The Civilian Review Board of Baltimore City is established to provide a permanent, statutory agency in Baltimore City through which
(a) Complaints lodged by members of the public regarding abusive language, harassment, or excessive force by police officers of the Department shall be processed, investigated under Section 16-46 of the Public Local Laws of Baltimore City, and evaluated; and
(b) Department policies may be reviewed.
As used herein the following terms shall have the meanings specified.
Board - "Board" shall
mean the Civilian Review Board of Baltimore City.
Chair - "Chair" shall
mean the chair of the Civilian Review Board chosen by a majority vote of the members
of the Board.
Complainant - "Complainant" shall mean the person who
filed the complaint with the Board pursuant to Section 16-44 of the Code of Public
Local Laws of Baltimore City Laws of Baltimore City.
Respondent - "Respondent"
shall mean the officer against whom the charges in the complaint have been made.
Inquiry Panel - "Inquiry Panel" shall mean the panel of Board members
charged with conducting an inquiry or other proceeding involving a complaint.
Sustain - "Sustain" shall mean that the allegation is supported by
sufficient evidence.
Not Sustain - "Not Sustain" shall mean that there
is insufficient evidence either to prove or disprove the allegation.
Exonerate - "Exonerate" shall mean that the incident complained about occurred but the actions
of the officer were lawful and proper.
The Rules and Regulations contained herein govern proceedings brought pursuant to the Code of Public Local Laws of Baltimore City, Sections 16-41 through 16-54., as amended from time to time.
Except for the filing of the initial complaint, all documents filed with the Board shall be filed at the office of the Community Relations Commission, unless otherwise instructed.
(a) Except for the initial complaint, all documents filed with the Board shall contain a caption setting forth the Docket Number of the case as assigned by the Secretary, the name of the Complainant and the Respondent and a brief descriptive title of the nature of the document.
(b) Every document of a party represented by an attorney shall be signed by that attorney who shall be an attorney admitted to practice law in the State of Maryland. The signature of the attorney constitutes a certification that the attorney has read the document; that to the best of his/her knowledge, information and belief , there is good grounds to support it; and that is not interposed for delay. Every document of a party that is not represented by an attorney shall be signed by the party. If a document is not signed as required or is signed with intent to defeat the purpose the Civilian Review Board, it may be stricken and the action may proceed as though the document had not been filed.
(c) All documents filed, except for the initial complaint, shall be served on the opposing party by first class mail or hand delivery and shall be accompanied by a signed certificate of service or letter showing the date and manner of service and the name of the person who mailed or delivered the documents. If a party is represented by an attorney, service shall be made upon the attorney and the party. If the party can not be located service on the attorney is sufficient.
All complaints must be filed in the manner prescribed in Section 16-44 of the Public Local Laws of Baltimore City.
The Secretary of the Board shall assign a consecutive number to each complaint, and within 48 hours, shall send a copy to each member of the Board. The Secretary shall also maintain on file a record of each complaint.
(a) The Board shall review all complaints alleging police misconduct within its jurisdiction as defined in the Code of Public Local Laws for Baltimore City Section 16-42(a)(1).
(b) At the next scheduled meeting of the Board after receipt of a complaint, the Board as a whole will review all complaints received and recommend one of the following courses of action on a case-by-case basis: i. The Board will not conduct its own investigation and will await receipt of the IID investigation; ii. The Board will conduct an investigation simultaneously with IID and report its findings to IID pursuant to the Code of Public Local Laws of Baltimore City, Section 16-46(a)(2); iii. The Board will dismiss the complaint because it does not lie within the jurisdiction of the Board pursuant to Section 16-42(b).
(c) If the Board determines that any person knowingly made a false statement, report or complaint in the course of an investigation by the Internal Investigations Division or the Board, it shall be reported to the State's Attorney's Office and the person may be subject to prosecution pursuant to Section 16-47 of the Code of Public Local Laws of Baltimore City.
The Internal Affairs Division of the Baltimore City Police Department shall make a comprehensive investigation of each complaint and submit its report to the Board within 90 days of its receipt of the complaint. The Board may extend the deadline for the good cause. 3-02.
The Board may elect to investigate a complaint simultaneously with the Internal Affairs Division and report its findings to the Internal Investigations Division within 90 days from the receipt of the complaint.
The Board may, by majority vote, elect to convene an Inquiry Panel regarding a complaint.
An Inquiry Panel shall consist of three Board members. They shall choose one of the Panelists to be Chairperson. The members of a Panel shall be chosen by the Chairperson of the Civilian Review Board and composition of an Inquiry Panel shall rotate among the Board members so that all Board members serve equally. The same three members shall not serve together on consecutive Inquiry Panels. Board members who are not serving on an Inquiry Panel may submit questions for members of the Panel to ask at the Inquiry Panel meeting.
All parties shall be given 15 days notice of the date, time and location of any meeting of an Inquiry Panel.
(a) The Complainant and the Respondent may each submit a witness list to the Board at least 10 days before the Panel meeting. The Board shell forward each party's witness list to the opposing party.
(b) The Respondent or the Respondent's representative shall have the right to question witnesses who appear before the Inquiry Panel. The Complainant or the Complainant's representative shall have the right to question the witnesses who appear before the Panel. Complainant's representative shall be limited to an attorney representing the Complainant or the guardian of a minor or disabled Complainant.
(c) Witnesses shall be questioned by the Panel, Respondent and Complainant in an order deemed appropriate by the Panel.
(d) Witnesses may not be in the room during the testimony of other witnesses.
(e) The Chairperson or the Secretary of the Board may administer oaths in connection with any proceeding and shall preside over any Panel meeting.
(f) All Panel meetings shall be recorded.
The following shall be the order of all Panel meetings, subject to modification by the Chair for good cause:
(a)
Opening Statements by Complainant then Respondent;
(b) Complainant's Witnesses;
(c) Respondent's Witnesses;
(d) Complainant's Closing Statement;
(e)
Respondent's Closing Statement; and
(f) Complainant's Rebuttal
The Panel may for good cause noted on the record, and after a warning, bar a person, including a party or an attorney or other representatives of a party, from continued participation in a Panel meeting where such person refuses to comply with the Panel's directions or behaves in a disorderly, dilatory or obstructionist manner. The Chair of a Panel may place time limits on any questioning of witnesses or opening or closing statements.
Relevant, material and reliable evidence shall be allowed without regard to technical or formal rules or laws of evidence applicable to the court of the State of Maryland. Irrelevant, immaterial or unduly repetitious evidence shall be excluded.
As required by Section 16-52(a) of the Code of Public Local Laws of Baltimore City, All meetings of the Board or an Inquiry Panel that involve the discussion of details of a Complaint shall be closed to protect the identity of the Complainant. Article 6 - Board Recommendations.
On review of the Report of the Internal Investigations Division and the Board's investigative report, if any, and any evidence presented at an Inquiry Panel, the Board shall recommend to the Commissioner, after a majority vote of the Board, one of the following actions:
(a) Sustain the complaint and recommend the appropriate disciplinary action against the police officer;
(b) Not sustain the complaint;
(c) Exonerate the police officer; or
(d) Request further investigation by the Internal Investigation Division.
The Board shall submit a statement of its findings and recommendations to the commissioner with in 30 days of receipt of the Internal Investigations Division Report.
If the Board fails to reach a consensus, by majority vote of the Board, that fact shall be reported to the Commissioner.