The Baltimore Police Department has agreed to hire a consultant to monitor its internal disciplinary process for the next three years under the terms of a multimillion-dollar settlement in a lawsuit that alleged institutional race discrimination.
Word of the settlement came Monday, as police announced that they had dismissed internal charges against about 40 officers accused of wrongdoing as a result of an unrelated audit. The move returns those officers to the streets, continuing the fallout from the April firing of the department's in-house prosecutor, whom the police union has accused of manipulating documents.
Although the developments were separate, observers say they both relate to claims of unequal treatment of officers, for racial and political reasons.
Police officials said both moves will address concerns about the agency's internal processes and will help the department move forward. But critics say Monday's news shows that the department continues to struggle to police itself despite several previous attempts at reform.
The lawsuit settlement, which must first be approved by the Board of Estimates this week, will cost taxpayers about $4.5 million, including a $2.5 million total payout to 15 plaintiffs who contend that black officers were punished more harshly than their white counterparts. The suit was filed in U.S. District Court in 2004.
"The commissioner is pleased to resolve this five-year-old lawsuit," said Anthony Guglielmi, the Police Department's chief spokesman. "The department strives to provide fair and equal treatment in its disciplinary process, and the measures agreed to within the settlement will provide us with additional tools to ensure all officers receive equal disciplinary treatment."
Peter D. Isakoff, an attorney for the lead plaintiff, Sgt. Louis H. Hopson Jr., declined to comment until the Board of Estimates approves the settlement. The plaintiffs, who unsuccessfully sought class action status for the lawsuit, had accused the department of condoning a hostile workplace, blocking black officers from promotion, levying uneven discipline and retaliating against officers who spoke out against discrimination.
Guglielmi said that under the terms of the settlement, the department will hire an "experienced outside consultant" for three years starting in July 2010 to help the department evaluate disciplinary activity.
