Baltimore law department recommends $400,000 settlement in 2021 pursuit; board approves amid questions about long disciplinary backlog

Deputy Solicitor Steven Salsbury told the Baltimore City Board of Estimates on July 1 that the law department was recommending a $400,000 settlement to resolve litigation arising from a June 14, 2021 armed carjacking and pursuit in Druid Hill Park.

"We are here today recommending a settlement agreement in the amount of $400,000," Salsbury said, describing an incident in which officers located a vehicle matching the description of the stolen car, pursued it, and a subsequently identified plaintiff — then 16 years old — fled on foot and was struck by a patrol vehicle and taken to Shock Trauma.

The recommendation pushed the board to weigh both the factual account and the city’s litigation exposure. Salsbury summarized the law department’s view of relevant Baltimore Police Department policies, noting that pointing a firearm is generally classified as a level‑one use of force while being struck by a vehicle is categorized at a higher level. He also said disciplinary proceedings for the involved officer are pending and that some footage, including aerial Foxtrot helicopter video, exists but that the law department was not adjudicating disciplinary guilt in the settlement presentation.

Why this matters: the item highlighted tensions between resolving civil litigation and completing internal disciplinary processes under new state and local rules. Board members pressed officials about how long it has taken to adjudicate cases and what reforms could shorten delays.

Comptroller and board members asked when the underlying incident occurred; Salsbury confirmed it was June 14, 2021 and said the plaintiff was a juvenile at the time. When questioned about the officer’s status, Salsbury said there are "ongoing pending disciplinary proceedings related both to this and to other incidents for that officer," and that the officer’s contemporaneous claim was that the running‑over was not intentional.

Board members then broadened the conversation to the city’s overall disciplinary backlog. City Administrator Faith Leech and the law department said the Maryland Police Accountability Act (2022–23) and related changes to adjudication procedures have required convening trial boards that include a retired judge or administrative law judge, a sworn BPD member of equal rank and a public member appointed by the Police Accountability Board. Officials told the board the structure creates scheduling constraints and that the city currently faces a backlog of more than 800 cases.

"We have tripled in the last six months the total number of cases that we heard all of last year," the law department said, noting roughly 60 trial boards were completed in the prior six months versus about 20 for all of 2025. Officials said the city is moving from a two‑day‑a‑week schedule to a five‑day schedule with multiple cases per day to increase throughput and is exploring legislative adjustments that would preserve civilian oversight while creating expedited tracks for lower‑level infractions.

The board pressed for data. City Administrator Faith Leech requested a breakdown of the backlog by complaint type — for example, distinguishing body‑worn camera violations, internal personnel matters and use‑of‑force complaints — to better evaluate options.

The Board of Estimates voted to approve the law department’s settlement recommendation. The president announced the item was approved by voice vote; no roll‑call tally was recorded in the public proceeding. The law department and city staff said they will supply additional information to the board about disciplinary case categories and ongoing efforts to clear the backlog.