In light of charges announces against six Baltimore police officers involved in the death of 25-year-old Freddie Gray, the city said that it will pay a local law firm $50,000 to better train police officers on how to legally stop people they encounter.
The contract, awarded by the Board of Estimates, will be funded through a federal grant.
Warnken LLC, headed by University of Baltimore law professor Byron Warnken, was selected by the Baltimore state’s attorney’s office. The contract lasts from May 6 to June 30.
Warnken said he created a 130-page document to train more than 300 police officers. He will train the officers in three sessions: “Cars, Cops & Stops,” “Seeking, Obtaining, and Executing Arrest Warrants and Search Warrants,” and “Preparing for and Presenting Police Testimony in Court.”
Warnken said he was approached by city officials to do the training before the national outcry over the death of Freddie Gray.
“Maryland law holds that running in the sight of police is not enough for probable cause,” he told the Baltimore Sun. Police say Gray “fled unprovoked” from officers, and that is why they chased and detained him.
Officers will be selected at random to go through the 12-hour training program.
According to Rochelle Ritchie, a spokeswoman for State’s Attorney Marilyn J. Mosby’s office, the training is designed to “improve case outcomes.”
“Training has been a top priority of this administration and has been in the works since State’s Attorney Mosby took office,” Ritchie said.
