Amid pressure from reformers, Baltimore City’s new police accountability board takes shape

Baltimore City officials are in the process of setting up a new state-mandated police accountability board tasked with weighing in on policy discussions and appointing members to a smaller disciplinary committee that will investigate citizen complaints. Applications for the board are due Friday. The city is acting later than other jurisdictions, largely because it was slowed by a prolonged fight in Annapolis that left many criminal justice advocates dissatisfied with how the new oversight group is taking shape. The effort has also been beset by other issues, including a disorganized application process and limited outreach efforts that have drawn only modest interest, a lack of clear details on how the board and its accompanying committee will function, and a sprawling 17-member structure that could prove difficult to organize.