An overhauled bill that would create a civilian review board to investigate complaints against the Baltimore Police Department gained needed support yesterday from representatives of the department and from the police officers' union.
Attorneys for Police Commissioner Thomas C. Frazier and the Fraternal Order of Police told the Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee their clients would support the new version of the bill.
The amended bill eliminates the board's ability to punish police officers, instead saying the panel can recommend discipline to the commissioner. It preserves the board's power to subpoena witnesses, but prevents members from compelling an accused officer to testify.
"It's a compromise," said Sen. Ralph M. Hughes, a Baltimore Democrat. "But it still gives us a fair, independent body to review police actions whenever the public feels it's warranted."
A new civilian review board would replace the city's Complaint Evaluation Board, which evaluates citizen concerns. That board, made up of prosecutors, city officials and four members of the public, meets sporadically and lacks the authority to conduct full, independent investigations.
The review board would meet monthly and consist of nine residents -- one from each police district -- selected by the mayor and approved by the City Council. Additional nonvoting representatives would come from the Fraternal Order of Police, the Vanguard Justice Society -- which represents about 700 black officers in the department -- and the commissioner's office.
While Mayor Kurt L. Schmoke has expressed support for the measure, a city lobbyist said yesterday the mayor opposes a provision that would require him to hire an administrator to oversee the review board. Instead, Schmoke has promised to use existing city staff to provide support.
Sen. Clarence M. Mitchell IV, a Baltimore Democrat who has pushed similar legislation unsuccessfully in past years, said the legislation is aimed at satisfying city residents. "The people need an avenue for formal complaint that they know is independent," he said.
He predicted the bill would win passage because it has the support of city lawmakers. Bills that only affect one jurisdiction are typically approved by other legislators as a matter of courtesy.
But other lawmakers, including Del. Kenneth C. Montague Jr., a Baltimore Democrat, have expressed concern that representatives from other parts of the state would not view it as a local issue. They might see it instead as a precedent for other jurisdictions to follow, he said.
Pub Date: 3/24/99