Johns Hopkins University has finalized a memorandum of agreement with the Baltimore City Police Department, the university shared on Friday afternoon. The operating pact comes after several months of public comment often disrupted by protests at the university. It’s the latest step in the process of creating a campus police force that Johns Hopkins University officials and other supporters contend is needed to bolster safety around the university community.
The agreement required under state law was reached over the staunch objections of some faculty, students and neighbors.
It was signed by the city’s police commissioner Michael Harrison and Johns Hopkins University’s vice president for public safety Branville Bard.
The plan for a private armed police force on its three campuses was put on hold for two years after unrest following the 2020 death of Minnesota man George Floyd who died in police custody. The university can now begin formulating policies and procedures to establish the agency.
Its goal is to have police on its three campuses which includes Homewood just north of downtown, Peabody in midtown Baltimore and the East Baltimore hub where its medical school and hospital sits by next fall.
