State’s Attorney and Police Commissioner Directly Respond to Public Defender’s Comments
Baltimore, Md. (March 30, 2026) – Today, State’s Attorney Ivan J. Bates and Baltimore Police Commissioner Richard Worley issued the following joint statement in reference to the Do Not Call List.
“The recent public comments by the Public Defender, Marguerite Lanaux, are misleading at best and, frankly, should not be litigated in the media. However, as she has misstated several things about our offices, we will take this opportunity to set the record straight, particularly about our policies and procedures regarding police integrity matters.
“The Office of the State’s Attorney for Baltimore City (SAO) has one of the most robust, sophisticated Police Integrity Units (PIU) in the country. The dedicated team of experienced attorneys reviews every single complaint filed with the Baltimore Police Department’s (BPD) Internal Affairs Unit, along with all complaints of police misconduct that are made through any other channel(s) besides Internal Affairs. When necessary and appropriate, the attorneys of the Police Integrity Unit open formal criminal investigations and, when necessary and appropriate, prosecute law enforcement officials for misconduct.
“We cannot speak as to what our predecessors did and did not do. Since State’s Attorney Bates took office in 2023, however, the SAO’s PIU team has worked tirelessly to obtain, review, maintain, and, when required, disseminate police internal affairs files in accordance with the rules and laws we must follow. In 2023 and 2024, the SAO management team even worked directly with two prominent senior attorneys from the Office of the Public Defender (OPD) to develop efficiency systems on certain agreed-upon issues. Included in those systems is an agreement that the SAO will notify a senior member of OPD in advance of publishing any new Do Not Call (DNC) list. We have largely adhered to that agreement. We have also tried several methods of disseminating materials to OPD in an effort to find one amenable to all parties.
“The PIU team has worked diligently to create the most transparent and legally compliant discovery and disclosure system possible. We can say with confidence that the SAO has the most robust and transparent process of disclosing police IA files in the State, and arguably in the nation. This success has been achieved in part thanks to OPD’s team working with us in 2023 and 2024 to set our processes in motion, but largely thanks to BPD’s cooperation in turning over the keys to their IA electronic filing system, known as IAPro. Having direct access to BPD’s IAPro system has allowed the PIU attorneys and their support staff to review more than 5,100 police officers’ files, dating back to the 1980s, to put attorneys in the best possible position to comply with all laws and rules that this office has regarding police IA files that might contain evidence related to the officer’s truthfulness. PIU has been working on this since State’s Attorney Bates gave them the directive back in October 2023, and they completed the project approximately one month ago.
“It has been apparent for several years that the Public Defender and her staff believe that the only way for the SAO to be compliant with their interpretation of the rules is to give them unfettered access to all BPD internal affairs files, regardless of the allegation, regardless of the findings, and regardless of whether the materials are usable in court. The SAO cannot do so. The SAO will not do so. While the SAO is steadfast in its commitment to holding police officers accountable for any criminal misdeeds, it is equally steadfast in affording their personal internal affairs files the protection they deserve."
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