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Justice Department Releases Report Showing Baltimore Police Use Excessive Force, Racism; Baltimore Mayor, Others, Discuss The Results DOJ Investigation. Aired 10:30-11a ET

Aired August 10, 2016 - 10:30   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:31:35] CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: And good morning, I'm Carol Costello, thank you so much for joining me. Justice Department officials about to tell the people of Baltimore, the city's police department is riddled with racism and uses of excessive force. CNN's Jean Casarez is standing by. We're waiting for the press conference. When it begins, Jean, of course we'll stop talking but you take it away.

JEAN CASAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well here's the thing I think we need to remember. This investigation, and now this report from the Department of Justice is not about the Freddie Gray case. That investigation continues and any potential civil rights violations to Freddie Gray. But this is about the overall Baltimore Police Department.

And really the headline is that the pattern and practice of this department is to exercise unconstitutional actions toward the people of Baltimore, primarily focused on the African American community, "making unconstitutional arrests, stops, searches, and arrests. Discrimination against African Americans, using excessive force, and restraining against free speech, those that want to exercise free speech."

It also says that the training of these officers, that in that training, that law that is unconstitutional is used as good law in how to train them. Saying, "driven by systemic deficiencies in Baltimore Police Department's policies, training, supervision, and accountability. Structures that fail to equip officers with the tools they need to be -- to police effectively and within the bounds of federal law."

They also go on to say that stops, searches, arrests, primarily defected at African Americans are unconstitutional. And if you look at the chart and diagram right here, and there are so many of them in the report, you can see the amount of times that African Americans are stopped, searched, and arrested, as far as in comparison to the white population.

They also say there are two distinct Baltimores, black Baltimore and white Baltimore. And they say, "410 people stopped, at least 10 times or more of those 410 people, 95 percent were African American, 1 African American man stopped 30 times, never criminally charged." Carol, it was because of loitering, or trespassing.

And we do have to remember here that the six officers charged because of the death of Freddie Gray, their charges have been dropped, dismissed. Any outstanding charges, that criminal case is now over.

COSTELLO: All right, Jean Casarez, you stand by. I want to bring in my panel to talk about this right now. Billy Murphy is here. He's the attorney for Freddie Gray's family. Tom Fuentes is a CNN Senior Law Enforcement Analyst, and former FBI Assistant Director. And Laura Coates is a CNN Legal Analyst and Former federal prosecutor.

Billy, you represented the Gray family. Is this report somehow vindication?

BILLY MURPHY, ATTORNEY FOR FAMILY OF FREDDIE GRAY: Yes, it's what the black community's been saying for the last hundred years. And the problem has been widespread, white indifference. And we've been characterized as whiners, and complainers, and otherwise dismissed in so many ways for so many years.

And so this problem has actually gotten worse in the past ten years. And a couple of points that jump out from the report that should shock even the most grizzled veterans in the system. This is an overwhelmingly widespread pattern of illegal behavior by hundreds of cops. And so we have to reexamine whether or not most cops are good. And look at the numbers.

It looks like a huge number of cops are bad. They're tied to the old ways of doing things that come from the years of racism. And so we may have to look at a more radical solution to this police department in Baltimore. This isn't something that we can fix only by retraining. It's something that we have to really do in terms of replacing most of these police officers like they did in Camden, New Jersey with great results.

COSTELLO: And Tom, Tom ...

MURPHY: ... So it's a huge problem, much bigger than we ever thought.

[10:35:50]

COSTELLO: Tom, Billy is right, it is a huge problem. Because this is a scathing report. It says officers failed to investigate reports of sexual assault, used excessive force against mentally ill people, used the "N" word at least 60 times with no repercussions, used unreasonable force against juveniles. What do you make of this, Tom?

TOM FUENTES, CNN SENIOR LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST: Well I think, Carol, first of all Mr. Murphy and I had long conversations in Baltimore a year ago, during the riots that were occurring there. And I have to agree with much of what he says. That there needs to be a larger overhaul of this department.

First of all you've had a black mayor, you had a black police chief at the time. 55 percent of the department are minorities but yet, we're not looking at, how are the applicants to be cops selected? What kind of training do they go through? Do they try to weed out people with sociopathic tendencies that are going to be bad cops when they're on the street?

Then you look at training. But you can't train a bad cop to be a good cop. If he has those character faults it's going to be permanent, almost. And then you have to look at the discipline, the training, everything else that goes into that department to build a quality group of officers that know the law, know the constitution, and respect the people that they're serving in that community.

COSTELLO: OK so that's a towering -- I don't know, that's a huge challenge. So Laura I'll ask you this, Baltimore City already has a new police chief. It has a new mayor. But what happens now, once this report is made public, as is going to happen in just a few minutes, what happens then?

LAURA COATES, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Well now ...

COSTELLO: They already started changing things, but is it enough?

COATES: They have but you have all these new things that are happening. But what is not new is the fourth amendment. And apparently, according to this report, the fourth amendment does not exist in Baltimore. You've got unreasonable stops, seizures, searches, no respect for the community in terms of what their constitutional and civil rights are. And that is not new. You have to be able to who they consent to previous (ph) to. The next step the department can look at is to say, "look, we've got to actually effectuate change. You're going to have to pay up financially for training that Tom is talking about and Billy's talking about. You're also going to have to have a complete overhaul of the training. But the overhaul in training does not mean you have to learn something new. You've got to actually adhere to the fourth amendment that says you can't just walk up to somebody and stop them, or strip search them when you feel like it ...

COSTELLO: All right, Laura ...

COATES: ... You have to get caught ...

COSTELLO: I've got to stop you, I've got to stop you because the Baltimore Mayor, Stephanie Rawlings-Blake, is about to speak. And then I would suppose that's the Baltimore Police Commissioner, Kevin Davis is there. And also someone from the Justice Department, Benita Gupta, will detail the report. Let's listen.

STEPHANIE RAWLINGS-BLAKE (D), MAYOR OF BALTIMORE, MD: ... acknowledge Police Commissioner Kevin Davis. Baltimore City Council President, Jack Young, as well. Today marks an important step on our path to reform. With the release of its finding report, the Justice Department is sharing with the community, with the city government, and with our police department, the conclusions of its 14-month long investigation, an inquiry that I asked for last may.

The findings are challenging to hear. But let me be clear, I never sugar coat our problems, nor will I run away from our most pressing challenges. The report identifies specific problems in the department. But the transparency of the report offers crucial -- a crucial foundation if we are going to move forward. Because I believe transparency is the only true foundation upon which we can rebuild community trust.

Policing issues have taken on a new urgency in the national discussion, in light of the tragic shootings in recent weeks, as well as the developments in our own city. It's so very important that we get this right. The report's assessment, and its follow-up to it, will help us to heal the relationship between the police and our communities.

I also want to be clear that we have not been standing still while this inquiry was underway. Indeed, some of these reforms began before I asked the Department of Justice to investigate the department. The city has taken first steps in a long path to reform and we've begun to see real benefits. Our police department is already making significant changes, the community is providing valuable insights, and officers and citizens are working together to improve our communities and the policing that is happening within them.

We have a very long journey ahead of us and I am grateful that we could begin this process of meaningful change while I am Mayor. I'd like to turn it over now to Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General, Vanita Gupta. Miss Gupta it's you.

[10:41:00]

VANITA GUPTA, PRINCIPAL DEPUTY ASSISTANT ATTORNEY GENERAL, CIVIL RIGHTS DIVISION, DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE: Good morning. I'd like to start by thanking Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake and Commissioner Kevin Davis for their cooperation and for their leadership throughout the Justice Department's investigation. I also want to thank my outstanding team from the Civil Rights Division for their tireless and focused efforts.

15 months ago in the aftermath of Freddie Gray's tragic death, we talked to community members, police officers, police union (ph) leaders, and city officials about the challenges related to policing in the city of Baltimore.

The Mayor, members of the City Council, members of Congress, and residents asked us to open a pattern of practice investigation into the Baltimore Police Department, which we launched last May of 2015.

Since then we've talked to residents in every corner of Baltimore from Roland Park to Sandtown. We interviewed command staff, and rank-in- file officers. We participated in ride alongs in each police district. We met with leaders of police unions, religious organizations, advocacy groups, neighborhood associations, and reviewed their reports and publications.

With law enforcement and statistical experts, we reviewed hundreds of page -- thousands of pages of documents covering 2010 to 2016. Including policies and training materials, internal affairs data, data on stops, searches, and arrests, and use of air supports (ph). And nearly everyone who spoke to us from the Baltimore City Fraternal

Order of Police who showed us their 2012 report, blueprints for improved policing, to the residents who shared serious concerns, everyone agreed that the Baltimore Police Department needs sustainable reform. Indeed, the Mayor and the Commissioner have been aware of the problems that our findings report details and have not sit still during our investigation. And I want to commend them for that.

We recognize the challenges that are faced by police officers in Baltimore and other communities around the country. Every day police officers risk their lives to uphold the law and keep our communities safe. Investigatory stops, arrests, and indeed at times force, are all necessary schools used by BPD officers to do their jobs, and to protect the safety of themselves and all of us.

Providing policing services in many parts of Baltimore is particularly challenging. Where residents and officers regularly confront complex social and economic challenges rooted in poverty, racial segregation, deficient educational, employment, and housing opportunities.

Baltimore residents, just like Baltimore police officers, want to address these challenges. They want to fight crime and they want to ensure our public safety. And our guide to policing omits these realities. Most being (ph) the constitution and federal anti- discrimination law.

Today the Department of Justice announces the outcome of our investigation and issues a 163-page report detailing our findings. We conclude that there is reasonable cause to believe that BPD engages in a pattern of practice of conduct that violates the constitution and federal anti-discrimination law.

BPD engages in a pattern of practice of making unconstitutional stops, searches, and arrests. Using enforcement strategies that produce severe and unjustified disparities in the rate of stops, searches, and arrests of African Americans. Using excessive force and retaliating against people engaging in constitutionally protected expression. These violations have deeply eroded the mutual trust between BPD and the community it serves. Trust that is essential to effective policing, as well as to officer and public safety.

The problems in Baltimore didn't happen overnight, or appear in a day. The pattern of practice that we found results from long-standing, systemic deficiencies in the BPD. The agency's failed to provide officers with sufficient policy guidance and training, to collect and analyze data of officer activities, and to hold officers accountable for misconduct. BPD's failed to provide officers with the necessary equipment and resources they need to do police safely, constitutionally, and effectively.

But these systemic failures alone didn't cause the problem. The police department's zero tolerance street enforcement strategy became a quest to produce large numbers of enforcement actions, pedestrian stops in particular, often without enough consideration of their limited impact on solving crime, and their caustic damage to community relationships. But today's city leaders -- and while today's city leaders have

recognized these issues, many in the BPD continue to follow this strategy. Only 3.7 percent of the police department's more than 300,000 pedestrian stops from January 2010 to May of 2015, resulted in officers issuing a citation or making an arrest.

Many of these stops, and the resulting frisks lacked constitutional justification. And many of the discretionary arrests were simply street-clearing activities. Supervisors at BPD central booking, and local prosecutors rejected overall 11,000 charges made by BPD officers because they lacked probable cause or otherwise did not merit prosecution.

[10:46:20]

The city's African American residents, and African American neighborhoods bore the brunt of this activity. Out of the data we surveyed, the police department made roughly 44 percent of its stops in two small, predominantly African American districts that contain only 11 percent of the city's population.

African Americans accounted for 95 percent of the 410 individuals the police department stopped at least 10 times. Indeed, one African American man was stopped 30 times in less than four years with none of the stops resulting in a citation or a criminal charge.

We also found a pattern of practice of excessive force. For example, officers frequently resorted to physical force when a person did not immediately respond to verbal commands. Even where the person was posing no imminent threat to the officer or others. Officers are ending up in unnecessarily violent confrontations with people in mental health -- with mental health disabilities.

We have seen communities throughout the country that improved policies and enhanced training in de-escalation in dealing with people in crisis can actually enhance officer safety and reduce the need for force.

BPD also violates the first amendment by retaliating against individuals engaged in constitutionally protected activities. Officers frequently detain and arrest members of the public for engaging in speech that officers perceive to be critical or disrespectful. And BPD officers use force against members of the public for engaging in protected speech.

Finally, although this pattern of practice investigation did not review the specific circumstances surrounding Freddie Gray's death, we did investigate BPD's transport practices. And our report identifies concerns about the safety risks and lack of data in BPD's transport practices. We also identified deficiencies in the way that BPD investigates sexual assaults.

Policing that violates the constitution or federal law severely undermines community trust. And blanket assumptions or stereotypes about certain neighborhoods can lead to resentment of the police. And resentment can prevent the type of effective policing that is needed to keep communities and officers safe.

We found incident reports that documented how witnesses wouldn't share basic information with officers. We read several reports where the person who had originally called the police or needed assistance, refused to cooperate after becoming upset by the police response. And when residents don't trust the police, the distrust makes it harder for officers to prevent and solve crimes.

Proactive policing does not have to lead to these consequences. While the community -- when the community trusts the police, residents work with law enforcement to ensure public safety. Effective, proactive policing is community policing (ph). It requires a different set of tactics than those employed by Baltimore for many years.

Proactive policing requires officers and residents solving problems, to build trust and reduce crime. And I'd like to now take this opportunity to speak directly to the men and women of the Baltimore Police Department.

We know that the vast majority of officers in the Baltimore Police Department work hard. They work hard to provide vital services to the community, and to abide by the constitution and federal law. We have seen you run toward danger to protect the community you serve. And we are grateful.

We also know that to do your job well, to meet the highest standards of the profession, you need clear policies, you need state of the art training. You need to be supported by today's technology. In the 21st century that means computers in your cars, and other modern equipment to do your job well.

You need to have adequate staffing and material resources to get the job done. And you need to know that you will be recognized for the work that you do. And treated fairly when your work is challenged. In Baltimore we see a city that is filled with vibrant, strong communities invested in their future.

It's a city that's really determined to engage in the tough but vital work that's needed to build reform. And already Baltimore has begun to build that foundation for reform. The police department has initiated changes to its policies, training, data management, and accountability systems. These are really positive developments and a testament to the Mayor, and to the Commissioner, to Commissioner Davis' leadership.

To help support these changes during our investigation, the Justice Department's Office of Community Oriented Policing Services, and Office of Justice Programs provided federal resources, as well as technical assistance to the Baltimore Police Department, city officials, and community leaders.

I want to applaud and commend city officials for their collaborative and cooperative partnership. The Justice Department and the city have entered an agreement in principle that identifies the types of reforms that we plan to address as we prepare to negotiate a court- enforceable, independently monitored consent decree. And by entering into this agreement in principle, the city and the police department have shown their commitment to moving forward expeditiously. The agreement in principle is just a framework.

In the coming months, we're going to be using this framework to negotiate a comprehensive consent decree with the city. And in the coming days and weeks ahead, the Justice Department will be meeting with and reaching out to community members and law enforcement to hear their ideas, your ideas, about the kind of police department you want to see in your community.

And we need the energy of this entire community to help us craft those details in our consent decree, and to drive real and lasting change in the city. And so we urge all of you to remain engaged. Whether in Baltimore or around the country, police reform won't happen overnight, and or by chance. These problems were not created overnight. It's going to take time, and it's going to require a focused effort and a sustained commitment.

[10:51:55]

In communities across America, even in communities where trust has been broken, we have seen transformative reform rebuild relationships and advance public safety. And in the days ahead, because of the proactive leadership in this city, because of the energy and vibrancy of this community, and because of the police department's desire for reform, together we can shape that same progress right here, in Baltimore.

Together we can build a stronger Baltimore, a Baltimore that protects the rights, safety, and dignity of all. Thank you very much. At this time I'd like to turn it over to the Mayor.

RAWLINGS-BLAKE: Thank you. Thank you very much. Again, I want to thank the Deputy Assistant Attorney General. So in consultation with policing experts and stakeholders in the community, we have revised 26 key policies. Including the department's important use of force policy.

We're now training all of our officers on these new policies. And we've held additional trainings on key issues that the Justice Department has identified. We are revamping our approach to officer accountability. Including the way that we use -- that the use of force by officers is reviewed, and how officers are disciplined.

A number of initiatives are underway to improve the police department's transparency, and to encourage officers to actively engage with the communities they serve. Ways to explore and implement constructive citizen inclusion in the department's disciplinary process remain under active discussion.

And finally, we're investing in technology and infrastructure to modernize our police department. The BPD has begun retrofitting transport vans to improve safety for occupants, as well as our officers. As well as installing recording cameras inside of our transport vans. We've completed a body-worn camera pilot program. And we continue to roll out cameras for all of the officers within the next two years.

Much work remains to be done. And change will not happen overnight. But our efforts have started the necessary process of change and reform in Baltimore. They reaffirm the city's commitment to the -- to a police department that both protects our citizens, as well as respects their rights.

In this hope and expectation, I know that I'm joined by city council -- the City Council, and particularly our City Council President, Jack Young. Who has supported our work with the Department of Justice to improve our police department. Again, I thank Principle Deputy Assistant Attorney General Gupta for the Justice Department's recognition of our reform efforts. And I appreciate her acknowledgment of our extraordinary cooperation with the Department as it conducted its investigation.

I pledged that my administration would do everything in my power, and our power, to cooperate with the investigation. And we're pleased that as a result of our work together, the investigation has been completed in 14 months. And a very rapid pace for these investigate -- it is a very -- excuse me -- rapid pace for an investigation of a police department of our size.

We committed ourselves to working collaboratively with the Department of Justice, and we are grateful to have earned its trust. Our Police Commissioner, Kevin Davis, and his command staff and officers at every level have worked tirelessly to steer the police department on a path of true reform. And I'm confident that the findings report, as a blueprint -- with the findings report -- excuse me -- as a blueprint, and the partnership of the Department of Justice, I'm confident that the Baltimore City Police Department will become a model department for our country.

Again, I want to thank the Department of Justice team, I want to thank my police department, I want to thank my staff, and our council for the hard work through this process. We will continue to work together so that Baltimore can move quick -- as quickly as possible towards full-scale implementation of the recommended reforms.

[10:56:15]

Over the next few months we will put in place a concrete plan for change, as well as concrete plans for a new culture for the good of the city, for the good of the police department, and for the good of the people the department protects. Thank you very much. Commissioner Davis?

KEVIN DAVIS, POLICE COMMISSIONER, BALTIMORE CITY POLICE DEPARTMENT: Thank you and good morning. First and foremost I want to thank the Mayor for her leadership. Change is painful, growth is painful, but nothing is as painful as being stuck in a place that we do not belong.

It was critically important for me to say in my opening remarks that this report is not an indictment on every man and woman that has the privilege of wearing this uniform, this patch, and this badge. This report is, however, an indictment of those bad behaviors by a relatively small number of police officers over many, many years.

There are officers right now that are just as offended as we are to see the details that are laid out in this report. Why? Because they wear this uniform proudly, and they serve the citizens of Baltimore honorably, each and every day.

We know that our citizens are outraged at some of the details included in this report. And they should be. Citizens can't be expected to respect an agency if the trust of that agency is breached. There are several instances in this report in which that fragile trust has been breached. In some of the more egregious acts described in the report, action has been taken, and those police officers have been removed and no longer work for the Baltimore Police Department.

Throughout this report the DOJ commends Mayor Rawlings-Blake for her working -- her steadfast work towards reform in her police department. Are we there yet? Of course we're not there yet. But some actions have no negotiation attached to them. And that includes racial discrimination, sexual orientation discrimination, or any kind of bias-based policing or criminal misconduct by police officers.

To the citizens of Baltimore, our professional men and women will continue to serve you. We will continue to go after those who are choosing to harm our communities with guns, with drugs, with violence, and with other criminal acts. But we will do it in a lawful and respectful way.

It's done that way in cities and towns across this country each and every day. And quite frankly, it's done in Baltimore that way each and every day. Those who choose to wear this uniform and choose to blatantly disregard someone's rights absolutely should be uncomfortable. Because we are not going to tolerate it.

It's your actions that are fostering fear and resentment in our communities, and making it extremely difficult and dangerous for the vast majority of honorable men and women who serve in our very noble profession.

An obvious question that will inevitably be asked of me and the Mayor, and many others is, are we surprised by the findings of this report? The answer is quite simple for me. I'm very, very concerned by some of the information contained in this detailed report. I have no tolerance for any person who is privileged enough to wear this uniform, if they choose to engage in racist, sexist, discriminatory, or biased-based policing.