By Sarah N. Lynch
WASHINGTON -The U.S. Justice Department on Friday said it has launched a civil rights investigation into whether the Maryland State Police engages in racially discriminatory hiring and promotion practices.
The investigation, known as a “pattern or practice” civil probe, marks the latest in a string of cases launched by President Joe Biden’s Justice Department into police departments across the country for potentially systemic discriminatory conduct.
The other six new cases involving police departments such as Minneapolis and Louisville, Kentucky, however, are investigating potentially discriminatory conduct by law enforcement officers against civilians.
Friday’s case against the Maryland State Police, by contrast, relates to potentially discriminatory employment practices within the department itself.
“Discrimination has no place in any workplace, and especially in law enforcement agencies,” Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division said in a statement.
“Our investigation will determine whether the Maryland Department of State Police has created racially discriminatory barriers for Black people seeking job opportunities and promotions and, if so, identify the reforms necessary to ensure equal employment opportunities.”
Colonel Woodrow Jones, superintendent for the Maryland State Police, said in a statement on Friday that he welcomes the investigation.
“The Maryland Department of State Police remains steadfast in its commitment to providing the highest quality of law enforcement services to the people of Maryland,” Jones said.
“Significant actions have been taken and are continuing to address even the perception of racism or unfair treatment of any kind.”
(Reporting by Sarah N. Lynch in Washington)
