Latest news with #FreddieGray
New York Times
23-05-2025
- Politics
- New York Times
Five Years After Floyd
Five years ago this Sunday, Minneapolis police officers killed George Floyd. His murder set off protests and riots across the country. Demonstrators called for sweeping changes to policing and remedies for what they described as systemic racism in law enforcement. How much has changed? Nationwide, surprisingly little. States and cities enacted new policies aimed at improving policing, but the data suggests that these changes have had little impact on accountability or the number of killings by police officers. The changes After Floyd's murder, states and police departments banned chokeholds and no-knock warrants. They mandated body cameras. They rewrote guidelines about how to de-escalate a confrontation with a suspect. They educated officers about racial profiling. And more. The changes weren't universal, and some places did more than others. But every state passed at least some changes. In a few cities, the federal government intervened. It investigated and publicized police abuses, pressuring local governments into court-enforced consent decrees. These pacts forced police departments to make specific changes and let federal officials and court monitors track how the policies worked over time. Freddie Gray died in 2015 after a 'rough ride' while in the custody of the Baltimore Police Department; a consent decree mandated that the city's police drivers follow the speed limit and provide functioning seatbelts when transporting detainees. At least, that's how consent decrees used to function. This week, the Trump administration dropped efforts to investigate or oversee nearly two dozen police departments. Meanwhile, killings by police officers rose from just over 1,000 in 2019 to around 1,200 in 2024. People killed by the police from 2015 through 2024 Death of George Floyd May 25, 2020 1,226 killings in 2024 1,250 1,000 750 500 250 2018 2024 2016 2020 2022 Death of George Floyd May 25, 2020 1,226 killings in 2024 1,250 1,000 750 500 250 2018 2024 2016 2020 2022 Based on an analysis of data compiled by The Washington Post and data from Mapping Police Violence By The New York Times Groups Trump has targeted for deportation 940,000 620,000 530,000 with humanitarian parole with Temporary Protected Status who used a government app to enter the U.S. 8.4 million without protections 940,000 620,000 530,000 with humanitarian parole with Temporary Protected Status who used a government app to enter the U.S. 8.4 million without protections Sources: Customs and Border Protection; Congressional Research Service; Department of Homeland Security By The New York Times Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
Yahoo
30-04-2025
- Yahoo
Baltimore Sun wins National Headliner Award for Key Bridge collapse coverage
The Baltimore Sun has won a National Headliner Award for its breaking news coverage of the tragic and deadly collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in March of last year. The Sun placed first in the breaking news category for newspapers of all sizes. Judges lauded the staff's strong and well-crafted 'shoe-leather' reporting on the disaster that claimed the lives of six construction workers on the bridge and ripped a hole in the fabric of the city and state. 'The Baltimore Sun staff showed good, concise writing in their coverage from the field of the breaking news, the cause of the news event, and the effects it had on not only Baltimore, but the East Coast. Readers appreciate efforts like this,' the judges said. Founded by the Press Club of Atlantic City in 1934, the National Headliner Awards is one of the oldest and largest journalism contests in the country. The Sun has won several National Headliner Awards in the past. In 2018, the news organization was the recipient of two National Headliner Awards, including for a four-part series that explored the issue of school segregation, and a second-place award in the local news beat coverage category for its coverage of corruption in the Baltimore Police Department's Gun Trace Task Force unit. The Sun won first place in spot news in 2016 for coverage of the death of Freddie Gray and the subsequent protests. That same year, it also won second place for a news series that followed three students who had recently immigrated to Baltimore. In 2015, the news organization won first-place for spot news coverage in 2015 of a shooting at the Mall in Columbia. Have a news tip? Contact The Baltimore Sun at newstips@ or 410-332-6100.
Yahoo
24-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Maryland Legislature slow to pass policing reforms after Freddie Gray's death
BALTIMORE — Jill Carter, a Baltimore Democrat who served in both the state Senate and House of Delegates, sponsored police reform bills throughout her 20-year political career, including a bill that failed mere weeks before Freddie Gray, a 25-year-old Black man, died of injuries he sustained while in police custody. In Carter's opinion, had the Legislature not 'turned a blind eye to the nature of police reform' in 2014 and 2015 'it is quite possible Freddie Gray might not have been killed,' she said. Ultimately, Black women like Carter took the lead on passing substantive police reform policy — six years later. Late House Speaker Michael E. Busch and Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller Jr., both Democrats, convened a 20-member Public Safety and Policing Work Group in the months after Gray's death to study law enforcement training resources, hiring and recruiting practices and community engagement policies. Former Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh served as the workgroup's Senate chair. Pugh, who was a state senator at the time of Gray's death, declined to be interviewed for this story. The work group was also tasked with reviewing the Law Enforcement Officers' Bill of Rights. Enacted in 1974, the Law Enforcement Officers' Bill of Rights provided procedural due process protections for investigations into officers who were facing potential disciplinary action, demotion or job loss based on internal or external complaints. Under that law, police officials had to wait 10 days before interrogating an officer regarding the substance of the complaint against them. Officers would then be subject to an administrative hearing to determine if they were guilty. If the board, which was composed of other law enforcement members, determined that the officer was guilty, it would make a disciplinary recommendation to the agency's chief, who had the ultimate authority over punitive outcomes. For officers to face potential disciplinary action, complaints had to be filed within 90 days of the incident in question. Maj. Neill Franklin, a retired police officer and the former executive director of the Law Enforcement Action Partnership, said in an interview with The Baltimore Sun that the Law Enforcement Officers' Bill of Rights was necessary when it came about in the '70s, but had 'outlived its time' when it was under review in this millennium. 'During that time, police officers did have problems with being persecuted by some of their administrators … and so the protection came about regarding hearings, how they had to take place, what protections they had — basically their rights having a representative, so on and so forth,' said Franklin, who testified in Annapolis in favor of reform of the law. 'But where we are now, needing significant reforms of policing, the Law Enforcement Officers' Bill of Rights was due for some changes.' To Franklin, it came down to civilians needing transparency and power regarding disciplinary actions for the officers who patrol their communities. He said they believed the Law Enforcement Officers' Bill of Rights provided too much protection for police who were abusing their power and, in some instances, 'were actually using force to the level where it was an actual assault and battery.' But Carter said there was a public appetite for police reform legislation at the start of the 2015 session, months before Gray died in police custody. Before Gray's death, the movement for police reform was ignited in the United States by a series of nationally highlighted use-of-force incidents, including the 2014 police killings of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri; Tamir Rice in Cleveland, Ohio; and Eric Garner in New York. Franklin said that the advent of camera phones, allowing civilians to provide evidence of use-of-force incidents, brought forth a new push toward reform. 'I remember the appetite from the public for police reform has always been there,' he said. 'The Black community was saying, 'This is what we've been trying to tell you over the past few decades.'' Carter, who was serving in the House of Delegates at the time, sponsored legislation during the 2015 session to alter several provisions. Under her bill, the 10-day waiting period for officer interrogations would have been stricken. Civilians would have been allowed to sit on administrative hearing boards, which would convene upon the officer's request after the police chief issued a decision of guilt and proposed disciplinary action. The board would have then either affirmed or overturned the chief's decision. Complaints could have been filed for up to a year after the offense was committed. Carter's 2015 legislation was ultimately quashed in the House Judiciary Committee, but she recalled people sleeping in the halls of the House Office building, waiting for their chance to testify in favor of her bill that year. Dayvon Love, the director of public policy for Leaders of a Beautiful Struggle, said his organization partnered with other local institutions to bus people to the State House in support of the legislation. 'The movement started in Annapolis in the legislative session,' Carter said. 'That laid a foundation for why people were primed and ready to go with Freddie Gray.' In 2016, the General Assembly passed legislation based on recommendations from the Public Safety and Policing Work Group. That bill amended the Law Enforcement Officers' Bill of Rights to require police agencies to allow two civilians to serve as non-voting members on administrative hearing boards and to allow complaints to be filed within one year of an offense, among other measures. In a July 2015 interview on WBAL Radio, Carter called the Public Safety and Policing Work Group 'a play group,' saying she didn't believe it was 'designed to create serious reform.' 'I believe that the motivation was to ensure that the status quo was maintained, and that no real reforms were produced,' she said. Love called the workgroup 'a very typical, liberal Democratic Party approach.' He said he doesn't believe legislative leadership intended to 'address racism and the dehumanization of Black people at the hands of law enforcement,' but rather to 'appear to do something on the issue of police brutality' without upsetting the power balance. While other reform bills were introduced after 2016, the Legislature did not take serious action to reconstruct policing in Maryland until after George Floyd was murdered in May 2020 by Derek Chauvin, a former Minneapolis, Minnesota, police officer who knelt on Floyd's neck for more than nine minutes. Chauvin was ultimately convicted of second-degree murder in April 2021. Following Floyd's death, House Speaker Adrienne A. Jones, a Democrat and the first woman and Black person to head her chamber, convened the House Workgroup to Address Police Reform and Accountability in Maryland. The Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee held a rare series of bill hearings during the Legislature's interim to workshop legislation it planned to debate when the General Assembly reconvened the following January. Carter, who was then serving in the Senate, recalled a cultural shift. In a Democratic Caucus meeting, Senate President Bill Ferguson, a Baltimore Democrat, asked Black senators to share their experiences with law enforcement. 'Every Black person in the Senate at the time talked about a personal experience they had being mistreated by law enforcement,' Carter said as tears welled in her eyes. 'For the first time, I felt like our colleagues were really beginning to see this as an issue and humanize it. All of a sudden, they're like, 'We've got to do something.'' 'They could see George Floyd. They could see the thing on video, and they heard from some of the people right here,' she said. When the 2021 session convened, Jones, Carter and House Ways and Means Committee Chair Vanessa Atterbeary — all Black women — led the charge to transform Maryland policing standards. After 90 days and dozens of hours of debate, the Legislature passed a sweeping package of police reform bills, including legislation that largely repealed the Law Enforcement Officers' Bill of Rights, provided for more community participation in police discipline and allowed certain law enforcement personnel records to be reviewed under the Maryland Public Information Act. Though the 2021 repeal of the Law Enforcement Officers' Bill of Rights was a step in the right direction, Love and other advocates lamented its limitations on community participation. 'The pinnacle of the work around police accountability is community control and oversight of institutions of law enforcement,' he said. 'What we got in 2021 is we got more community, non-law enforcement participation in the internal disciplinary processes of law enforcement. That is better than what we got in 2016. What we got in 2016 is basically nothing.' Why did it take Floyd's death at the hands of law enforcement for the Legislature to act when Maryland police have killed other Black people since Gray's 2015 death? William Green was killed by a Prince George's County police officer in 2020. Emanuel Oates was killed by Baltimore County police in 2019. Anton Black was killed by police on the Eastern Shore in 2018. 'Police have too much political power,' Franklin said, singling out the Fraternal Order of Police. 'That's the main reason.' Franklin pointed to political donations and the union's ability to organize people to vote representatives out of office. He said it's 'the typical game of politics' — while some lawmakers attempt to maintain power, others focus on the impact of their policy. 'That's why [Carter] and others like her have such a rough time with the old guard in the Legislature, because they're about the work and the other ones are about' getting elected, said Franklin. Carter said that Floyd's death was 'more in-your-face' than Gray's, but noted that it was 'emotionally debilitating' for her to watch Maryland families suffer the consequences of police brutality. 'This isn't going to be a popular thing to say, but it's the truth: White people began to organize and protest,' Carter said of the reason gains were made after Floyd's murder. 'All of a sudden, there were white allies on this issue.' She also credits the shift in legislative leadership seen in Ferguson, a white millennial, and Jones, a Black woman, as well as younger membership in the General Assembly. 'I hate to say this, but what they could get away with in 2015, they wouldn't be able to get away with that … in 2021,' said Carter. Franklin is concerned about gains made in police reform backsliding under President Donald Trump, who deactivated the National Law Enforcement Accountability Database run by the U.S. Department of Justice via executive order. He said he fears it will 'embolden' police unions and create pushback to existing policy. 'We still have a long way to go in regard to police reform,' Franklin said. 'I just think we're in trouble.' _____
CBS News
21-04-2025
- Politics
- CBS News
Baltimore City leaders and activists recall how Freddie Gray's death prompted change
The death of Freddie Gray in 2015 was a catalyst for a new generation of leaders in Baltimore. Gray died on April 19, 2015, after he was injured while in the custody of Baltimore Police. His death sparked protests across the U.S. Community activist Kwane Rose was on the frontlines of the unrest 10 years ago after Gray's death. "Freddie Gray never had a chance to live," Rose said. "Born with lead paint poisoning like far too many people, thousands of children in Baltimore City came out of a neighborhood that had the highest rate of incarcerated Black males in the entire city." Shortly after the unrest, then-city councilman Brandon Scott voiced his and the community's frustrations. "I am simply pissed off," Scott said in 2015. "This is the city I love. This is the city I chose to dedicate my life to." "His [Freddie Gray's] untimely death was literally the straw that broke the camel's back," Mayor Scott said during a recent interview. "You'll never forget where you were, but more importantly for me, how the city came together." Gray's death caused decades of systemic oppression to boil over and spill into the streets. Established organizations, like Leaders of A Beautiful Struggle, were at the forefront of helping the community. "What the uprising did was, I think it gave voice to a radical perspective that otherwise would not be seen as a legitimate course of conversation in mainstream political dialogue," said Dayvon Love, Director of Public Policy at Leaders of a Beautiful Struggle. A new generation of leaders was born out of Baltimore's darkest moments. "I've been able to do some incredible things," Rose said. "At the same time, understanding my entire career is built off of a Black man dying and people suffering." The city was shaped by redemption, grit, culture and the will to overcome. They call it Charm City, and its people claim it with passionate pride. "What it looks like when you actually invest in people in a way where we're the solution, we're not the problem, we're the solution to our problem," Love said. However, there are still some challenges. "We are not the perfect best Baltimore that we're going to be one day, but we are definitely light years away from where we were in 2015," Mayor Scott said. The future is being written by Baltimore youth with eyes on the next decade and hearts full of hope. "To be from Baltimore is everything, bus stop benches read 'it's the greatest city in America,' and I believe that," Rose said.
CBS News
20-04-2025
- CBS News
How long will Baltimore police's federal oversight last in the aftermath of Freddie Gray's death?
The Department of Justice found police committed widespread civil rights violations after Freddie Gray's death and placed the Baltimore Police Department under federal oversight eight years ago to correct the problems. The city has spent millions of dollars on police reform during that time, and while some say there is still a long way to go, the commissioner sees a transformed department. On Thursday, April 17, the police department was found compliant in two areas of its consent decree -- the transportation of detainees and officer wellness. "That was bound to come because what they did to Freddie Gray was uncalled for," said Thomas Guinn, who lives in West Baltimore's Sandtown community. Guinn remembers being hurt and angry over Freddie Gray's death in police custody. He believes that over the decade since, the way officers interact with the people they serve is getting better here. "I've been victimized by police before, pulled over just because I'm a young Black man. Freddie Gray changed that. They give us much more respect now," he said. Baltimore Police Commissioner Richard Worley told WJZ bluntly, "We're not the department we were in 2015." "I think it shows that the men and women have changed the culture of the BPD to the point that now we are the guardians and not the warriors who go in and take the area by storm," the commissioner said. A scathing Department of Justice report commissioned after Gray's death exposed the extent of the problems, documenting what many in the neighborhood where Gray grew up had been saying for years: Baltimore police engaged in "unconstitutional" policing with a "pattern and practice" of retaliation, excessive force and unconstitutional stops, searches and arrests— particularly targeting Black residents. You can read that 2016 report here. Among the outrageous violations detailed in the DOJ investigation: And that was before a 2017 indictment revealed the stunning abuses by the Gun Trace Task Force (GTTF), the specialized unit whose members robbed citizens and covered it up. In court, testimony revealed the lead detective, Wayne Jenkins, took drugs looted from pharmacies and elsewhere in the unrest following Gray's death and sold them through his friend, bail bondsman Donald Stepp . According to federal prosecutors: "From 2015-2017, Stepp obtained significant quantities of narcotics from Jenkins and robbed citizens of their property, including drugs, cash, and watches. To facilitate the robberies and drug trafficking, Jenkins brought Stepp to search locations in Baltimore City and Baltimore County, and falsely represented to other law enforcement agencies that Stepp was an officer with BPD. Jenkins would travel to Stepp's residence after he had robbed citizens and Stepp would store the stolen drugs in his tool shed. Stepp then sold the stolen drugs and returned hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash proceeds to BPD officers. Jenkins took a portion of the proceeds from the drug sales and paid other officers in the BPD who participated in the robberies with Jenkins and Stepp. On December 14, 2017, law enforcement executed a search warrant at Stepp's residence and recovered approximately 423 grams of crack cocaine, 262 grams of cocaine, 14 grams of heroin, 28 grams of MDMA, digital scales, packaging material, a large sum of cash, and several high-value watches." In June 2015, police blamed the looted narcotics on a surge in shootings and killings . There would have been no Department of Justice investigation without Freddie Gray's tragic death. WJZ Investigator Mike Hellgren: "Can you think of another incident that changed policing more than that one?" BPD Commissioner Richard Worley: "For us, no." "I think if it didn't happen at Freddie Gray, it would have happened at George Floyd," Commissioner Worley said. "I think it was bound to happen at some point. We were moving further apart from the community, as opposed to coming together with the community. And the police department and the city could never succeed when your police department and the community can't get along." Worley said community engagement is a key component of reform, and morale among officers is better within the department today. "It was really bad, and I think it has improved. Commissioner Harrison came in. He got us on the right track, and then he turned it over to someone from within the department," Commissioner Worley said. "And the fact that I came up through the ranks helped with morale. But I also had to prove myself because I was also here during the bad times, and I know when I went through those town halls, people thought we were going to revert to the old way, and were not going to revert to the old way. We want to provide a better police department, and I think that's what we're doing." Body cameras, new transport policies, and a drastic reduction in arrests without probable cause are some of the successes. "There have been changes, but I want to see more change, and I think I'm in good company," said Billy Murphy, who represented Gray's family. WJZ Investigator Mike Hellgren: "Could you see it happening all over again?" Gray family attorney Billy Murphy: "I don't think it can happen the way it happened in the Freddie Gray case because there are too many checks and balances that have been implemented." James Bredar, the judge overseeing police reform, recently warned the department it was "playing with fire" because of severe understaffing . That is a problem the commissioner acknowledges, being more than 500 officers down on a force that's smaller than when Gray was arrested. There were roughly 3,000 officers then. There will be almost 2,000 in 2025. The biggest strides have been made in training and the transport of detainees . Commissioner Worley believes federal oversight has turned a troubled department into a touchstone. "Never did I ever think the Baltimore police department would be the agency that other agencies around the country and the world are coming to see how to do things right," Worley said. Police Commissioner Worley is hopeful the judge will find the city fully compliant and remove Baltimore from federal oversight by the time his contract is up in 2028. But there are no guarantees, and Judge Bredar has given no timetable on when he will find the city fully compliant. You can read the consent decree agreement here .
