RadioOnFire.com - (Reuters) - Baltimore rioting over the death of a black man from injuries in police custody is spurring Maryland lawmakers to take action on criminal justice reform after legislation stalled in the statehouse.
Legislators hope that the death of Freddie Gray, 25, can galvanize the Democratic-controlled state Assembly after bids for reforms, especially one that would alter a state law giving police special rights, went nowhere in the last legislative session.
"Unfortunately for Freddie Gray, he becomes symbolic of similar type of issues facing police departments across the nation," said state Senator Catherine Pugh, co-chair of a 20-member bipartisan working group appointed this month to study police issues.
Maryland, one of the most liberal U.S. states, is the latest to grapple with reforms after the death of Gray and those of other unarmed black males at the hands of police in Missouri, New York, Ohio, South Carolina and elsewhere.
"The problem of policing is not just a Baltimore problem, not just a Maryland problem, but it's a nationwide problem," said Pugh, who represents the impoverished neighborhood where Gray lived.
South Carolina recently passed legislation approving body cameras for all police and California's state senate has approved a bill barring prosecutors from convening secret grand juries to investigate claims of police brutality. New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, a Democrat, and Ohio's John Kasich, a Republican, have also called for reviews of police use of force.
The protests in Maryland following Gray's death last month increased the sense of urgency for action there, said Pugh, who is also the senate majority leader.
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