In an email to the thousands of officers under his command, Baltimore Police Commissioner Kevin Davis said that coming to terms with the Justice Department report released Wednesday "presents a challenging moment,but a moment we will be able to reflect upon in the future and know it will set us on a path to better policing."
The report outlined routine violations by city police officers of residents' constitutional rights, as well as specific actions that Davis has called "egregious." It also found black residents were disproportionately targeted by police.
"Despite these findings, this report is not an indictment on every officer that has the privilege of wearing our uniform, patch, and badge," Davis wrote in his email, which was obtained by The Baltimore Sun. "You may have an understandable level of anxiety about the fact that you do not engage in the types of behaviors described in this report. It is natural to be offended by some of these details. Why? Because you wear the BPD uniform proudly and serve the citizens of Baltimore honorably."
Davis wrote that Baltimore residents will be "justifiably outraged at some of the details" in the report, because if "we breach the trust that citizens demand of our Department, citizens have a right to feel alienated from us," and the report outlines "several incidents in which that fragile trust was severely breached."
But the findings "do not define us as an agency," Davis wrote to the 2,300 or so officers under his command.
"I am 100% confident that we can implement necessary reforms in our agency, while at same time continuing to proactively fight crime, get guns off the street, and remove violent offenders from the City's neighborhoods," he wrote. "Community policing and proactive crime fighting are not mutually exclusive."
Davis also wrote that the report represents an "enormous opportunity" for the police department.
"No one disputes that police officers have been let down when it comes to things like staffing, technology, and training," he wrote. "This report and the resulting reforms will enable this agency to better equip you with the tools you need to do your jobs. These items have been a low priority for too long, but this process will help modernize and professionalize our Department to the benefit of every member of the BPD."
Davis said more information would be shared as it was received by the department's command staff, including about the pending consent decree that the city has said it will likely enter into with the Justice Department.
"Change is never easy, but I know the talent and dedication within this agency will make us the finest police department in the nation," he said.
In an interview with the Sun on Wednesday, Davis stressed his belief that although the Justice Department's findings that mistreatment of citizens was routine within his department, most officers are hard-working and honest and treat people with respect. Those who are not will be identified and disciplined, he said — noting he has terminated eight officers so far this year.
As of Wednesday, no officers had been terminated or disciplined as a result of the Justice Department report.
Davis and his command staff hadn't gone through the report "with a fine-toothed comb" yet, he said, but would be doing so and would be paying particular attention to any information outlining specific misconduct.
"If in fact that information is new to us and deserves an investigation, then we'll absolutely consider doing that," he said.
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