The Maryland State House in Annapolis.

Corey Templeton / Flickr

Today: Anthony Lamar Smith. Yesterday: Ezell Ford, Jr. The day before that: Jamar Clark.

For the past 32 days, Maryland Del. Julian Ivey has been tweeting out the names and photos of Black people killed by police.

The freshman Democrat representing Prince George’s County wants the Maryland General Assembly to reconvene for a special session to address police brutality. And he’s not alone. On Monday, more than 70 Maryland nonprofits, unions, religious organizations, and municipal governments co-signed an open letter calling for a special session.

The last session ended more than two weeks early when the coronavirus pandemic hit in March.

The open letter calls on the General Assembly to pass five legislative reforms in its next session:

  1. Allow all investigations into police misconduct to be disclosed under the Maryland Public Information Act.
  2. Create statutory limits on the use of force by law enforcement.
  3. Repeal the Law Enforcement Officers’ Bill of Rights, which protects officers from investigation and prosecution.
  4. Make the Baltimore City Police Department an agency of the City of Baltimore rather than the state of Maryland.
  5. Remove law enforcement officers from schools.

“Over the past few weeks, you—our elected leaders—have issued countless statements, social media posts, and other expressions of solidarity with Black Marylanders who have suffered police abuse and our communities who demand justice,” the letter reads. “Now, we ask you to make good on your words.”

Twenty-nine delegates and three state senators–all Democrats–signed the letter, along with dozens of nonprofits and advocacy groups that work in Maryland.

In mid-June, the House of Delegates sent a letter to Gov. Larry Hogan asking he sign an executive order on police reform. He has not yet signed the order nor indicated if he will.

“What so many Marylanders need is a legislative solution,” Ivey, the youngest member of the General Assembly, told the local news site Maryland Matters. “But we have a governor in office who’s not willing to make these reforms.” Ivey wants lawmakers to use the special session to focus on rental assistance and eviction policy during the coronavirus pandemic, as well as police brutality.

Meanwhile, Virginia’s legislature has plans to convene for a special session on police brutality, among other topics, on Aug. 18. In a statement, Gov. Ralph Northam’s administration said it wants to push for legislation around police accountability, use of force, training programs and recruitment, hiring, and decertification processes.
Filed Under: Governor Hogan, Maryland, police brutality,