Death Of Freddie Gray Puts New Scrutiny On How Inmates Are Transported
BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- Demanding change. Following the arrest and death of Freddie Gray, there is a new push to look into how suspects are transported in the city.
WJZ Investigator Mike Hellgren takes a look at the possible changes.
The bottom line: vans are rarely used to take those arrested from crime scenes outside of the city. In the county, those that do often have grab handles or straps to hold onto, but no belts to buckle.
The death of Freddie Gray has placed new scrutiny on how inmates are transported. Prosecutors contend Gray suffered the injuries that killed him while in custody and that officers failed to put him in a seat belt, which city police policy requires.
Many say they've been given the "rough ride" treatment before.
"I know to grab the seat belt. I know to hold on," said Reginald Ross.
A review of other Maryland police agencies by WJZ's news partner, The Baltimore Sun, finds many have no seat belts at all inside their vans, including Baltimore County, Harford and Howard counties.
Only one Carroll County van has seat belts.
Anne Arundel County uses a contractor who takes inmates to court in vans without seat belts.
But most jurisdictions almost exclusively use patrol cars to transport inmates from crime scenes. In Baltimore County, the only times vans are used are if the person under arrest becomes violent or is headed to court.
"We do not support seat belts in these vans for officer safety reasons," said Elise Armacost, Baltimore County Police Department. "It can be extremely dangerous to an officer to have to forcibly secure someone in a seat belt if he or she is not cooperating."
While state law mandates rear seat belts, there are exceptions. And under federal law, there are no seat belt mandates.
"It's a very complex mix of state and federal regulations," said Armacost. "We don't believe the law requires us to have seat belts in the prisoner transport van."
Baltimore City Council hearings next month will go beyond seat belts and look at whether vans need cameras or should be scrapped altogether.
"We have to do what we have to do as a city and the City Council to hold our oversight authority over the police department to make sure that they're transporting prisoners in a safe manner," said Brandon Scott, Baltimore City Council.
Councilman Scott says he would consider supporting cameras in vans.
Baltimore County police tell WJZ they believe regulations for transporting inmates are strong, and they have no plans to change them.
The Department of Justice has several investigations into the Baltimore Police Department underway.