Chair of Baltimore Police Oversight Panel Resigns After Body-Camera Footage Captures Tense Traffic Stop

The chairman of the panel tasked with improving civilian oversight of the Baltimore Police Department has resigned from his position after an article that appeared in The Baltimore Sun showed him clashing with a police officer during a tense traffic stop last month.

Marvin McKenstry “will step down as chair of” the Community Oversight Task Force, read a statement from the group, which was posted over the weekend on its Facebook page. “We have, as a body, elected Ray Kelly to become the Chair.”

The group said McKenstry will remain on the nine-member panel.

The Community Oversight Task Force was established under the city’s consent decree with the U.S. Justice Department to assess and recommend improvements to civilian oversight of the city police force. {snip}

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The panel is gathering input from the community before submitting its recommendations, which are due in June.

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The leadership change came in response to a Baltimore Sun article about an incident last month in which McKenstry was stopped by police and refused at least 60 requests for his license and registration. {snip}

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McKenstry was fined a total of $500 for five citations. He was issued a $60 ticket for stopping in the middle of the street, a $50 ticket for refusing to give the officer his license, a $50 ticket for not having his registration, and a $290 ticket for “willfully disobeying a lawful order.” When McKenstry refused to sign those tickets, he was issued a $50 fine for that.

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