Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake faces an uphill battle in this year's General Assembly when she and other officials travel to Annapolis to push for changes to a state law that restricts the power of police departments to discipline officers accused of misconduct. Yet curiously, one of the most prominent voices lawmakers should hear will be conspicuously absent: Baltimore City Police Commissioner Anthony Batts, who in the past has complained of lacking the authority to deal swiftly with misbehaving officers, says he'll remain neutral and won't volunteer to testify or take a position on the issue one way or the other.
Mr. Batts' reluctance to join the mayor and the city's legislative delegation in Annapolis in calling for changes to the law is perhaps understandable, though disappointing, given his position. Granted, as the city's top cop he's got to retain good relations with his rank-and-file regardless of the outcome of the mayor's effort, whose success is still far from assured. But if Mr. Batts won't help shape possible reforms to a law he himself has said ties his hands when it comes to holding accountable problem officers, who will? We sincerely hope that as the debate on the measure progresses he'll reconsider that decision.
Ms. Rawlings-Blake says that while the vast majority of city officers are dedicated public servants who risk their lives daily to protect the communities they serve, it only takes a handful of "bad cops" to undermine public confidence in the force. She's right. She also points out that the issue of police brutality and misconduct has arisen in the context of the killing of several unarmed black men by police last year that set off nationwide protests. Making police more accountable to the public they are sworn to protect is clearly an issue whose time has come, and Baltimore City should be leading the charge for reform.
Unfortunately, the city finds itself alone in calling for the kinds of changes that would make it easier for police leaders to weed out bad actors. No other jurisdiction's leaders have yet stepped forward to support reforms to Maryland's so-called Police Bill of Rights, which is more protective of officers than similar laws in any other state, except possibly Rhode Island, according to a 1999 University of Maryland study. And any revisions to that 1977 law, which was last amended more than a decade ago, are likely to be opposed by law-enforcement groups, including the Fraternal Order of Police, which represents some 22,000 officers in Maryland.
Washington County Sheriff Douglas Mullendore, for example, denies there's any statewide problem with the law as currently written, and Del. John Cluster, a Baltimore County Republican who served 15 years on the police force there, says the issue of police misconduct has been greatly exaggerated and that most complaints are limited to just a few "bad apples."
Yet even if that were the case — and we find it hard to believe Baltimore City is the only place in Maryland where police misconduct is a problem — those bad apples erode the public trust in the police and set bad a example for the good cops around them. That's why the problem is bigger than a matter of just a few officers here or there; what needs to be addressed are the systemic failures of the current law that allow bad cops' crimes to go unpunished.
Those are the sorts of concerns Mr. Batts expressed when he said at a news conference that the law prevents him from taking swift action when officers engage in egregious misconduct. He can't, for example, immediately suspend an officer without pay unless there is a felony charge. Nor can he even question an officer about a complaint until 10 days after the incident occurred or investigate allegations of brutality more than 90 days old. All that needs to change, he said, if efforts to restore a relationship of trust between police and community residents are to succeed.
Some lawmakers may be inclined to leave the current law intact and simply carve out a few special exemptions for police in Baltimore City. But that wouldn't be wise policy-making because despite the insistence of some that Baltimore is a special case, there undoubtedly are similar problems in every district across the state. Police misconduct is a statewide problem that demands a statewide solution.
To her credit, Ms. Rawlings-Blake has vowed to lead the charge for reforms that allow departments to better investigate and prosecute problem officers. She isn't calling for wholesale changes to the law but for specific amendments that would make it easier for police leaders to discipline those accused of misconduct. It may be a lonely fight, but it's one Baltimore City badly needs to win. Police Commissioner Batts' voice is sorely needed to help make that happen.