The Indian-origin head of the civil rights division of the US Justice Department has strongly criticised the police in Baltimore city for its "severe and unjustified disparities" in using excessive force and stopping, searching and arresting African-Americans.
Vanita Gupta, 40, who was previously a top lawyer from American Civil Liberties Union, led the Justice Department's investigation into the Baltimore police department (BPD) after riots erupted in the city over the police-involved death of a 25-year-old black man named Freddie Gray.
Gupta said the 163-page report concludes that "there is reasonable cause to believe that BPD engages in a pattern or practice of conduct that violates the Constitution and federal anti-discrimination law".
The report found that the police department engages in a pattern and practice of making "unconstitutional" stops, searches, and arrests, "using enforcement strategies that produce severe and unjustified disparities in the rates of stops, searches, and arrests of African Americans, using excessive force; and retaliating against people engaging in constitutionally-protected expression".
"The pattern or practice we found results from long-standing, systemic deficiencies at BPD. The agency fails to provide officers with sufficient policy guidance and training; fails to collect and analyse data regarding officers' activities; and fails to hold officers accountable for misconduct," she said.
Gupta also criticised the department for its pattern and practice of excessive force, saying officers frequently resort to physical force when a person does not immediately respond to verbal commands, even where the person poses no imminent threat to the officer or others.
"Officers also end up in unnecessarily violent confrontations with people with mental health disabilities. We have seen in communities throughout the country that improved policies and enhanced training on de-escalation and dealing with people in crisis can enhance officer safety and reduce the need for force," she said.
Tensions have been rising between police and residents across several US cities following incidents of black men being killed by police.
Prior to joining the department, Gupta served as Deputy Legal Director of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and Director of its Center for Justice. Previously, she was an attorney for its Racial Justice Program.
Over her career, Gupta has earned a reputation for working closely and collaboratively with law enforcement, departments of corrections and across the political spectrum to advance smart policing and criminal justice reforms.
Gupta began her career as a lawyer with the National Association for the Advancement of Coloured People (NAACP) Legal Defence and Educational Fund.
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