“Who will police the policemen?” It is a perennial problem. Currently, local police investigators investigate the alleged misconduct of their peers. If we have learned anything over the past five years, since the fatal injury to Freddie Gray in the back of a police van and culminating with the fallout from the Gun Trace Task Force, it is that the current disciplinary system doesn’t work.
Currently, local prosecutors rely on local police departments to gather the evidence and testimony they need to successfully prosecute criminals. This makes it hard for them to investigate and prosecute the same police officers in cases of police violence. Cases like this, in which police misconduct is alleged, should not rely on the police to investigate themselves and should not be prosecuted by someone who has an incentive to protect the police officers involved.
What is required is legislation which would provide for independent investigation and, if appropriate, prosecution, when police officers shoot or otherwise cause violent deaths to Marylanders. This would replace the current system in which local State’s Attorneys must prosecute the same officers who work with them every day. Moving these investigations out of local police departments and local prosecution offices is an essential step in assuring a just outcome.
For the 2021 legislative session see: Independent Law Enforcement Prosecution Unit (HB1035).
