Van Hollen, Baltimore Delegation Statement on Appointment of Consent Decree Monitor Team

Today, U.S. Senator Chris Van Hollen joined U.S. Senator Ben Cardin and Congressmen Elijah Cummings, Dutch Ruppersberger, and John Sarbanes (all D-MD) in issuing the following statement after Judge James Bredar issued an order yesterday appointing the consent decree independent monitor team jointly recommended by the City of Baltimore, the Baltimore City Police Department (BDP), and the Department of Justice (DOJ):

"We commend the City of Baltimore, BPD, and DOJ for coming together to advance the consent decree process with yesterday's official appointment of the independent monitor team, led by Monitor Kenneth Thompson and Principal Deputy Monitor Charles Ramsey."

"The appointment is an important milestone in the ongoing consent decree process. The reforms that the monitor team will oversee represent much-needed change for the city. As we have said before, we hope these reforms will make BPD a model for the nation."

"The monitor team will produce a first-year plan in the next 90 days, which will lay out concrete steps to ensure the reform process produces effective results. We look forward to seeing this plan and stand ready to advocate for any needed federal assistance to help the process bring positive change to the City of Baltimore."