BALTIMORE POLICE DEPARTMENT

OFFICE OF THE POLICE COMMISSIONER

MEDIA RELATIONS SECTION

Kevin Davis
Police Commissioner

T.J. Smith
Director

The Baltimore Police Department is in receipt of the after action review, Lessons Learned
from the 2015 Civil Unrest in Baltimore. This report was completed by the Police
Executive Research Forum (PERF), a nationally recognized law enforcement think tank.
Many of the concerns brought forth in the report are concerns that we observed as well. We
have worked tirelessly to address many of the recommendations that have been proposed in
this report and many of them have been completed.
Some of the recommendations include:

Weaknesses in Planning and Preparation for the Critical Incident in Baltimore

Incident Action Plans (IAPs) and Arrest Policies:
Command roles changing without notice- Commanders in the Baltimore Police
Department have been through Incident Command System (ICS) training. We
found that most, if not all, had not been through this structured training on handling
large scale events with numerous officers and support staff. Since then, most, if not
all, commanders have been through several levels of ICS training. Incident Action
Plans have been used for events since the unrest and the improvement has been
significant.
Command roles have been resolved through the institution of the ICS. Arrest
policies and procedures have been made abundantly clear. The field commanders
now have the autonomy to make decisions about arrest without the need to go
through a bureaucratic process. Plain English language is used to communicate with
officers so there is no confusion within the ranks.
We maintain that arrests are a last resort. These procedures were put to the test on
September 2nd and 10th as protests took place in Baltimore. A combined two people
were arrested over those two incidents which had several hours of peaceful protests.
Two additional protests took place in October. During one of the protest, no arrests
were made. During the second protest officers were forced to make 16 arrests at
approximately 4:00 a.m. after protestors refused to leave City Hall. This was only
after a council hearing was interrupted and City Hall closed for the evening at
approximately 9:00 p.m. Every effort was made to allow protestors to leave
voluntarily. When the final 16 did not comply, arrests had to be made.

New equipment has been issued to include vans, protective gear, shields, and
helmets. Nearly $2,000,000 has been spent on upgraded equipment.

BALTIMORE POLICE DEPARTMENT

OFFICE OF THE POLICE COMMISSIONER
MEDIA RELATIONS SECTION

Mutual Aid agreements with partner law enforcement agencies at the local, state
and federal levels have been solidified and clarified, and we have reviewed
communications procedures to ensure quicker responses and coordination.

A Joint Information Center (JIC) has been established to ensure better

communication with the public, media, and stakeholders. This Center has already
been activiated during the September demonstrations, receiving generally high
marks for enhanced communications.

More than 1,500 officers have received enhanced civil disturbance training and
field force training. The BPD partnered with the Maryland Police Training
Commission and neighboring law enforcement agencies to conduct this training.
This will be an ongoing training

Different Command Posts with clearly defined roles have been identified to avoid
overcrowding and/or unnecessary personnel at critical decision-making locations.

The Baltimore Police Department wishes to thank the Police Executive Research Forum for
its hard work and intelligent observations on ways we can improve following last Aprils
civil unrest. Overall, the report confirmed many of our own critiques and offered valuable
suggestions on ways we can address those issues. We will continue to work towards
ensuring that we are properly prepared for any mobilization in the future.