King and Crown Prince offer condolence to Iranian president over the deadly port explosion    stc reports strong first-quarter 2025 results with 11% rise in net profit    Virgin Atlantic celebrates one month of nonstop service between London and Riyadh    Saudi Awwal Bank records SR2.1 billion net profit after zakat and income tax for 1Q25    Mahmoud Abbas appoints Hussein Al-Sheikh as PLO vice president in key succession move    Saudi Arabia's entertainment sector attracts 76 million visitors in 2024    Third round of US-Iran nuclear talks concludes with cautious optimism    Multiple casualties reported after vehicle drives into crowd at Vancouver street festival    Duran leads Al Nassr past Yokohama Marinos into AFC Champions League Elite semi-finals    Al Ahli cruise past Buriram into AFC Champions League Elite semi-finals    Saudi Arabia offers condolences to Iran following deadly Bandar Abbas port explosion    Saudi Arabia deports 12,866 illegal residents in a week    SFDA clears first 44-ton medical shipment for Hajj pilgrims    Ministry of Hajj issued over 150,000 Nusuk cards for the Hajj of 2025    Saudi orchestra to perform at Sydney Opera House in May    Al Hilal thrash Gwangju to reach AFC Champions League Elite semi-finals    Saudi Theater Commission launches its Work and Learn Project in UK    The season has begun — and one comment shook us all    Average life expectancy in Saudi Arabia rises to78.8 years    Famed Philippine film star Nora Aunor dies at 71    Pakistani star's Bollywood return excites fans and riles far right    Veteran Bollywood actor Manoj Kumar dies at 87    Bollywood actress vindicated over boyfriend's death after media hounding    Grand Mufti rules against posting prayers and preaching in mosques on social media    Exotic Taif Roses Simulation Performed at Taif Rose Festival    Asian shares mixed Tuesday    Weather Forecast for Tuesday    Saudi Tourism Authority Participates in Arabian Travel Market Exhibition in Dubai    Minister of Industry Announces 50 Investment Opportunities Worth over SAR 96 Billion in Machinery, Equipment Sector    HRH Crown Prince Offers Condolences to Crown Prince of Kuwait on Death of Sheikh Fawaz Salman Abdullah Al-Ali Al-Malek Al-Sabah    HRH Crown Prince Congratulates Santiago Peña on Winning Presidential Election in Paraguay    SDAIA Launches 1st Phase of 'Elevate Program' to Train 1,000 Women on Data, AI    41 Saudi Citizens and 171 Others from Brotherly and Friendly Countries Arrive in Saudi Arabia from Sudan    Saudi Arabia Hosts 1st Meeting of Arab Authorities Controlling Medicines    General Directorate of Narcotics Control Foils Attempt to Smuggle over 5 Million Amphetamine Pills    NAVI Javelins Crowned as Champions of Women's Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) Competitions    Saudi Karate Team Wins Four Medals in World Youth League Championship    Third Edition of FIFA Forward Program Kicks off in Riyadh    Evacuated from Sudan, 187 Nationals from Several Countries Arrive in Jeddah    SPA Documents Thajjud Prayer at Prophet's Mosque in Madinah    SFDA Recommends to Test Blood Sugar at Home Two or Three Hours after Meals    SFDA Offers Various Recommendations for Safe Food Frying    SFDA Provides Five Tips for Using Home Blood Pressure Monitor    SFDA: Instant Soup Contains Large Amounts of Salt    Mawani: New shipping service to connect Jubail Commercial Port to 11 global ports    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Delivers Speech to Pilgrims, Citizens, Residents and Muslims around the World    Sheikh Al-Issa in Arafah's Sermon: Allaah Blessed You by Making It Easy for You to Carry out This Obligation. Thus, Ensure Following the Guidance of Your Prophet    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques addresses citizens and all Muslims on the occasion of the Holy month of Ramadan    







Thank you for reporting!
This image will be automatically disabled when it gets reported by several people.



Baltimore mayor calls for federal investigation into police
Published in The Saudi Gazette on 07 - 05 - 2015

BALTIMORE — The mayor called on US government investigators on Wednesday to look into whether this city's beleaguered police department uses a pattern of excessive force or discriminatory policing.
Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake said even though complaints of excessive force and lawsuits alleging misconduct are down over the last few years, “we all know that Baltimore continues to have a fractured relationship between the police and the community.”
The mayor's request came a day after new Attorney General Loretta Lynch visited the city and pledged to improve the police department, telling faith and community leaders “we're here to hold your hands and provide support.”
Justice Department spokeswoman Dena Iverson said in a statement that Lynch had received the mayor's request and “is actively considering that option in light of what she heard from law enforcement, city officials, and community, faith and youth leaders.”
Baltimore saw days of unrest after Freddie Gray, a black man, was taken into custody and suffered critical injuries. He died a week later. Protesters threw bottles and bricks at police during a riot on April 27, injuring nearly 100 officers. More than 200 people were arrested as cars and businesses burned.
A Baltimore Police Department spokesman had no immediate response to the mayor's request. An email and text message was not immediately returned.
The mayor also said officers would have body cameras by the end of the year.
The Justice Department is already investigating whether Gray's civil rights were violated, and six officers face charges in the arrest and death, ranging from assault to second-degree murder.
The new investigation the mayor called for is similar to one was done in Ferguson, Missouri, following the shooting of an unarmed, black 18-year-old man by a white police officer.
Such wide-ranging investigations look for patterns of discrimination within a police department. They can examine how officers use force and search and arrest suspects.
Baltimore City Council President Jack Young has been calling for such an investigation since October, his spokesman Lester Davis said.
“The only way we're going to get the kind of lasting and meaningful reforms that are going to produce results is through a full-scale civil-rights investigation,” Davis said.
At the time the Ferguson inquiry was announced in September, it was described as part of a broader Justice Department effort to investigate troubled police departments and, when pervasive problems are found, direct changes to be made. The department said then it has investigated 20 police departments for a variety of systemic misconduct in the past five years, more than twice the number of cases opened in the previous five years.
The investigations can sometimes result in a settlement known as a consent decree, in which the department agrees to make specific changes, and an outside monitor is appointed to make sure the police force complies with the agreement.
The Justice Department reached a court-supervised agreement in 2012 with the New Orleans Police Department that required the agency to overhaul its policies and procedures for use of force, training, interrogations, searches and arrests, recruitment and supervision. In April, it issued a harshly critical report of the police department in Albuquerque, New Mexico, that faulted the agency for a pattern of excessive force and called for an overhaul of its internal affairs unit. — AP


Clic here to read the story from its source.