The State of Maryland May Actually Make Police Disciplinary Records Public

Maryland is one of 20 states that prohibit the release of police disciplinary records, which means that the public is not able to find out whether or not an officer has been subject to complain or been reprimanded for any misconduct at the time, according to The Washington Post.

Said records can be accessible in Ohio, Florida, Wisconsin, and many other states allowed journalists and watchdog groups to better identify police officers with troubling records to determine whether or not they are still adequate for their respective position.

For some years now, Maryland legislators have been pushing bills to help grant the public more access to these records, but have not gone through due to opposing police unions.

After the murder of George Floyd, however, legislators are now calling for more transparency from the police departments and a poll from Goucher College from October showed that 87 percent of Maryland residents support creating a record of misconduct cases that should be made available to the public eye.

The Maryland Senate passed a bill that would make completed investigations of officer misconduct releasable. However, officials could still withhold records by deeming their disclosure “contrary to the public interest.”