Legislation aimed at curbing police brutality takes a beating in Annapolis.
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, and the other is being quashed in committee. With 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."
One of the surviving bills, which gained preliminary approval in the House on Friday, seeks to help reinvigorate the city's troubled civilian review board. Another passed by the House would require law enforcement agencies to report annually on each officer-involved death.
But advocates say they're bitterly disappointed by the meager results of their campaign to reform the system for disciplining police. They rallied in Annapolis and testified for multiple bills, including several seeking changes in the Law Enforcement Officers' Bill of Rights and spelling out how and when police should use body cameras to record their interactions with the public."
*One bill, which would have created a new felony "misconduct in office" charge for officers, was killed by the House Judiciary Committee
A third bill put in by several city lawmakers would have authorized Maryland's attorney general to prosecute police officers accused of excessive force. It was also killed in committee."
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