On Monday night, OSI-Baltimore hosted a Talking About Addiction event at 2640 to talk about alternative law enforcement approaches to addiction. The guests included Chief Leonard Campanello of the Gloucester, Massachusettes police department and Chief Fred Ryan of the Arlington, Massachusetts police department, who have both launched groundbreaking programs to help drug users enter treatment instead of the criminal justice system, and Neill Franklin, who worked in law enforcement for 33 years, with both the Maryland State Police and the Baltimore Police Department, and is now executive director of Law Enforcement Against Prohibition (LEAP). Scott Nolen, director of OSI-Baltimore’s Drug Addiction Treatment program moderated.
“In the mid-1980’s, I was taught to racially profile as a police officer,” Chief Fred Ryan of the Arlington, Massachusetts police department says at about the 19-minute mark. “And you know who taught me that? The United States Department of Justice through a drug interdiction program.”
You can listen to audio of the event here.
While Chief Campanello and Chief Ryan were in town, OSI-Baltimore hosted meetings for them with Baltimore City Health Commissioner Dr. Leana Wen and Baltimore Police Commissioner Kevin Davis. The next day, Dr. Wen testified before a Senate committee and when Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren mentioned Chief Campanello, Dr. Wen mentioned our meetings.
