Baltimore City police officers shredded confidential command files protected by a court order because the department ran out of folders, according to depositions taken from police and presented this week in U.S. District Court.
The depositions have remained sealed under a court order at the request of the city, but were brought up by civil attorneys representing 14 black police officers in a discrimination lawsuit against the department.
They are seeking undisclosed damages.
The lawsuit filed in 2004 claims black police officers were disciplined more harshly and denied promotions compared to their white counterparts. City solicitor Ralph Tyler said the case is without merit.
At a status hearing Wednesday before Judge Paul W. Grimm, the plaintiffs? attorneys said that officers told them in depositions that the five file cabinet drawers of confidential command records from 2001 and 2002 were shredded due to a shortage of folders.
“We don?t understand why they couldn?t have gone to Office Depot, or simply removed the documents from the folders,” said Kristin Brown, attorney for the plaintiffs.
The recent disclosure by the city that two years worth of confidential files had been shredded despite a court order to preserve them appears to have stalled the case.
Plaintiffs? attorneys told the judge that officers said in depositions that overtime was authorized for three additional staff members to assist with the shredding.
The attorneys asked Grimm for permission to depose the three staffers, one officer, one contract employee and a cadet, all of whom were paid overtime to shred the documents.
City attorney Elizabeth Harris said that agreeing to more depositions would interfere with a department already burdened by producing 14 years worth of documents that the plaintiffs have requested.
“The clerical staff of the department should not be distracted from the important mission of the department when the plaintiffs have already had the opportunity to depose the people with personal knowledge of what happened,” Harris said.
But plaintiffs? attorneys pointed to the fact that documents were shredded on the same day that they were requested as cause for concern.
