Notice of Use of Force Incident at Homewood

November 15, 2022

Dear Johns Hopkins Community,

We are writing to make you aware of a public safety response situation that occurred Sunday night involving the use of force by an off-duty Baltimore Police officer working for Johns Hopkins Public Safety.

We are currently reviewing the circumstances, including what led up to the incident, but want to share what is known so far. At approximately 8:20 p.m., Johns Hopkins Public Safety officers and an off-duty Baltimore Police Department officer contracted by JHU responded to a report of a non-affiliate making threatening statements to security personnel and seeking to gain unauthorized access to two adjacent undergraduate residence halls, McCoy and Wolman, on North Charles Street. The officers located a suspect, and in the course of the encounter the off-duty BPD officer struck the individual with his hand. Witness statements and a brief video of this portion of the encounter (approximately 5 seconds) confirms a use of force. The individual was not seriously injured.

Because the officer involved is an off-duty member of the Baltimore Police Department, the BPD’s Public Integrity Bureau has primary responsibility for the investigation. Additionally, under long-standing university protocols, any attempted or actual use of force prompts a university review, which Johns Hopkins Public Safety has begun. Further, JHU has suspended the BPD officer from his part-time employment with the university, pending the outcome of the investigation.

We are continuing to gather and examine evidence and are seeking additional video to provide fuller context. We ask any members of the public with information to contact Baltimore Police or Johns Hopkins Public Safety.

The university will be updating our community with more information when it is available. We thank you for your patience as we work to understand what happened.

Sincerely,

Branville G. Bard