Harrison Calls For Clarification On State's Attorney's List Of 305 Baltimore Officers With Credibility Issues
BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- Baltimore Police Commissioner Michael Harrison is demanding clarification from the Baltimore City State's Attorney's Office after it was ordered to release the names of hundreds of Baltimore Police officers with credibility issues to a local non-profit.
This list of 305 officers was first mentioned by Baltimore City State's Marylin Mosby in 2019. She referenced the list of officers with "integrity issues" in 2019 during testimony before the Maryland Commission To Restore Trust In Policing, a state group tasked with investigating the Baltimore Police Department's Gun Trace Task Force.
Shortly after, a civil rights-focused non-profit that provides legal support called the Baltimore Action Legal Team, also known as BALT, asked Mosby to disclose the list.
When Mosby declined to release the list, saying it is legally protected personnel information, BALT sued. On Wednesday, nearly two and a half years later, a judge ordered Mosby to hand over the list, which was initially referenced as a "do not call list."
Mosby clarified in a statement Thursday that the document released Wednesday is not "a 'credibility list,' nor is it a 'do not call list,'" making it distinct from the "do not call" list posted on her office's website, which includes the names of about 100 officers who lack the credibility to testify.
"The list we released to BALT pursuant to the court order, contains the names of a myriad of officers, some with unsubstantiated allegations of misconduct," she said.
According to the criteria for inclusion for the do not call list, officers can be added if there's "clear and convincing evidence" they committed crimes, made false statements or violated the Fourth Amendment.
Commissioner Harrison said the list put out is inaccurate.
"Many of the members who are apparently on this list are still testifying," he said.
The commissioner said he has asked Mosby to explain how these officers got on the list released this week, and wants to see what can be done to get their names off.
"I want to make sure that we don't tarnish any reputations that shouldn't be tarnished," Harrison said.
But the document released only includes the first and last names of officers, and not the ranks, badge numbers, job assignments, and dates of hire mentioned in BALT's initial request, the organization said in a statement.
"Right now, we don't know who created this list," Baltimore Action Legal Team Executive Director Iman Freeman said. "We don't know what allegations are present to put an officer's name on the list. We don't know anything."
The non-profit said the apparently incomplete list is "one piece of the puzzle" in its fight for transparency, and that it is reviewing the list and will release a statement on its findings.
