DLA Piper and the Baltimore Community ______213
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THE POLICE DEPARTMENT OF BALTIMORE CITY MONITORING APPLICATION CONTENTS 32. Executive Summary: _____________________________________________________________ 1 33. Scope of Work: ________________________________________________________________ 12 34. Personnel and Current Time Commitments: __________________________________________ 20 35. Qualifications: _________________________________________________________________ 23 36. Prior Experience and References: _________________________________________________ 46 37. Budget: ______________________________________________________________________ 52 38. Collaboration and Cost Effectiveness: ______________________________________________ 53 39. Potential Conflicts of Interest: _____________________________________________________ 54 Appendix A. Proposed Budget _______________________________________________________ 57 Appendix B. Team Biographies _______________________________________________________ 60 Appendix C. DLA Piper and the Baltimore Community ____________________________________ 213 The Police Department of Baltimore City Monitoring Application June 2017 32. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: A brief description of each member of the candidate’s team; relevant experience of the team members; any distinguishing skills or experiences; and a summary of the proposed budget. Our Approach The history of Baltimore reflects the history of the United States. From the Civil War to the fight for civil rights, this City we love has played a pivotal role in the struggles that have shaped our nation. But those struggles in turn have also shaped the challenges we face today. From slavery and segregation to policies of zero tolerance and the war on drugs, the crucial bond of trust between police and the communities they are sworn to serve has been eroded. The law firm of DLA Piper, our principal monitor, Charles P. Scheeler, and a number of the other members of our proposed Team call the Baltimore area our home; many of us, for our entire lives. We would be drawn to serve any city that needed to address problems similar to those identified in the “Investigation of the Baltimore City Police Department” Report (“Report”) issued by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) last year. But for us, Baltimore is different. Baltimore is home. While we are a global law firm today, our deepest roots run through Baltimore. The “Piper” in DLA Piper reflects that our firm grew over the years from the practice of Piper & Marbury, a firm founded in Baltimore in 1952. And Piper & Marbury itself was the result of a merger of two Baltimore firms whose foundings date back to the late 1800s. Thus, we have always had a deep commitment to this community.1 There is so much in the history of this quintessentially American city of which we are proud and that we love. But we are not blind to the serious challenges faced by the City. We have long known what DOJ documented in its Report: that there are “two Baltimores”; that stark contrasts exist in the relationships between the police department and neighborhoods that are predominantly black, on the one hand, and neighborhoods that are majority white on the other; and that these differences are inextricably intertwined with longstanding issues of racism and implicit bias. (Report at 4-5, 18, 20, 72.) For us, the Consent Decree represents a historic opportunity for the Police Department of Baltimore City (BPD) and DOJ to rebuild trust and to engage in a profound cultural change between the police and the citizens they protect. It is not hyperbole to say that this Consent Decree is likely the best chance the City will have in this generation to come together around a common goal of remedying the problems of the “two Baltimores” described in the Report. No one in Baltimore seriously disputes the need for reform within BPD in order to regain that trust. Accordingly, transparent, constructive, and significant reform — with community input, engagement, and accountability at every stage — is imperative to success and central to our philosophy. The trust 1 Our signature pro bono initiative is a project we call Advancing Education’s Promise, in which we assist students and families of Baltimore school communities with their legal needs. Our lawyers also provide mentoring for students in Baltimore and financial support for youth athletics. Appendix C provides a list of pro bono projects and community service initiatives we have undertaken in Baltimore and a list of advocacy organizations that serve Baltimore with which our lawyers are involved. The Police Department of Baltimore City Monitoring Application June 2017 1 of the community is the rock upon which constitutional and effective policing must be built. Recognizing the importance of community relations, the Proposed Monitor Team has already solicited ideas and insights from a variety of advocacy groups, churches, and civic organizations in Baltimore. Inspired in part by those conversations, our Team is committed to convening a network of community liaisons who will meet regularly with our Proposed Monitoring Team, receive updates above and beyond formal reports issued by our Proposed Monitor, and provide real-time feedback on perceptions and progress in the community. In addition to this central focus on directly engaging the community for the duration of the monitorship, there are several other features that we believe define and distinguish our Team: Our Proposed Monitor Team offers a vital blend of local expertise and national perspectives. Our members include natives and residents of Baltimore. This blend ensures that the Proposed Monitoring Team is knowledgeable of local law, local policies and procedures, and the unique challenges that need to be addressed, but also brings the fresh perspective and the independence necessary to objectively assess whether BPD is successfully implementing the requirements of the Consent Decree. Our Proposed Monitor, Charles P. Scheeler — a Baltimore native — has been based in Baltimore for his entire career. He served as monitor of Penn State University while it was under a consent decree, inheriting the role from Senator George Mitchell. Convinced of the importance of this process to the future of the City, Mr. Scheeler will (if selected) donate hundreds of hours of his time pro bono annually and will serve as principal monitor from beginning to end completely free of charge. The Proposed Monitor Team includes four former federal prosecutors with experience prosecuting violent crimes, crimes against women, public corruption crimes and civil rights abuses, specifically including police-involved fatalities and allegations of excessive force. The fact that DLA Piper has two offices in the Baltimore area, one downtown and another in Mt. Washington, means we will be able to engage regularly with the community in ways that go well beyond the requirements contemplated by the Request for Monitor Applications (“RFMA”). Drawing from national leaders on key issues from mental health to the history of race in Baltimore, our proposed Team brings together a combination of some of Baltimore’s most cherished anchor institutions from the Johns Hopkins University (Johns Hopkins) and Morgan State University to the University of Baltimore’s School of Law and the University of Maryland’s School of Social Work (UM SSW). In addition, we have assembled what we believe is an unrivaled group of law enforcement experts, including the former police chiefs of Baltimore County (Chief Jim Johnson) and Ocean City (Chief Bernadette DiPino) and the current heads of law enforcement in Arlington, Texas (Chief Will Johnson) and Prince George’s County (Sheriff Melvin High) and assistant heads from Washington, D.C. (Assistant Chief Michael Anzallo) and Prince George’s County (Assistant Chief Hector Velez) and a veteran of numerous consent decree monitoring teams, Dr. Geoff Alpert. Together they offer in excess of a combined 200 years of experience in law enforcement with proven expertise in community policing, reducing excessive force complaints, and monitoring and achieving compliance with prior consent decrees. The Police Department of Baltimore City Monitoring Application June 2017 2 The Proposed Monitor Team also includes an unprecedented information technology (IT) component. In order to fully address a number of the Constitutional violations and other deficiencies the Report identified, BPD will have to dramatically improve its technology systems and data management processes. The best chance for success is a plan that directs capacity building and process improvements based on updated and improved enterprise architecture. In this context, Grant Thornton — one of the preeminent accounting and consulting firms in the world — will fill the traditional monitoring role, assessing BPD’s plans for improving its systems and its execution against those plans. Monitor proposals in other jurisdictions have rarely included a firm of Grant Thornton’s caliber. In addition, Cendex LLC, an IT company based in Baltimore operated by Erich Spencer, will provide substantial assistance to BPD in its efforts to improve its systems. Also, the Chief Information Officer of Johns Hopkins Medicine has committed to make resources available to consult with the proposed Monitor’s IT experts in the work they perform on behalf of BPD. We are unaware of any past monitor proposal that has included this level of resources dedicated solely to support enterprise architecture and capacity building. Finally, underscoring the importance of constitutional