It’s been a decade since the death of Freddie Gray, whose fatal injuries while in Baltimore police custody sparked days of unrest and demands for police accountability.

But it wasn’t until the 2020 murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis that Maryland lawmakers changed how fatal police encounters are investigated.

In 2021, the General Assembly created the Independent Investigations Division — known as the IID — within the Maryland Attorney General’s Office. Two years later, the office gained the power to prosecute police officers.

Since then, it has reviewed 72 cases involving police-involved fatalities. Just a few have resulted in criminal charges.

“The fact that the number of charges is low reflects the honor and the integrity of law enforcement when they engage with the public in doing their most difficult and often dangerous job,” Attorney General Anthony Brown said in an interview.

DATA

According to the Attorney General’s Office, nearly half of the cases involved shootings by police. About one-third stem from vehicle pursuits. In-custody deaths and use-of-force incidents accounted for the fewest cases.

Brown said investigations are thorough and rely on a wide range of evidence, including body-worn camera footage, witness interviews, ballistics tests and autopsies.

After the months-long investigations, the Office of the Attorney General compiles and posts the footage on its YouTube page for the public to see.

In an effort to be transparent, Brown said he errs on the side of “more than less” though the public footage does not include cameras from private entities.

He is also careful to blur children or anything that would compromise the strategy and tactics of local law enforcement.

TIMELINE

There is no set time frame to complete an investigation.

Clyde Boatwright is the president of Maryland’s Fraternal Order of Police, which has about 21,000 members. He said that the length of these investigations leaves officers under a cloud of suspicion.

“They’re looking for every reason to try to find something that the officer did wrong,” Boatwright said.

Boatwright argued the IID is unnecessary. He said officers are already held accountable through internal review processes. He added the union does not defend officers who break the law — citing Baltimore’s now-disbanded Gun Trace Task Force as an example.

“Not one dime was ever spent in defense of the Gun Trace Task Force,” said Boatwright. “If you violate the rights of citizens, our organization is not going to stand behind you. We won't, we haven't, and we never will.”

Boatwright worries that officers are being sidelined while doing the right thing. He pointed to a Howard County case from November 30, 2024.

In that incident, officers responded to a domestic disturbance where a man exchanged gunfire from a window while a woman and her child were trapped on the roof.

Body camera footage captured the chaos — the woman pleading for help, as gunshots rang out.

Later, the man was found dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, according to Howard County police.

Boatwright said the officers who acted “heroically" by rescuing the mother and child, "are suspended while the IID investigates.”

However, Howard County police spokeswoman Lori Boone said those officers have since returned to full duty. The Attorney General’s Office does not decide when officers are reinstated — that’s left to individual departments.

In Baltimore City, for example, an officer is placed on administrative duties until the investigation is complete, said Lindsey Eldridge, chief of public affairs with the Baltimore Police Department.

Despite criticism, Brown says the IID’s mission is vital to ensuring both accountability and trust in law enforcement, especially when something as tragic as the loss of life occurs.

“A close look will be given to see whether or not it was avoidable, whether or not there was criminal conduct, who was involved,” he said.

Because the division was established by state law, it’s a permanent part of Maryland’s system for reviewing police-involved deaths.

A future attorney general cannot dismantle it.

Boatwright hopes investigators can distinguish between honest mistakes and willful misconduct.

Still, he acknowledges the Independent Investigations Division’s role, in modern policing.

“You know, 25 years ago, when I started, there were no body cameras,” he said. “This is the way of the land, moving forward. And so as our profession continues to evolve, it should just be an automatic expectation.”