Moving Forward With Private Police Plans, Johns Hopkins Hires Former Police Commissioner As Public Safety VP
BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- Johns Hopkins is moving forward with plans to create its own police force.
The university just hired Granville Bard Jr. as vice president for public safety. Bard is currently the police commissioner of Cambridge, Massachusetts, home to institutions like Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Hopkins said in a statement that Bard "earned a reputation as a vocal advocate for social justice, racial equity, and police reform."
Starting next month, he will oversee all security operations at the university as well as Hopkins Medicine campuses and other facilities worldwide.
Bard will play a key role in developing the Hopkins Police Department. Plans for this have been in the works for more than a year, but they were halted after nationwide protests over police brutality.