u s department of justice

U.S. Department of Justice should investigate Baltimore's mayor, not its police department

In the wake of Freddie Gray's death in police custody, U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch announced Friday that the Department of Justice will launch a full-scale civil rights investigation into the Baltimore Police Department.

Police union wants Rawlings-Blake investigated too

Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake on Wednesday asked the Department of Justice to probe Baltimore police practices and said officers will have body cameras by 2016.

Gov. Larry Hogan on Wednesday officially lifted the state of emergency he put on Baltimore 10 days ago.

WASHINGTON -- Labor Secretary Tom Perez and Education Secretary Arne Duncan will visit Baltimore on Wednesday to announce new federal funding for neglected communities, the latest effort by the Obama administration to engage with the city following last week's riots.

U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch said Tuesday that the Justice Department will examine the best options to improve the Baltimore Police Department in the aftermath of Freddie Gray's death, and a full-scale civil rights investigation has not been ruled out.

Eight days after becoming the 83rd U.S. Attorney General, Loretta Lynch will visit Baltimore Tuesday in the aftermath of last week¿s riots and six city police officers being charged in the death of Freddie Gray.

The Obama administration will make $20 million available to cities across the country to expand the use of body cameras worn by police in an effort to improve trust with communities, the Justice Department said Friday.

Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake defended her handling of the recent riots and her previous work on police brutality issues during a briefing with reporters in the Sandtown-Winchester neighborhood Wednesday afternoon.

Federal regulators fined Black & Decker $1.575 million for failing to immediately report a defect that allowed some cordless electric lawnmowers to start spontaneously, officials announced Wednesday.

U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch, making her first public remarks since being sworn into the post earlier this week, offered her condolences to the family of Freddie Gray on Wednesday and said that Justice Department officials had met with an injured police officer.

Former Baltimore Mayor Sheila Dixon, a West Baltimore native who represented the neighborhoods hit by riots while on City Council, said she was "saddened" by Monday's violence. But she said she understood the "pain" residents are feeling over Freddie Gray's death and the depressed conditions of their poverty-stricken communities.

The issue of how police approach predominantly African-American communities became a more central issue in Washington Monday, as mourners gathered in Baltimore for the funeral of Freddie Gray and violent clashes broke out on city streets.

Carroll's law enforcement departments charged with keeping the county's citizens and their property safe have been able to do so without the smallest hint of impropriety.

Empowerment Temple Church of Baltimore raised the funds on Sunday morning to pay for the funeral of Freddie Gray, whose death in police custody has sparked local protests and national outcry.

Mayor, I have taken great pride in your ascent watching you go from young activist to mayor. But I am not at all impressed with your recent public appearances related to the death of Freddie Gray. I know that your dad would want you to be a national star on this topic that was very dear to him, so I urge you to become a better informed champion.

Gov. Larry Hogan declined to launch another probe into Freddie Gray's death, saying he doesn't want to "politicize" it.

Good morning, Baltimore! Here's what you need to know for Wednesday.

Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake said Monday she's continuing to seek answers in the death of Freddie Gray, who was critically injured after being arrested by Baltimore police.

Hundreds of people raised their hands and turned their backs on officers outside the Baltimore Police Department's Western District station Saturday, part of a protest over injuries a man suffered while being arrested earlier in the week. Just as the protest was wrapping up, about a mile away an officer shot a man who police said fled a traffic stop. Police said he was armed with a loaded handgun, and lauded the officer's actions.

About 300 people gathered at Coppin State University to air grievances over years of harassment, beatings and other mistreatment they say they have endured from city police.

A Baltimore Sun series about police brutality was recognized by Columbia University's Graduate School of Journalism.

In order to accommodate more people who want to talk about the Baltimore police, the U.S. Department of Justice has changed the location of Thursday evening's town hall meeting at Coppin State University.

With her proposed legislation headed to defeat in Annapolis to make it easier to discipline police officers, Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake said she is still committed to getting more bad officers off the streets in Baltimore.

Good morning, Baltimore! Here's what you need to know for Tuesday.

In an effort to solve more of Baltimore's homicide cases, police said a dozen experts will visit the city homicide unit to examine how detectives investigate killings, part of a grant the department has received from the U.S. Department of Justice.

Alan Gross was languishing in prison in Cuba when he sued the federal government for allegedly failing to prepare him for his dangerous mission on the communist island.

Cal Thomas writes about the Clintons lack of ethics, and adapts lyrics from "The Sound of Music" to fit them.

Legislation sought by Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake and other city leaders to deal with police brutality complaints has taken a beating in Annapolis. One bill introduced at the mayor's behest has been killed, while the other might as well be. With just a little more than a week left in the annual 90-day legislative session, only a handful of relatively minor bills remain alive in the General Assembly that would seek to hold police more accountable for how they treat citizens.

WASHINGTON — The indictment of New Jersey Sen. Robert Menendez on corruption charges Wednesday could have significant implications for the Senate Foreign Relations Committee — and it could also provide an unexpected opportunity for Maryland.

The state should stop sending children to adult facilities like the city jail when they're charged in the adult courts. As the Justice Department notes, the city jail is "neither designed nor staffed to manage juveniles" and it does them far more harm than good.

U.S. Labor Secretary Thomas E. Perez said plans for a a new light rail line in Baltimore should move forward in a speech in Baltimore Monday that promoted the Obama administration's economic agenda.

Twice in recent weeks, Police Commissioner Anthony W. Batts made a startling characterization to national audiences: Baltimore is still dealing with 1950s and 1960s-era racism. The statement has triggered a wide-ranging discussion of the issue around Baltimore — and relatively little disagreement.

Peter S. Smith, a former longtime Baltimore attorney who pioneered programs that provided legal representation to the city's poor and disenfranchised, died.

Heed the president's advice at Selma: keep talking racial injustice and engage more in the political process.

Coast Guard, federal prosecutors focus on ships that dump oily waste at sea.

Civil rights advocates and families of alleged victims of police brutality urged state lawmakers Thursday to improve law enforcement accountability, saying Maryland is not immune from widespread concerns about the use of excessive force by officers.

Federal prosecutors brought fewer cases against drug offenders in 2014 and pursued mandatory-minimum sentences far less often, Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. said Tuesday – signs of progress, he said, in his effort to reform drug sentencing and ease prison overcrowding.

The attorney general has moved the department away from the harsh mandatory minimum sentencing policies of his predecessors

Baltimore Police Commissioner Anthony W. Batts said Friday that he would like to deploy 18 teams made up of a police officer and a mental health professional to deal with incidents involving disturbed individuals.

With the latest round of police promotions, Baltimore County officials say they are making strides in increasing diversity in the department's top command..