Baltimore residents call on judge to approve police reforms decree

By Donna Owens

BALTIMORE (Reuters) - Dozens of Baltimore residents said on Thursday the city's police department needs the reforms negotiated under a proposed consent decree with the U.S. Department of Justice because they fear more incidents like the 2015 death of a black man while in police custody.

About 50 citizens and members of civil rights groups gathered in a downtown U.S. District courtroom to urge Judge James Bredar to approve the agreement.

Attorney General Jeff Sessions has ordered a review of all federal reform agreements with police departments across the United States, which has alarmed civil rights advocates who fear the administration of President Donald Trump will pull back on efforts to stop police abuses.

Thursday's hearing was to allow the public to voice opinions on the decree before the judge finalizes it. Bredar on Wednesday rejected a request by Justice officials to delay the hearing.

"For decades we've dealt with a militarized police force, who have done racial profiling, committed brutality and every level of disrespect," West Baltimore resident Ray Kelly told the judge. Kelly is a community organizer with the No Boundaries Coalition.

"This decree will bring much needed federal oversight," he said during the somber, four-hour hearing. "It's time."

The proposed consent decree was hammered out between Baltimore officials and the Justice Department in the final days of former President Barack Obama's administration after a federal investigation found widespread constitutional violations within the city's police department, particularly in the way police treated minorities.

That investigation was launched after the death of Freddie Gray, a black man who was fatally injured while being transported in a police van in April 2015.

Baltimore city and police officials support the proposed agreement, while the National Fraternal Order of Police said Justice officials needed more time to review it.

John Gore, deputy assistant attorney general in the Justice Department's Civil Rights division, said on Thursday that Sessions had "some grave concerns" about the Baltimore agreement, but he did not elaborate.

Several women, all African American, spoke in court about past abuses by city police involving their families and called on Bredar to approve the settlement.

“Where is his justice?” asked an emotional Marcella Hill, holding a photo of her 31-year-old son Maurice, whom she said was shot by police inside their home in 2012.

(Reporting by Donna Owens; Editing by Ben Klayman, Toni Reinhold)

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