BALTIMORE – Last week, the Independent Investigations Division within the Maryland Attorney General’s Office declined to pursue charges against Baltimore police in the May shooting death of a 26-year-old armed man, as well as in another case involving Prince George’s County police, who shot and killed a 44-year-old man wielding a knife.
Also last week, an Anne Arundel County judge dismissed charges pursued by the IID against two officers involved in a fatal high-speed crash because of flaws in their case. It was the first prosecution the IID had brought.
Four years after its establishment, the Independent Investigations Division under the Maryland attorney general’s office has recommended relatively few prosecutions against officers, raising questions from one lawmaker about its relevance…