissioner Darryl De Sousa failed to file federal taxes for three years. Federal prosecutors have charged him with three misdemeanor counts for failure to file for 2013, 2014, and 2015. De Sousa faces up to one year in prison and a $25,000 fine for each count. Upon learning the news, Mayor Catherine Pugh expressed her support for the commissioner, but later placed him on paid administrative leave.

Today, Pugh released a statement announcing the resignation of Chief De Sousa from his position as police commissioner after less than five months.

“I want to reassure all Baltimoreans that this development in no way alters our strategic efforts to reduce crime by addressing its root causes in our most neglected neighborhoods,” she said in a statement. “This broad-based, grassroots approach—underpinned by the utilization of new crime-fighting technology—is working and will continue to be effective as indicated by the downward trend in violence.”

The mayor has also said that she is actively searching to find a replacement, but Deputy Commissioner Gary Tuggle—who was named acting commissioner on May 11 following De Sousa’s suspension—will serve in the interim. 

“The Baltimore Police command staff is fully committed to bringing about the reforms to the practices and culture of the department that we are implementing, and which are vital to ensuring the trust and confidence of all our citizens,” Pugh said. “As mayor, I will not let up in pursuing my top priority of making our city safe and our neighborhoods worthy of the lives of all residents.”

This afternoon, Tuggle sent an internal memo to the BPD staff to thank them for their professionalism and to reinforce his focus on crime and the well-being of the city during his interim. 

“The sworn and civilian staff here have done a great job and the results of your hard work continues to show as we have seen across the board reductions in violent crime,” he said. “We have a long way to go, but I know you are all up for the challenge. Thank you for your professionalism during these tough times. We will succeed because you all are the professionals who keep our agency moving forward.”

The information about De Sousa’s taxes is causing the public to wonder why this wasn’t detected during the city council’s confirmation hearings last February following his appointment as police commissioner on January 19, the same day Pugh terminated then-police commissioner Kevin Davis citing increased spikes in crime. 

“One of the lessons that we’ve learned clearly is that Baltimore City and this administration needs to be bit more invasive in examining candidates for high level, highly responsible positions,” city solicitor Andre Davis told The Sun. “We’re going to ask more questions, more pointed questions, more focused questions and we’re going to broaden the areas into which we make inquiry.”

Two other officials under Pugh recently resigned after questions were raised about their backgrounds. In March, her spokesman Darryl Strange quit just hours after being introduced due to three lawsuits filed against him when he was a police officer. Earlier this month, the city’s new deputy civil rights director, Charles G. Byrd Jr., also resigned amidst questions about his disbarment last year.

De Sousa admitted on Twitter that he willingly failed to file his federal and state taxes for three years and is currently working to satisfy his past requirements.

“While there is no excuse for my failure to fulfill my obligations as a citizen and public official,” he said. “My only explanation is that I’ve failed to sufficiently prioritize my personal affairs. Naturally, this is a source of embarrassment for me and I deeply regret any embarrassment it has caused the police department and the City of Baltimore.”

Although the position of police commissioner has a historically high turnover rate in Baltimore, De Sousa’s is one of the shortest tenures. Due to his long career in the city, he had support of many community organizations and city leaders. Councilman Brandon Scott, who supported De Sousa’s hiring, was disappointed when he learned of the charges but says the city can’t “afford those types of distractions.”

“We don’t need any distractions away from reducing the violence in the city and from reforming the police department,” he said. “This is a perfect time for increased community oversight of the police department and its policies. This just shows that we should have done this a long time ago.” 

On Friday morning, Mayor Catherine Pugh announced that she would be replacing Baltimore Police Commissioner Kevin Davis with 30-year BPD Deputy Commissioner Darryl D. DeSousa effective immediately. Pugh asserted that the crime in Baltimore needs to be eradicated at faster and Davis is simply not getting the job done.

DeSousa will assume the responsibilities for the police department immediately as the city’s 40th police commissioner, and following appropriate measures, his appointment will be made permanent.   

“My decision is because I’m impatient,” Mayor Pugh said at a press conference Friday morning. “And we need to get these numbers down now. The fact is, we are not achieving the pace of progress that our residents have every right to expect in the weeks since we ended what was nearly a record year for homicides in the City of Baltimore. As such, I have concluded that a change in leadership is needed at police headquarters.”

Commissioner Davis, who was made aware of his dismissal Friday morning, was appointed to his position in 2015 after then Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake fired Commissioner Anthony Batts in the wake of rioting that flooded the city’s streets during the Baltimore Uprising.

“I am grateful to Commissioner Davis for all that he has done to implement the initiatives underway to address violent crime at its root causes,” Pugh said. “I speak for the entire community in expressing our admiration and gratitude for his service to Baltimore and for his leadership of the women and men who put their lives on the line to serve and protect our citizens.”

DeSousa, a New York City native, came to Baltimore in 1983 to attend Morgan State University and joined the Baltimore Police Department in 1988. Since joining the force, he’s held many positions with the department over the years, including Area Commander of the Neighborhood Patrol Division, and Chief of Patrol. He was appointed Deputy Police Commissioner in 2015.

“I am deeply honored by the Mayor’s confidence in me at this critical time in the life of our city,” DeSousa said. “Baltimore has long been my home and I’ve spent my career on its streets and in its neighborhoods to address problems and bring about solutions that are meaningful for the people we serve. I am committed to this important work more than ever and look forward to validating the trust of Mayor Pugh, my fellow officers, and most importantly, the citizens of Baltimore each and every day.”

Commissioner-Designate DeSousa has already begun working in his new position. As of 9 a.m. Friday, a new initiative that places uniformed police officers on the streets hourly has unrolled. The officers have been placed in strategic locations with high violence and will patrol the areas until midnight. The patrol-focused DeSousa assures that this type of “proactive constitutional policing” will help to accelerate the reduction of violence around the city.

“There’s a lot of work that needs to be done,” he said. “Violence reduction is the first priority, the second priority, and the third priority. We are focused on the repeat offenders and the trigger pullers—we know who they are and we’re coming after them.”

Attorney General Jeff Sessions came to Baltimore Tuesday promising to speed up the deportation of immigrants and implement broad Trump administration polices aimed at curbing overall immigration into the United States.

Sessions also said the Department of Justice was refocusing on its partnership with Department of Homeland Security and other federal agencies to crack down on MS-13, an El Salvador-based gang. 

From Trump’s inauguration in late January to early September, nearly 54,000 immigrants had been deported from the interior U.S., a 34 percent jump over the same period last year, according to reporting by The Washington Post. 

“Under President Trump, our immigration judges completed 20,000 more cases this last fiscal year than the previous one,” Sessions said. “We have hired 50 immigration judges since January, and we plan to hire another 60 over the next six months.”

Sessions added that he supports the president’s proposals to end chain migration—the opportunity for U.S. citizens to sponsor close members for permanent resident status—and prioritize the applications of immigrants who speak English or are highly skilled.

Later, when asked by a local reporter if the FBI planned to pick up the investigation into the death of Baltimore police detective Sean Suiter—as requested by city police chief Kevin Davis—Sessions said the move was likely. Suiter was shot in November while investigating a triple homicide from 2016. He was scheduled to testify before a grand jury the following day in an ongoing federal investigation of the Baltimore Police Department’s gun task force.

What wasn’t made clear was why Sessions, who was accompanied by recently confirmed Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen, chose Baltimore for the backdrop of his immigration remarks.

The attorney general recounted two grisly murders, which were attributed to MS-13, but that did not take place in the city or surrounding counties. The El Salvadoran-based gang is not prominent in the city, according to Baltimore police officials. Earlier in his remarks, Sessions highlighted Baltimore’s violent crime and murder rates—among the highest in the country—before pivoting to MS-13, which he called “one of the most dangerous gangs in America.”

“The people of this community have seen it firsthand,” Sessions said of MS-13 violence, conflating Baltimore’s crime problems with Central American immigration.

When asked how targeting MS-13 would impact Baltimore’s homicide rate, Sessions said, “I don’t know that the city itself has a high MS-13 murder rate. But this region—Northern Virginia, Islip, New York, Houston, Los Angeles—are the centerpieces of the most MS-13 violence.”

Sessions also appeared to deem Baltimore a “sanctuary” city, a description not legally defined, but which could have adverse consequences for Baltimore, in terms of crime fighting resources and grant opportunities under the Trump administration.

“City officials have declared it so,” Sessions said in a response to a Baltimore magazine query about Baltimore’s status in his view.

“We’re reviewing things to make sure of the details of each city,” Sessions continued. “I see no justification whatsoever for any city, any jurisdiction, any state to take the view that someone who enters the country illegally and then commits some other crime should be protected from the federal law to be deported.”

Police Commissioner Davis has said that tying local law enforcement to federal immigration policy “sends the wrong message” to immigrant communities and can damage local law enforcement efforts.

In February, the Department of Homeland Security named Baltimore to its list of sanctuary cities, which in large part is made up of jurisdictions that do not cooperate with DHS requests to notify them when immigrants are being detained and hold them until its officers can be present. That same month, a number of immigrants in Baltimore, including some without criminal backgrounds after arriving in the U.S., were picked up in the city, leading to a pro-immigrant march in Highlandtown.

Baltimore does not control immigrant detention policy at its jail, as Mayor Catherine Pugh noted in an interview Tuesday after Sessions’ remarks—the state of Maryland does. Currently, the Hogan administration does not detain immigrants beyond their scheduled release when requested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials. The state does, however, provide advance information to ICE officers about the pending release of immigrant detainees so they can be on hand for their re-arrest.

Pugh described Baltimore not as a sanctuary city, but as a “welcoming city.”

“We can’t be a sanctuary city because we don’t control our jails or prison system,” Pugh said when asked about Sessions’ characterization. “But we are a welcoming city. We support all those who are in our city, who are working and adding to our city’s economy everyday.”

In November, Pugh announced that the city would become one of 11 jurisdictions around the country that are a part of the SAFE (Safety and Fairness for Everyone) Cities Network, a group devoted to protecting immigrants and funded by the Vera Institute of Justice. That initiative came on top of the establishment of a $500,000 legal defense fund—Safe City Baltimore—that was made in partnership with several local nonprofits, including the Open Society Institute.

Most notably known as Detective Kima Greggs on HBO’s hit series The Wire, Sonja Sohn couldn’t leave Baltimore behind when the show ended in 2008. Her deep connection to the community led her to begin her nonprofit, reWIRED For Change in 2009 to help at risk youth and families and now she’s poised to debut her documentary Baltimore Rising on HBO on November 20.

The 90-minute documentary follows eight local figures—activists Kwame Rose, Dayvon Love, Adam Jackson, Makayla Gilliam-Price, community leader Genard “Shadow” Barr, Baltimore Police Commissioner Kevin Davis, Lt. Colonel Melvin Russell, and police detective Dawnyell Taylor—in the aftermath of the April 2015 riots following the death of Freddie Gray in police custody.   

Filming for Baltimore Rising began in September 2015 and chronicles everything from the first day of trials for the officers charged in Freddie Gray’s death to the release of the Department of Justice’s scathing report of the Baltimore Police Department a year later.

In April 2015, Sohn was in Los Angeles working on a project when she heard what was happening in Baltimore. She wasted no time getting back to the place that held a special place in her heart to help pick up the pieces in any way she could.

“I was moved just like everybody else in the middle of everything happening,” she said. “Any time I can find myself in a position to be useful, I try to do so.”

She met with a few local activists and began discussing the possibility of creating a documentary that would provide an in-depth look into the work being done in the community. Just four months later, Sohn pitched the idea to HBO, and the rest is history.

“I really wanted to highlight the indomitable spirit and intelligence of the Baltimore grassroots community,” Sohn told Baltimore. “You don’t really see all the work that goes into the change they are trying to make—I wanted to make sure the world could see that.”

Rose is a central figure of the documentary, which we got to preview in an advanced screener, following him from his first arrest through his trials and his relationship with his family. Viewers will also get to know young activist Gilliam-Price, who struggles with what her future should look like. Another memorable scene is Davis addressing a room full of community leaders to combat the recent violence as a result of the riots. (Noticeably absent in the documentary is any mention of former BPD Commissioner Anthony Batts). 

“There’s the artist activist, there’s the policy activist, there’s the protester, and there’s the police all trying to fight for change,” Sohn said. “That’s the story we wanted to tell—a more detailed story about how we got here. The Freddie Gray situation is a part of that, but we all understand that it was a part of something even bigger.”

On June 20, Attorney General Jeff Sessions introduced the National Public Safety Partnership (PSP) to combat violent crime in 12 U.S. cities. Baltimore residents and local officials were stunned to realize that Baltimore was not on the list.

“I’m feeling deprived and disappointed,” said Baltimore Police Commissioner Kevin Davis. “Because the criteria, as it was explained to me, really epitomizes the crime challenges that exist right now in a city like Baltimore.”

The PSP was created in response to President Trump’s executive order in February to “reduce crime and restore public safety.” The selected cities—Birmingham; Indianapolis; Memphis; Toledo, Ohio; Baton Rouge; Buffalo; Cincinnati; Houston; Jackson, Tennessee; Kansas City; Lansing, Michigan; and Springfield, Illinois—will receive enhanced federal support to identify and prioritize resources to combat crime in their cities.

The support includes structure, leadership, and crime analysis, training development, and expedited delivery of assistance with gun violence and criminal justice from the Department of Justice (DOJ).

Councilman Brandon Scott of Baltimore City’s District 2 and vice chair of public safety, was less surprised to learn that Baltimore was overlooked.

“We know that [President Trump’s] administration is known for talking about cities like Baltimore and Chicago, but they have not lifted a finger to help,” he said. “We need to step up locally, the first thing we need to do is hire a director for the Mayor’s Office of Criminal Justice (MOJC).”

The MOJC was established to reduce crime, gang activity, and drug trafficking, however, the director seat is currently vacant. Scott attributes the increase of violence in the city to that vacancy.

“We need to develop a complete and comprehensive public safety strategy or gun violence reduction strategy for the city of Baltimore,” Scott said. “We have to do that, not just from a policing lens, but also through the lens of public health because violence is a disease, and we should treat it as such. We should stop treating it like it’s just one symptom of the problem.”

According to Commissioner Davis, there should be an announcement regarding the vacancy in the near future. Baltimore reached out to the mayor’s office for comment, but did not receive a response.

“The mayor is working very hard to build her office of criminal justice,” Davis said. “She’s been very thoughtful and deliberate about building the very best team for the crime fight.”

According to the DOJ, the PSP cities are selected through a process that compares the level of violence in a city to the national average, and the city should also have crime reduction strategies currently in place. Those criteria led Davis to believe that Baltimore was a shoe-in for the program.

“What we have been doing for the last couple of years with the crime fight, reform efforts, and the consent decree, has been at a breakneck pace,” Davis said. “When the Attorney General identified jurisdictions that would benefit from enhancements, we just think that Baltimore is right at the top of the list.”

Recently, the BPD has been taking the necessary steps to ensure that officers are properly trained before hitting the streets. Davis said they have doubled the number of required training hours from the state’s obligatory 40 hours to 80.

The department has also instituted a new type of training, integrated communication and tactics (ICAT), that focuses on communication with suspects. In addition, BPD is a part of law enforcement assisted diversion for crisis intervention, which is only being used by a handful of departments around the country. 

“It’s a blended approach with police officers and mental health professionals to deal with people in a mental health crisis,” Davis said.

Early this month, there were two separate quadruple shootings within two days that caught the attention of the entire city and caused Commissioner Davis and Mayor Pugh to react. Davis placed his entire foot patrol, detectives, and sworn administrative staff on 12-hour shifts to patrol the streets for a week.

“That convinced me of a couple things. Number one: More police officers in the community matter,” he said. “Number two: As police department and a community, we continue to feel the impact of having 500 fewer police officers in 2017 than we had in 2012.”

Davis said the acts of violence needed to be addressed immediately, but the increased foot patrol and mandatory overtime comes with a hefty price tag and this strategy is not feasible.

“We had to assure the community that their police department was paying attention,” he said.   

In Attorney General Sessions’ June 20 announcement, he reassured the public that more cities will be added to the PSP moving forward, but did not specify an exact date or hint at what cities may be included. Until then, Davis said that Baltimore would continue to fight to combat the violence with the current resources.

“We are taking steps, and that’s why my disappointment was tempered,” he said.  “But when an additional opportunity arises like that, one that can sharpen us just a little bit more, we’re always interested.”

Five of the six police officers involved in the 2015 arrest and death of Freddie Gray are facing punishment for violating rules of the Baltimore Police department. According to The Sun, three of the five officers—Officer Caesar Goodson who was driving the van where Gray suffered fatal injuries; and his supervisors Lt. Brian Rice, and Sgt. Alicia White—are also facing termination.

The administrative charges are a result of investigations by Howard and Montgomery County police departments that concluded at the beginning of May. The BPD asked them to review the cases to avoid conflict of interest. 

The officers learned of the charges against them on May 19 according to Michael E. Davey, the attorney representing all five officers during the internal review. The specific charges have not been released, but they are being charged with “violations of policy and procedure.”

BPD spokesman T.J. Smith declined to comment, stating that he is legally unable to comment on personnel matters.

The officers charged have two options: accept the punishment—termination for Goodson, Rice, and White and five-day suspension without pay for officers Edward Nero and Garrett Miller who initially arrested Gray.

The second option is to contest the charges before an interdisciplinary board of other police officers. The board has the power to either acquit or uphold the charges, but Commissioner Kevin Davis has the final say on punishment. The trials are open to the public, however the results are not disclosed.

If the result of the board is to acquit the officers, according to the process, the commissioner cannot impose any punishment. If the board sustains the finding from the internal investigation, punishment can be recommended and Davis can then accept, reduce, or increase it. The officers have not yet decided whether or not to go to the trial board.

Officer William Porter, the first of the six officers to stand trial charged with manslaughter that resulted in a mistrial, will not be facing any interdisciplinary action.

The investigation by Howard and Montgomery County police departments concluded that Porter broke no rules and is now able to return to full duty.

The other officers involved are still suspended with pay working in administrative capacities.

Marilyn Mosby, Baltimore’s State’s Attorney, who originally brought criminal charges against all six officers but failed to convict, issued a statement on May 22 saying, “I am relieved to know that majority of those involved will be held administratively accountable,” she said. “Justice is always worth the price paid for its pursuit. This case has always been about providing justice for an innocent 25-year-old man who was unreasonably taken into police custody.”

Five months after the U.S. Department of Justice released a scathing report on the Baltimore Police Department, the city and federal agency reached an agreement on police reforms Thursday morning.

The binding, 227-page consent decree mandates changes to policing policies and practices in regards to stops and searches; the use of force; interactions with youth, protestors, and those with mental health issues; the handling of sexual assault complaints; and the transportation of detainees.

The agreement, which is projected to cost the city tens of millions of dollars to implement, was approved by the Board of Estimates in a special meeting earlier this morning. The decree also requires that the Baltimore Police Department introduce greater oversight of its officers, improve methods for tracking complaints of misconduct, expand training, and make significant investments in new technology, including upgraded computers in patrol vehicles to enhance data collection, analysis, and reporting.

The police department has already begun making some changes following the death of 25-year-old Freddie Gray while in police custody in April of 2015 and the ensuing unrest and broad public demonstrations. City police are now deploying body cameras and have added cameras inside police transport vehicles. Starting this year, Commission Kevin Davis doubled the hours of required in-service training for officers from 40 hours—the Maryland minimum requirement—to 80.

Notably, the agreement calls for the creation of a community oversight task force of the Baltimore Police Department. It describes the community oversight task force as “essential to rebuilding trust between the BPD and the communities it serves and ensuring that BPD’s enforcement activities reflect community values and are consistent with the Constitution and federal, state, and local laws.”

Mayor Catherine Pugh, as well as Davis, reiterated in recent days that they support putting civilians on oversight review boards. However, Pugh acknowledged at a press conference Wednesday that despite the consent decree, placement of citizens on disciplinary trial boards can’t happen until that is negotiated with the police union.

Gene Ryan, president of Baltimore City Fraternal Order of Police, has stated strong opposition to putting civilians on police oversight boards. He also issued a statement Thursday that said “despite continued assurances” his organization was not included in the consent decree negotiations.

U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch joined Davis and Pugh in announcing the signing of decree at City Hall. Lynch is scheduled to make an address at the University of Baltimore School of Law Thursday afternoon and discuss community policing, and efforts around the country designed to build trust and collaboration between citizens and police.

Pugh called the signing of the consent decree “a great day for Baltimore . . . This is about fairness and understanding,” she said, adding that while the cost of the mandates and funding mechanisms remain uncertain at this point, she is committed to pursuing the necessary resources for full implementation.

Davis said the reforms, additional training, transparency, and oversight can only benefit the Baltimore Police Department in the long run. “I have no doubt we will emerge from this as better crime fighters,” he said. “And with better relations with the community. This is a path forward.”

The next step in the consent process will be getting the agreement approved in the U.S. District Court for Maryland, where it has been assigned to Judge James K. Bredar, according to The Baltimore Sun. It will be up to Bredar to appoint an independent monitor to oversee the implementation of the decree mandates and measure the Baltimore Police Department’s progress.

City officials and the Department of Justice said they have worked around the clock in recent weeks to get an agreement in place before the presidential administration of Donald J. Trump assumes office on Jan. 20. His nominee to replace Lynch, Alabama Sen. Jeff Sessions, has said in the past and in recent confirmation testimony that he is generally skeptical of such consent decrees.

The most positive takeaway from the press conference, said University of Maryland law professor Douglas Colbert, who followed the police trials related to Gray’s death closely, was the cooperation of the Baltimore Police Department. “I find it very promising that the police department didn’t resist this process,” Colbert said. “We’ve seen in other jurisdictions where police don’t engage in the process [of a Department of Justice investigation and consent decree], drag their feet, and even obstruct.”

Colbert added that the selection of the independent monitor remains a lynchpin to any reform. “It needs to be someone who knows Baltimore,” Colbert said. “It can’t be just someone who graduated from the best law school.

Attorney Billy Murphy, who has represented the Gray family, Colbert, and City Councilman Brandon Scott described the Department of Justice’s intervention into Baltimore police practices and polices as an historic occasion. “Today is a revolution in policing in Baltimore,” said Murphy, adding criminal justice activists in the city have been waiting decades for such action. “It will be remembered. It is a sea change.”

In its 164-page August report, the Department of Justice investigation concluded that there was “reasonable cause to believe” that the Baltimore Police Department “engages in a pattern or practice of conduct that violates the Constitution or federal law.”

Those systemic violations included:

• Making unconstitutional stops, searches, and arrests;
• Using enforcement strategies that produce severe and unjustified disparities in the rates of stops, searches and arrests of African Americans;
• Using excessive force; and
• Retaliating against people engaging in constitutionally protected expression.

Some of the statistics produced by the DOJ investigation were startling:

“BPD’s pedestrian stops are concentrated on a small portion of Baltimore residents. BPD made roughly 44 percent of its stops in two small, predominantly African-American districts that contain only 11 percent of the City’s population. Consequently, hundreds of individuals—nearly all of them African American—were stopped on at least 10 separate occasions from 2010– 2015. Indeed, seven African-American men were stopped more than 30 times during this period. [However] only 3.7 percent of pedestrian stops resulted in officers issuing a citation or making an arrest. Arrests without probable cause: from 2010–2015, supervisors at Baltimore’s Central Booking and local prosecutors rejected over 11,000 charges made by BPD officers because they lacked probable cause or otherwise did not merit prosecution.”

The DOJ report also highlighted the Baltimore Police Department’s “unreasonable force against people who present little or no threat to officers or others,” and “ineffective oversight of its use of force.”

After eight days of testimony, final arguments were made Monday in the trial of the first police officer facing charges related to the death of Freddie Gray.
In her closing statements to the jury, prosecutor Janice Bledsoe described the police van where Gray’s fatal spinal injury occurred as “a casket on wheels” after Officer William Porter did not call for medical help and did not seat belt the handcuffed and shackled 25-year-old following the fourth of ultimately six stops.

Porter attorney Joe Murtha emphasized testimony from the defense team’s medical experts that called into question the conclusions reached by the state’s medical examiner’s office. Murtha repeatedly told the jury that Porter’s actions on the morning of April 12 were reasonable by department standards and in accordance with Baltimore police practice.

“I understand there is a need to hold someone accountable,” Murtha said, looking at the jury. “That is a natural human reaction . . . what is in contradiction is that Officer Porter is responsible.”

The case of Porter, 26, was sent in mid-afternoon to the 12-person jury—made up of four black women, three white women, three black men, and two white men—for deliberation. There is no timetable for how long it will take the jury to reach a verdict on the four charges against Porter, which include involuntary manslaughter, second-degree assault, misconduct in office, and reckless endangerment.

Expectations from legal observers in the courthouse Monday generally range from one to three days.

City officials have already expressed concerns about potential protests following the jury’s verdict.

Gray died from severe spinal injuries after suffering a broken neck at some point during a 45-minute, multi-stop ride in a police transport van last April. He was found unconscious and not breathing at the Western District police station.

At the core of the Porter case are several key questions that jurors will wrestle with:

1. Did Porter fail a legal obligation—as prosecutors allege—to protect a handcuffed Gray from harm by not seat belting him in the back of a police van as department guidelines set out.
2. Did Porter fail a legal obligation—as prosecutors allege—to call for emergency medical assistance when Gray requested help as Porter checked on him during several stops?
3. Or, was Porter following common practice and using reasonable officer discretion by not seat belting Gray and not to radioing for medical help for Gray earlier.

One of the facts in dispute during the trial between the prosecution and defense—and again during closing arguments—has been when Gray suffered his initial injury.

Prosecutors allege Porter was “grossly indifferent” and “criminally negligent” for failing to help Gray, whom the state medical examiner testified was exhibiting signs of injury by the fourth of ultimately six stops.

Porter’s defense presented other medical experts, who testified that Gray did not suffer his broken neck until after the fifth stop—and after the last time Porter checked on Gray before reaching the police station where medical help was eventually called.

Also in dispute is an initial phone conversation between Det. Syreeta Teel, who testified that Porter told her that Gray said, “I can’t breathe,” at the fourth stop.

Porter contended on the witness stand that Teel misunderstood his remarks in the unrecorded phone conversation. Porter testified that he was referring to the first stop—before he was directly involved in the transport of Gray—not the fourth.

Former Baltimore prosecutor Debbie Hines said whether or not the jury believes Teel’s or Porter’s account of that conversation will be critical.

“[Porter] acknowledged on the witness stand that if Freddie Gray had said, ‘I can’t breathe,’ at the fourth stop then he would’ve been obligated to call for a medic,” Hines said.

Prosecutors claim Porter has changed his testimony in several instances since being interviewed by internal affairs experts last spring and taking the stand in his own defense last week, including his role in helping Gray from transport van at the Western District police station and calling for a medic.

Defense attorneys for Porter described him during the two-week trial as a caring young officer, a son of West Baltimore, who was well-intentioned, but inexperienced and ill-served by misguided police department practices and inept communication methods. The defense also repeatedly put the responsibility of securing and protecting Gray on Officer Caesar Goodson, the driver of the transport van. He is the next of the six officers to tried related to Gray’s death and faces the most serious charges of the all the officer, second-degree depraved heart murder. His trial is scheduled for the first week of January.

On Wednesday, at a press conference at police headquarters, Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake asked Baltimoreans to respond peacefully when the jury ultimately decides to convict or acquit Porter on all, some, or none of the charges. “We need everyone in our city to respect the judicial process,” Rawlings-Blake said.

On Friday, Baltimore Police Commissioner Kevin Davis cancelled departmental leave this week “as part of preparations and out of an abundance of caution” as Porter’s trial comes to an end. All sworn department personnel will be assigned to 12-hour shifts. Leave will be restored as conditions permit, according to a media release.

“The community has an expectation for us to be prepared for a variety of scenarios,” Davis said. “This cancellation is part of preparedness, just as our ongoing community collaboration efforts that were highlighted this week.”

Over the weekend, the grassroots activist group Baltimore BLOC put out a call for an “emergency protest” at 5:30 p.m. at City Hall on “the evening of and after” the Porter decision, “if Porter walks.”

“I certainly support the right of people to protest,” Baltimore NAACP chapter president Tessa Hill-Aston said after spending the day observing the proceedings. “I also hope and expect that everyone will be peaceful, not destroy any property, and not do anything that will get them locked up.”