The number of incidents in which Baltimore City Police used force against people they’ve interacted with dropped 55% in the years following the police-involved death of handcuffed detainee Freddie Gray in 2015, a new report by a multi-jurisdictional panel found, the Baltimore Sun reports.

Gray died after being handcuffed in the back of a police van and being taken on a “rough ride” where the driver allegedly intentionally drove unsafely to throw the detainee in the back around, a way to punish a person without officers laying hands on him.  Gray was detained after being chased by police on suspicion that he did something wrong because he fled police; police had no other probable cause to accost Gray, whom family and friends say had had numerous negative contacts with police harassing people on the street.  Gray’s death sparked sometimes violent protests in the city, and was an early incident that culminated in the Black Lives Matter movement in 2020.

Baltimore City leaders entered into a consent decree with the Department of Justice in 2017, allowing the DOJ to review, oversee and recommend changes to the Baltimore Police Department.  Scores of officers in BPD retired or resigned after the decree was signed because they were fearful of inquiries into their behavior, attitudes and actions.  The DOJ and other parties recommended significantly changes to department training, education and policies.  The program was fully implemented by the end of 2020. 

The Baltimore Consent Decree Monitoring Team, comprised of representatives of the city and state governments as well as the US Department of Justice noted that police use-of-force incidents dropped from 1,525 in 2018 to 691 in 2021, a 55% decrease.  Over that same period, Baltimore’s crime rate remained steady, though higher than the national average.

The report noted that reduced use of force did not result in an increase in the number of assaults against police officers; data show significantly fewer injuries to police and the people they interact with.  Police were trained in de-escalation methods, recognition of mental health issues, and proper use of non-lethal equipment at their disposal.

There are still problems:  police are still involved in isolated incidents where they deployed questionable use of force, but the number of incidents that elicited complaints from civilians or other officers dropped significantly, with 2020 having the lowest number of such complaints in a decade.  Force was also disproportionately used against Black males, the report says, although police are more likely to use methods other than deadly force to alleviate situations.