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Robert McCullough, the Baltimore County Police Department chief, appears on a list of law enforcement officers whose potential credibility concerns require disclosure to defense attorneys if they’re...

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Ben Conarck @conarck.bsky.social · 1d

One of the more interesting reporting adventures of the year so far…
Hint: no one is saying why

Baltimore Banner @thebaltimorebanner.com · 1d

Why is the Baltimore County police chief on a list of cops with credibility concerns?

Robert McCullough, the Baltimore County Police Department chief, appears on a list of law enforcement officers whose potential credibility concerns require disclosure to defense attorneys if they’re...

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Reposted by Ben Conarck

Baltimore Banner @thebaltimorebanner.com · 1d

Why is the Baltimore County police chief on a list of cops with credibility concerns?

Maryland State Police barracks used ‘candy box’ to encourage more traffic stops

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Reposted by Ben Conarck

Baltimore Banner @thebaltimorebanner.com · 2d

Maryland State Police barrack used ‘candy box’ to encourage more traffic stops

The incident comes three years after leaked documents detailed a quota-like system.Ary

Maryland State Police barracks used ‘candy box’ to encourage more traffic stops

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Ben Conarck @conarck.bsky.social · 2d

New: Three years after @thebaltimorebanner.com revealed a quota-like system being used by Maryland State Police to encourage more traffic stops and DUI arrests with incentives like new vehicles, a leaked photo showed a barrack using candy bars instead. www.thebanner.com/community/cr...

The incident comes three years after leaked documents detailed a quota-like system.Ary

More than two years ago, Daniel Myers, who was behind bars on an assault conviction, stabbed to death 27-year-old Nicholas Delfosse after warning a prison official that he would kill anyone they put in...

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Reposted by Ben Conarck

John Gramlich @johngramlich.bsky.social · 2d

So far at least, Americans are lukewarm about AI summaries in search results. Relatively few who have seen them think they're extremely or very useful (20%) or have a lot of trust in the information they get from them (6%). New data from @pewresearch.org: www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/...

Bar chart showing that 20% of Americans who have seen AI summaries in search results believe these summaries are extremely or very useful. Far more (52%) see them as somewhat useful, while 28% see them as not too or not at all useful. The chart is based on an August 2025 Pew Research Center survey of U.S. adults.

Bar chart showing that 6% of Americans who have seen AI summaries in search results have a lot of trust in the information they get from these summaries. Another 48% have some trust in this information, while 34% have not too much trust and 12% have no trust at all. The chart is based on an August 2025 Pew Research Center survey of U.S. adults.

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Reposted by Ben Conarck

Quattrone Center for the Fair Administration of Justice @quattronecenter.org · 14d

It's nice to see more and more #crime and #criminallegalsystem reporters here on Bluesky. Journalists play a key role in shining a spotlight on the American criminal legal system.

Today, we’re sharing a list of reporters and journalists that inspire us and keep the conversation going.

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Reposted by Ben Conarck

Baltimore Banner @thebaltimorebanner.com · 19d

Prisoner charged with stabbing 2 guards had earlier killed his cellmate

Prisoner charged with stabbing 2 correctional officers had earlier killed cellmate

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Ben Conarck @conarck.bsky.social · 18d

New: Two Maryland correctional officers were seriously injured in Nov after being stabbed by a prisoner at the state’s super max facility. The prisoner charged by prosecutors is notorious for having issued a warning to prison staff before killing his last cellmate. www.thebanner.com/community/cr...

More than two years ago, Daniel Myers, who was behind bars on an assault conviction, stabbed to death 27-year-old Nicholas Delfosse after warning a prison official that he would kill anyone they put i...

Employee accused of improperly inviting ICE to Baltimore courthouse no longer at her job

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Ben Conarck @conarck.bsky.social · Sep 4

New: A Maryland corrections department employee is no longer at her job following an investigation by the agency into whether she improperly invited federal immigration agents to a Baltimore courthouse to detain a defendant she suspected of being undocumented.
www.thebanner.com/community/cr...

The corrections department had opened an investigation into the actions of a pretrial services employee.

People keep getting sick in this jail. Baltimore County says that's normal.

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Reposted by Ben Conarck

Baltimore Banner @thebaltimorebanner.com · Sep 3

People keep getting sick to their stomachs at this jail. Baltimore County says that’s normal.

Dr. Kunchok Dorjee‚ an assistant professor at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, said that numerous reports of infections and symptoms coming from one setting is a clear “red flag.”

People keep getting sick in this jail. Baltimore County says that's normal.

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Ben Conarck @conarck.bsky.social · Sep 3

New: For months, dozens of people have reported stomach pains and bloody stool after being booked into the Baltimore County jail. Those with symptoms test positive for a bacteria called H. pylori. What's making them sick? County officials aren't expressing concern. www.thebanner.com/community/cr...

Dr. Kunchok Dorjee‚ an assistant professor at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, said that numerous reports of infections and symptoms coming from one setting is a clear “red flag.”

Brother of 70-year-old woman killed by police calls for reforming city’s crisis response

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Ben Conarck @conarck.bsky.social · Aug 28

New:City council members are requesting a series of changes to Baltimore's crisis response system after 3 people died in police shootings/in custody in June. The council president wants mandatory de-escalation training and more 911 calls diverted to MH professionals www.thebanner.com/community/cr...

The brother of 70-year-old Pytorcarcha Brooks, who was shot and killed by Baltimore Police officers last month, demanded “action” in response to his sister’s death — a tragedy, he said, that should ha...

‘Indefinite lockdowns,’ extreme heat, prompt letter from Maryland prisoner advocacy group

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Ben Conarck @conarck.bsky.social · Aug 24

A prisoner in Western Maryland wrote me today about these conditions. He reports that they are being let out for 15 minutes to shower and “most days we are not getting that.” He says religious services have been reduced to 2x/month.

“We are being mentally, socially, and physically devastated.”

Ben Conarck @conarck.bsky.social · Aug 14

New: In Maryland prisons, incarcerated people are spending 23 hrs/day in their cells, an advocacy group that provides legal services to prisoners says. The group is warning that the conditions violate the federal prohibition on cruel and unusual punishment. www.thebaltimorebanner.com/community/cr...

The Prisoner Rights Information System of Maryland put the state on notice over constitutional violations it's attributing to "indefinite lockdowns" at state prisons.

ICE agent lied to angry crowd about having a warrant before Baltimore County arrest

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Reposted by Ben Conarck

Baltimore Banner @thebaltimorebanner.com · Aug 21

An ICE officer told an angry crowd he had a warrant before a Baltimore County arrest. He lied

ICE officers arrested a Honduran man, Adolfo Nimrod Hernandez-Ramos, because they suspected he was undocumented and he lived near their intended target.

ICE agent lied to angry crowd about having a warrant before Baltimore County arrest

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Ben Conarck @conarck.bsky.social · Aug 21

NEW: Federal prosecutors charging a Baltimore County man with resisting or assaulting ICE officers revealed in a court filing that one of the officers lied to a gathering angry crowd of onlookers about having a warrant, among other details @thebaltimorebanner.com
www.thebanner.com/community/cr...

ICE officers arrested a Honduran man, Adolfo Nimrod Hernandez-Ramos, because they suspected he was undocumented and he lived near their intended target.

‘Indefinite lockdowns,’ extreme heat, prompt letter from Maryland prisoner advocacy group

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Ben Conarck @conarck.bsky.social · Aug 14

New: In Maryland prisons, incarcerated people are spending 23 hrs/day in their cells, an advocacy group that provides legal services to prisoners says. The group is warning that the conditions violate the federal prohibition on cruel and unusual punishment. www.thebaltimorebanner.com/community/cr...

The Prisoner Rights Information System of Maryland put the state on notice over constitutional violations it's attributing to "indefinite lockdowns" at state prisons.

A Maryland prison has a security fence problem. It just fell down again

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Ben Conarck @conarck.bsky.social · Aug 5

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Ben Conarck @conarck.bsky.social · Aug 5

In March 2024, a wind storm nearly toppled the 41-year-old security and fencing system at a medium-security Maryland prison in Hagerstown. Last week, heavy winds sent the fence teetering again, placing Roxbury CI and its prisoners under restricted movement. www.thebaltimorebanner.com/community/cr...

Compromised and aging fencing at a medium-security prison in Hagerstown has put the facility under strain

How Reuters collected and analyzed prison temperature data

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Ben Conarck @conarck.bsky.social · Jul 31

"None of Maryland’s 14 state prisons have air conditioning," via @reuters.com www.reuters.com/world/us/how...

Reuters analyzed air conditioning and indoor temperature log data, obtained through public records request, to better understand how heat affects U.S. prisons

www.reuters.com

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Ben Conarck @conarck.bsky.social · Jul 11

Today marks three years @thebaltimorebanner.com. I'm grateful for my bosses who give me daily and weekly opportunities to do accountability work on Maryland jails, police and prisons; and for our readers who support that work. Most of all, I'm thankful for my sources/people who decide to trust me.

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Ben Conarck @conarck.bsky.social · Jul 9

Updated: A de-escalation training expert and law enforcement veteran viewed the body-cam footage, tells me officers appeared to be not assessing their options, not getting enough information about the patient, and should have waited for a supervisor to arrive before making further moves.
More:

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Ben Conarck @conarck.bsky.social · Jul 9

The footage reaffirms concerns raised after the shooting by experts in de-escalation tactics, who said it was unclear why officers would breach the door in that situation, given that Brooks was armed only with a knife and posed no threat to officers. www.thebaltimorebanner.com/community/cr...

This is the most crucial, unanswered question about the West Baltimore police shooting

Baltimore Police’s fatal shooting of a 70-year-old woman highlights the department’s struggles to train its officers in de-escalation.

Baltimore Police broke down door before fatally shooting 70-year-old woman

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Ben Conarck @conarck.bsky.social · Jul 9

Breaking: In the span of about 30 min, BPD officers who arrived at the scene of a behavioral health crisis went from telling a family member they had no ability to enter the home to breaking down the front door with Taser in hand. w/ @darreonna.bsky.social
www.thebaltimorebanner.com/community/cr...

Police on Wednesday released body camera footage depicting the final moments of 70-year-old Pytorcarcha Brooks, who was shot and killed on June 25 in her West Baltimore home by officers.