Lawmakers could give Maryland attorney general the power to make charging decisions in police killings

When the state attorney general’s Independent Investigations Division wrapped up its investigation of last February’s police killing of Donnell Rochester, investigators handed the findings and legal analysis over to local Baltimore prosecutors. It was up to the local state’s attorney’s office to decide whether the officers should face charges. Earlier this month, State’s Attorney Ivan Bates issued his decision — the officers’ use of force was justified under the circumstances — despite the attorney general’s investigative unit’s finding that criminal charges could be possible, particularly because of the fatal fourth shot from an officer who ran into the path of Rochester’s moving vehicle.