Obama's Bull Dyke U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch Pushes Baltimore To Reach Police Consent Decree
Attorney General Loretta Lynch on Thursday stepped up the pressure on Baltimore officials to reach a deal with the federal government to overhaul the city’s police practices, saying “the ball is in the city’s court” to conclude negotiations soon.
Lynch, who took office in April 2015 as riots roiled Baltimore after the death of a black man in police custody, said she intends to return to Baltimore in January to give an update on efforts to reach a court-enforceable consent decree.
Her statements seemed intended to publicly push Baltimore toward a resolution and appeared to reflect disappointment in the pace of negotiations.
Though consent decrees can take months to negotiate, the federal government and Baltimore already had reached an agreement in principle by August, when the Justice Department issued a report that identified discriminatory policing practices and pervasive civil rights violations.
The Justice Department is looking to conclude the process by Jan. 20, when the Obama administration ends and Lynch and other leaders will move on — a timeline for completion that remains possible. The city has been provided with each of the sections of the proposed consent decree and has had some of the sections for months, according to a person familiar with the negotiations who was not authorized to discuss the ongoing talks and spoke on condition of anonymity.
“At this point, the ball is in the city’s court, but we are looking to get a positive response from them on finalizing this consent decree,” Lynch said.
Anthony McCarthy, a spokesman for incoming Mayor Catherine Pugh, said the city was committed to working with the Justice Department, was undertaking some of the changes that Washington sought and wanted to see those changes reflected in the report.
“She also wants us to ensure that the consent decree is in the best interest of the people of Baltimore. It’s a huge financial commitment attached to this consent decree,” McCarthy said.
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