A task force has begun its work reviewing operations in a Maryland police department, including examining the agency's funding and assessing racism in law enforcement.
The 80-member task force began evaluating the Montgomery County Police Department this week, according to the county. The group will make recommendations on policy reforms and changes to the department by the beginning of next year.
Members include community activists, human rights representatives, a county employee specializing in budgeting and those with backgrounds in criminal justice, news outlets reported. The task force will also look at the financing of police operations.
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“I know in this county the harassment of young Black kids over pot to try to get arrests comes from the top," WTOP-TV quoted County Executive Marc Elrich as saying during the task force's first meeting Monday night. “It’s not officers acting on their own and doing stuff that we don’t want them to do, it is part of what people thought was good policing.”
The task force begins its work as police departments across the country have faced calls to review their practices and funding during nationwide demonstrations against police brutality and racial inequality.
