EXPLANATION: CAPITALS INDICATE MAT TER ADDED TO EXISTIN G LAW.
[Brackets] indicate matter deleted from existing law.
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SENATE BILL 441
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By: Senator Carter
Introduced and read first time: January 26, 2022
Assigned to: Judicial Proceedings
A BILL ENTITLED
AN ACT concerning 1
Baltimore City – Civilian Review Board 2
FOR the purpose of altering the powers and duties of the Baltimore City Civilian Review 3
Board; authorizing the Baltimore City Civilian Review Board to function as a police 4
accountability board; and generally relating to the Baltimore City Civilian Review 5
Board. 6
BY repealing and reenacting, with amendments, 7
The Public Local Laws of Baltimore City 8
Section 16–42, 16–44, and 16–46 9
Article 4 – Public Local Laws of Maryland 10
(1979 Edition and 1997 Supplement and 2000 Supplement, as amended) 11
(As enacted by Chapter 499 of the Acts of the General Assembly of 2006) 12
BY repealing and reenacting, with amendments, 13
The Public Local Laws of Baltimore City 14
Section 16–43(f), 16–48, and 16–52 15
Article 4 – Public Local Laws of Maryland 16
(1979 Edition and 1997 Supplement and 2000 Supplement, as amended) 17
BY repealing and reenacting, with amendments, 18
Article – Public Safety 19
Section 3–102 20
Annotated Code of Maryland 21
(2018 Replacement Volume and 2021 Supplement) 22
(As enacted by Chapter 59 of the Acts of the General Assembly of 2021) 23
SECTION 1. BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF MARYLAND, 24
That the Laws of Maryland read as follows: 25
Article 4 – Baltimore City 26 2 SENATE BILL 441
16–42. 1
(a) The Civilian Review Board of Baltimore City is established to provide a 2
permanent, statutory agency in Baltimore City through which: 3
(1) complaints lodged by members of the public regarding [abusive 4
language, false arrest, false imprisonment, harassment, or excessive force] MISCONDUCT 5
by police officers of a law enforcement unit shall be processed, investigated under § 16–46 6
of this subheading, and evaluated; and 7
(2) policies of a law enforcement unit may be reviewed. 8
(b) Jurisdiction of the Board shall extend [only to complaints against police 9
officers with respect to abusive language, false arrest, false imprisonment, harassment, and 10
use of excessive force as defined in § 16–41 of this subheading and by the law enforcement 11
unit’s rules and regulations] TO ALL COMPLAINTS MADE BY ME MBERS OF THE PUBLIC 12
REGARDING MISCONDUCT BY POLICE OFFICERS . 13
(C) THE BOARD MAY FUNCTION AS A POLICE ACCOUNTABIL ITY BOARD AS 14
DESCRIBED IN § 3–102 OF THE PUBLIC SAFETY ARTICLE OF THE ANNOTATED CODE 15
OF MARYLAND. 16
[(c)] (D) A law enforcement unit shall place posters in all law enforcement unit 17
stations and elsewhere throughout the City to explain the procedure for filing a complaint. 18
[(d)] (E) An explanation of the Board’s complaint procedures shall be made to all 19
police officers in a general order to be included in the manual of rules and procedures of a 20
law enforcement unit, and shall be included in the training program for new police officers. 21
[(e)] (F) Each member of the Board shall receive training on the issues of 22
abusive language, false arrest, false imprisonment, harassment, and excessive force. 23
16–43. 24
(f) (1) (I) [The Mayor of Baltimore City shall assign staff to the Board for 25
the periodic meetings of the Board from the Office of the City Solicitor and the Community 26
Relations Commission] THE BOARD SHALL HIRE STAF F TO CARRY OUT ITS 27
FUNCTIONS. 28
(II) AN EMPLOYEE OR A MEMB ER OF BALTIMORE CITY 29
GOVERNMENT WHO IS NO T A MEMBER OF THE BOARD MAY NOT CONTROL A HIRING 30
DECISION UNDER THIS PARAGRAPH . 31
(2) Baltimore City may hire an independent administrator to serve the 32 SENATE BILL 441 3
Board. 1
16–44. 2
(a) An individual who claims to have been subjected to or witnessed an act of 3
[abusive language, false arrest, false imprisonment, harassment, or excessive force, or 4
injury allegedly resulting from excessive force caused by a police officer,] MISCONDUCT BY 5
A POLICE OFFICER may file a complaint at the Office of the Internal Investigative 6
Division, the Legal Aid Bureau, the Maryland Human Relations Commission, the 7
Baltimore Community Relations Commission, or at any of the police district stations. 8
(b) [(1) Except as provided in paragraph (2) of this subsection, a complaint shall 9
be made within 1 year of the action giving rise to the complaint. 10
(2) A complaint for excessive force shall be made within 90 days of the 11
alleged act of excessive force. 12
(c) (1) (i) The complaint shall be reduced to writing on a form authorized 13
by the Board, signed by the complainant, and witnessed by a notary public. 14
(ii) In addition to the requirements of subparagraph (i) of this 15
paragraph, a complaint for excessive force shall be sworn to by the complainant. 16
(2)] The complaint shall include: 17
[(i)] (1) the name of the complainant; 18
[(ii)] (2) if known, the name of the police officer allegedly involved; 19
[(iii)] (3) the date, time, and place of the alleged misconduct; 20
[(iv)] (4) the circumstances of the alleged misconduct; and 21
[(v)] (5) an explanation of the alleged misconduct that is deemed 22
to be wrongful. 23
[(d)] (C) One copy of the completed form shall be retained by the recipient of the 24
complaint and a copy given to the complainant. A copy shall be sent within 48 hours to the 25
Internal Investigative Division and the Secretary of the Board. 26
[(e)] (D) The Secretary of the Board shall assign a consecutive number to each 27
complaint, and within 48 hours, shall send a copy to each member of the Board. The 28
Secretary shall also maintain on file a record of each complaint. 29
16–46. 30
4 SENATE BILL 441
(a) (1) The Board shall review all complaints alleging police misconduct 1
described in § 16–42(a)(1) of this subheading. 2
(2) The Board may investigate, simultaneously with the Internal 3
Investigative Division AND THE ADMINISTRATI VE CHARGING COMMITTE E 4
ESTABLISHED UNDER § 3–104 OF THE PUBLIC SAFETY ARTICLE OF THE 5
ANNOTATED CODE OF MARYLAND, each complaint it deems appropriate and report its 6
findings to the Internal Investigative Division AND ADMINISTRATIVE C HARGING 7
COMMITTEE . 8
(b) (1) The Board may issue a subpoena, signed by the Chairman of the Board, 9
to compel: 10
(i) the attendance and testimony of a witness other than the accused 11
officer; and 12
(ii) the production of any book, record, or other document. 13
(2) If a person fails to comply with a subpoena issued under this subsection, 14
on petition of the Board, a court of competent jurisdiction may compel compliance with the 15
subpoena. 16
(3) A police officer may submit a witness list to the Board 10 days or more 17
before the Board takes testimony. 18
(4) The Chairman or the Secretary of the Board may administer oaths in 19
connection with any proceeding of the Board. 20
(5) The police officer or the police officer’s representative shall have the 21
right to question witnesses who testify about the complaint. 22
(6) All witness testimony shall be recorded. 23
(c) (1) The Board shall review the Internal Investigative Division’s Report. 24
(2) On review of the Internal Investigative Division Report and the Board’s 25
investigative report, if any, of each case, the Board shall recommend to the head of the 26
appropriate law enforcement unit AND THE ADMINISTRATI VE CHARGING COMMITTE E 27
one of the following actions: 28
(i) sustain the complaint and may recommend the appropriate 29
disciplinary action against the police officer; 30
(ii) not sustain the complaint; 31
(iii) exonerate the police officer; 32 SENATE BILL 441 5
(iv) find that the complaint is unfounded; or 1
(v) require further investigation by the Internal Investigative 2
Division. 3
(d) The Board shall submit a statement of its findings and recommendations to 4
the head of the appropriate law enforcement unit AND THE ADMINISTRATI VE CHARGING 5
COMMITTEE within 30 days of receipt of the Internal Investigative Division Report. 6
16–48. 7
[(a)] The [head of the appropriate law enforcement unit] ADMINISTRATIVE 8
CHARGING COMMITTEE has final decision–making responsibility for the appropriate 9
disciplinary action in each case, but the [head of the law enforcement unit ] 10
ADMINISTRATIVE CHARG ING COMMITTEE may not take final action until after 11
reviewing the recommendation of the Board under § 16–46(c)(2) of this subheading. 12
[(b) If a complaint is not sustained or the police officer is exonerated, on written 13
request by the police officer sent to the Board, the Board shall expunge all records of the 14
complaint.] 15
16–52. 16
(a) Records containing the names or identification of complainants, investigators, 17
and witnesses may not be disclosed or released to the public. 18
(b) (1) The Internal Investigative Division shall retain sole custody of an 19
Internal Investigative Division Report. 20
(2) Except for an Internal Investigative Division Report, the Board shall be 21
the custodian of all records of a proceeding for a complaint under this subheading, including 22
personal notes, audio recordings, memoranda, letters, and forms resulting from a complaint 23
and proceedings before the Board involving the complaint. 24
(C) THE BOARD SHALL MAKE PUBL IC ANY RECORD NOT OT HERWISE 25
PROHIBITED FROM DISC LOSURE UNDER STATE LAW. 26
Article – Public Safety 27
3–102. 28
(a) Each county shall have a police accountability board to: 29
(1) hold quarterly meetings with heads of law enforcement agencies and 30
otherwise work with law enforcement agencies and the county government to improve 31 6 SENATE BILL 441
matters of policing; 1
(2) appoint civilian members to charging committees and trial boards; 2
(3) receive complaints of police misconduct filed by members of the public; 3
and 4
(4) (i) on a quarterly basis, review outcomes of disciplinary matters 5
considered by charging committees; and 6
(ii) on or before December 31 each year, submit a report to the 7
governing body of the county that: 8
1. identifies any trends in the disciplinary process of police 9
officers in the county; and 10
2. makes recommendations on changes to policy that would 11
improve police accountability in the county. 12
(b) (1) (i) Subject to subparagraph (ii) of this paragraph, the local 13
governing body shall: 14
1. establish the membership of a police accountability board; 15
2. establish the budget and staff for a police accountability 16
board; 17
3. appoint a chair of the police accountability board who has 18
relevant experience to the position; and 19
4. establish the procedures for record keeping by a police 20
accountability board. 21
(ii) An active police officer may not be a member of a police 22
accountability board. 23
(2) To the extent practicable, the membership of a police accountability 24
board shall reflect the racial, gender, and cultural diversity of the county. 25
(c) (1) A complaint of police misconduct filed with a police accountability board 26
shall include: 27
(i) the name of the police officer accused of misconduct; 28
(ii) a description of the facts on which the complaint is based; and 29
(iii) contact information of the complainant or a person filing on 30 SENATE BILL 441 7
behalf of the complainant for investigative follow–up. 1
(2) A complaint need not be notarized. 2
(d) A complaint of police misconduct filed with a police accountability board shall 3
be forwarded to the appropriate law enforcement agency within 3 days after receipt by the 4
board. 5
(E) (1) THIS SUBSECTION APPLI ES IN BALTIMORE CITY. 6
(2) THE BALTIMORE CITY CIVILIAN REVIEW BOARD MAY FUNCTION 7
AS THE POLICE ACCOUN TABILITY BOARD FOR BALTIMORE CITY. 8
(3) NOTWITHSTANDING ANY P ROVISION OF THIS SEC TION, THE 9
PUBLIC LOCAL LAWS OF BALTIMORE CITY SHALL GOVERN THE POWERS AND 10
DUTIES OF THE BALTIMORE CITY CIVILIAN REVIEW BOARD AND THE MEMBERS HIP 11
OF THE BOARD SHALL BE DETERM INED IN ACCORDANCE W ITH § 16–43 OF THE 12
PUBLIC LOCAL LAWS OF BALTIMORE CITY. 13
(4) THE BALTIMORE CITY CIVILIAN REVIEW BOARD MAY SUE AND BE 14
SUED, AND MAY HIRE OR CONT RACT FOR LEGAL REPRE SENTATION. 15
(5) (I) THE ANNUAL BUDGET FOR BALTIMORE CITY SHALL 16
INCLUDE AN APPROPRIA TION TO FUND THE BALTIMORE CITY CIVILIAN REVIEW 17
BOARD THAT IS NOT LES S THAN 2% OF THE TOTAL BUDGET OF THE BALTIMORE 18
CITY POLICE DEPARTMENT . 19
(II) THE BALTIMORE CITY CIVILIAN REVIEW BOARD MAY USE 20
THE FUNDS DESCRIBED IN SUBPARAGRAPH (I) OF THIS PARAGRAPH FO R: 21
1. EMPLOYING STAFF AND INVESTIGATORS ; 22
2. HIRING OR CONTRACTIN G FOR LEGAL COUNSEL ; AND 23
3. ANY OTHER EXPENDITURE AP PROVED BY A QUORUM 24
OF THE BALTIMORE CITY CIVILIAN REVIEW BOARD. 25
SECTION 2. AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED, That this Act shall take effect July 26
1, 2022, the effective date of Chapter 59 of the Acts of the General Assembly of 2021. If the 27
effective date of Chapter 59 is amended, this Act shall take effect on the taking effect of 28
Chapter 59. 29