Baltimore Mayor Promises Sweeping Police Changes

In response to a damning U.S. Department of Justice report on the Baltimore Police Department’s practices, Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake promised sweeping changes to the city’s law enforcement. The DOJ report, released Wednesday, describes systemic issues among the police force of using racial discrimination, unconstitutional arrests, excessive force, and coerced sexual favors. Rawlings-Blake described the findings as “troubling to hear,” but promised that she will “never sugarcoat our problems nor will I run away from our most pressing challenges. I believe transparency is the only true foundation upon which we can rebuild community trust.” Police Commissioner Kevin Davis repeatedly emphasized during the same press conference that the issues unearthed by the DOJ report were confined to “a relatively small number of police officers over many, many years.”