Baltimore Police unveil new policies on stopping and searching residents to comply with federal consent decree

Baltimore Police Commissioner Michael Harrison announced Wednesday that the department has implemented a new “stops, searches and arrests” policy as it works to eliminate unconstitutional interactions with the public and comply with a federal consent decree. Harrison said at a morning press conference that the new policy went into affect this week and requires officers to be trained on a variety of matters, including what constitutes “reasonable, articulable suspicion” for an officer to stop a resident. The policy also covers when officers should subject residents to a weapons pat down.