July 18th, 2018 by WCBC Radio
U.S. Senator Ben Cardin (D-Md.) has re-introduced the Law Enforcement Trust and Integrity Act (LETIA), S. 3195, which is designed to address the issue of police accountability and build trust between police departments and the communities they serve. This legislation provides incentives for local police organizations to voluntarily adopt performance-based standards to ensure that incidents of misconduct will be reduced through appropriate management, training and oversight protocols. Finally, the legislation authorizes funds for the implementation of consent decrees and judgements entered into between the Department of Justice and local police departments, such as the Baltimore Police Department.
“Our communities are safer when law enforcement and the people they protect can work together. Officer-involved shootings or the use of deadly force have led to numerous criminal investigations and trials,” said Senator Cardin. “As the Senate moves to consider criminal justice reform, Congress should take this opportunity to address the urgent issue of reforming our police agencies. It’s finally time that we took comprehensive steps to restore hope and trust in our neighborhoods. We need to ensure that all our citizens’ rights are preserved while giving police the tools they need to re-engage with the families and individuals they are there to protect.”
In the case of the death of Freddie Gray in Baltimore in 2015, the Department of Justice opened a federal pattern-and-practice investigation into the conduct of the Baltimore Police Department. The investigation ultimately led to an exhaustive report in 2016 which detailed years of systemic civil rights violations with little accountability for misconduct. In 2017 the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland entered the consent decree into force as a court.
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