Maryland Lawsuits AgainstBALTIMORE CITY POLICE DEPARTMENT

According to Maryland Judiciary Case Search, Baltimore City Police, entered with that exact spelling, has been sued 118 times for tort claims since 2012. There have been no medical malpractice claims against Baltimore City Police since 2012. The exact search criteria used on Maryland Judiciary Case Search is as follows:  Company: Baltimore City Police, Party Type: Defendant, Case Type: Civil, Court System: Circuit Court only, County: Default All, Filing Date: 9/26/2012-08/25/2020.

About Baltimore City Police 

Founded in 1784 as a small group of night watchmen and constables tasked with enforcing town laws, the Baltimore City Police Department (BPD) has grown into one of the largest municipal police forces in the nation. Employing over 3,000 personnel and monitoring a jurisdiction of over 600,000 residents, the department is sectioned into ten districts that include over 80 square miles of land and 11 square miles of water.

The BPD is currently led by Commissioner Michael Harrison. Four deputy commissioners work directly under him and manage the public integrity, compliance, operations, and administrative bureaus. Divisions of the department such as patrol and criminal investigations are headed by officers with colonel and lieutenant colonel rankings, and individual districts are commanded by lieutenants. Some administrative jobs within the BPD, such as director and coordinator roles, are performed by civilian members of the community who are not sworn officers.

Baltimore City Police in the News

In recent years, the BPD has been at the center of several major controversies. Protests in 2015 after Baltimore resident Freddie Gray died while in the custody of BPD officers made national headlines and prompted an investigation by the Department of Justice to examine long-standing allegations of discrimination and unconstitutional arrests by Baltimore police. The resulting report cited evidence to support these accusations, and in 2017 a consent decree was drafted by the city, the BPD, and the Department of Justice. Designed to improve the relationships of BDP officers with their communities, the decree placed new limits on how officers could interact with people they suspected of committing a crime and ordered training on de-escalation tactics. However, the efficacy of the decree remains hotly debated, as some Baltimore residents contend they are still subjected to overly aggressive policing.

The BPD found itself under scrutiny again in 2017 after eight members of its Gun Trace Task Force, a group of officers specially selected to reduce gun violence in Baltimore neighborhoods, were arrested on charges of wide scale corruption. Allegations included clocking fraudulent overtime, robbing up to $200,000 from citizens, unconstitutional searches, and planting evidence at crime scenes. While the task force members were convicted on various racketeering related counts and sentenced to lengthy prison terms in 2019, the scandal fomented distrust of a police department already struggling to improve its image with the community. Adding to the chaos created by the task force is the anticipation of multiple lawsuits filed against the BPD seeking redress for its criminal conduct, which could conclude in millions of dollars in settlement payouts.

Some of the major personal injury attorneys that regularly sue the Baltimore City Police Department are Emanuel M Levin & Associates, P.A., Levy & Iamele, and the Law Offices of Allan B. Rabineau. As the BPD is based in Baltimore City, claims against it are usually filed in Baltimore City Circuit Court. If you or a loved one have been injured by the BPD, you should contact a personal injury lawyer to assess your claim.

Last updated August 31, 2020