A new survey finds that a large majority of Marylanders believe that police in their neighborhoods are doing a good job of fighting crime. On the other hand, many also believe that officers do not treating blacks and other minorities the same as whites. We speak to Ann Cotten, director of the University of Baltimore's Schaefer Center for Public Policy, about the results and how perceptions differ between residents in Baltimore City versus the rest of Maryland.
Plus, the trial of the first Baltimore police officer charged in the death of Freddie Gray began this morning. Meanwhile, the release of dash-cam video of a Chicago police officer shooting an unarmed African American teen has triggered protests in the city. Is there a connection between the deaths of black men in police custody and the surge in homicides in Baltimore, Chicago, Milwaukee and some other big cities? With police-involved shootings under scrutiny, how are cops reacting? Some blame the crime spike on less proactive policing. Are cops pulling back? Are they worried about being filmed doing their jobs?
Criminologist Scott Wolfe tells us about his research on "Ferguson Effect." And we hear from Lt. Kenneth Butler, a 30-year police veteran and president of the Vanguard Justice Society, an association for minority and women officers in Baltimore; and Adam Braskich, an attorney who served as a Baltimore City police officer from 2007 to 2011.