Venable partner Kenneth Thompson has secured court approval to serve as independent monitor of the Baltimore Police Department under a wide-ranging U.S. Department of Justice consent decree calling for a series of reforms in the city’s stop, search and arrest practices.
U.S. District Judge James Bredar of the District of Maryland signed off on Thompson’s appointment in an order made public on Tuesday. The judge’s order formalizes the Venable partner’s selection as monitor under a consent decree that stemmed from a DOJ investigation launched in the wake of Freddie Gray’s 2015 death from injuries suffered while in Baltimore police custody. The Baltimore Sun first reported Bredar’s approval of Thompson in the monitoring role.
