Effects on Public Safety

The “no call list” mentioned by State’s Attorney Marylin Mosby affects the public safety of our communities. In 2021, the ACLU of Maryland published a report confirming that from 2015 through 2019 “misconduct complaints were filed against 1,826 individual Baltimore Police officers.” 91% of the officers who had a complaint on “use of force” were targeting black residents. Before then, Baltimore City had been tormented by the Gun Trace Task Force, a group of rogue officers who acted unlawfully and violently in the public. 

The “no call list” is a list of police officers with issues of integrity. There is no way of knowing how many officers have been added to the 305 number cited by State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby in 2019. There could be a potential Gun Trace Task Force roaming the Baltimore City streets on that list again not being disclosed to the public. 

When power is unchecked it results in the death and incarceration of Black people. The State’s Attorney’s Office has long hid how they really hold our police department accountable. The public has asked to see the full files of investigations into alleged criminal conduct of police officers and the SAO has only fought disclosure. The public is left in the dark to know which officers and to what extent officers are investigated. All criminal investigatory files are public records, why are these being protected so strongly? Disclosure of who in the police department has committed what acts allows communities to be armed with a safety net, enabling the knowledge of the names, a heightened warning.

When the actions of the State’s Attorney’s Office protect misconduct of police, how can we trust the SAO in holding police accountable for misconduct? Often, an officer cannot be terminated from the police department without a proper conviction. The Baltimore City Police Department has a long history of evading accountability. This ranges from misdirecting community members on where to file complaints to fruitless internal misconduct investigation practices.(See how to file a complaint about BPD). 

All community members have the right to hold their public employees accountable, especially for actions that impact their neighbors. The State’s Attorney’s Office is in the position to do that for its community. They have the power to place knowledge in the hands of their voters, and to protect them from further harm.