A bill that would reform law enforcement in Maryland does not go far enough to hold officers accountable for misconduct and does not allow sufficient oversight by community members, a coalition of more than 95 groups pushing for racial justice says.
The Police Reform and Accountability Act of 2021 (HB 670), sponsored by House Speaker Adrienne Jones (D-Baltimore County) includes several reforms, such as repealing the Law Enforcement Officers’ Bill of Rights (LEOBR), raising the standards for use of force, establishing police accountability boards, and more.
The Maryland Coalition for Justice and Police Accountability said Jones’ bill addresses some of their key demands, including elevating the standards for the use of force and reforming the Maryland Public Information Act to improve the transparency of investigations into police misconduct.
But the coalition said the bill “misses the mark” on streamlining the system to discipline officers, and they said the bill’s provisions for community participation fall short of the “real external community oversight” the state needs.
“We must shift the power over law enforcement into the hands of the community. Anything that doesn’t achieve that is insufficient,” the coalition said in a statement.
Groups making up the coalition include the most significant justice advocates in the state, including the ACLU of Maryland, the Innocence Project, the Maryland State Conference of NAACP Branches, Moms Demand Action, and dozens of others.
The bill would repeal the LEOBR, a 1974 law that places restrictions on investigations and prosecutions of police misconduct. But the coalition said the bill adds more barriers to disciplining police officers, including establishing stricter deadlines and requiring approval from an administrative charging committee to charge officers based on complaints from members of the public, but not for charges that are generated internally.
They added that the bill retains one of the “worst features” of the LEOBR, requiring a trial board to approve any contested discipline of an officer.
“These unnecessary hurdles reinforce the implication that police officers are above the law as they are held to a different standard than every other civil servant and resident,” the coalition said. “The opportunity to have power over the process to discipline police officers that are paid to protect and serve our communities is critical and was central to our coalition’s demands.”
The bill would also create police accountability boards, whose members would meet with police chiefs each quarter, appoint the members of administrative charging committees and trial boards, and receive complaints from members of the public about police misconduct. But the boards would not have the power to take action regarding the complaints they receive, the coalition said.
The coalition includes victims of police brutality and their families, as well as advocates.
Nikki Owens, the cousin of William Green, a Prince George’s County man who was shot and killed while handcuffed by Cpl. Michael A. Owen Jr. in January 2020, called for meaningful change to policing in Maryland.
“There are thousands of family members and loved ones victimized due to police brutality and excessive force, and together we demand real change to the system that has for too long chosen to watch us suffer without justice,” Owens said in a statement. “We need LEOBR repealed and replaced with something better. We need a heightened statewide use of force standard. And we need to make investigations into police misconduct transparent.”
Dayvon Love, the public policy director for Leaders of a Beautiful Struggle, said the bill has some positives but overall it comes up short.
“Racial justice is primarily about giving Black and Brown people the power over the institutions that govern our lives,” Love said in a statement. “It’s about shifting power into the hands of the community. While HB 670 does some good things, it is far from racial justice.”
