Officer Lakisha Pulley plead guilty last Friday in Baltimore City Circuit court. link to news story

Many people were instrumental in this break from the norm in which police are allowed to hurt people and get away with it. First and foremost, Assistant Public Defender Jenny Egan, a powerful and determined legal advocate, represented Star, Diamond, and Ty'llah in their criminal cases and was able to obtain a dismissal and preserved the video of the incident. Without Jayne Miller's coverage of this story on WBAL, these three victims would have gone unnoticed. The State's Attorney, Marilyn Mosby and the prosecutor in this case, Albert Peisinger had the courage to prosecute a police officer and show that no one is above the law.

This case is not in any way finished as Officer Lakisha Pulley was not just a rogue cop acting on her own. She was a police officer who was part of a culture of violence towards students and cover-ups. She was an officer who illegally carried a gun in schools, just like so many other school police officers. news story She was an officer whose behavior was reviewed by her superiors. This video was available to her superiors and nothing was done to sanction Officer Pulley in any way prior to the release of a news story about this incident. The school system did not suspend Officer Pulley after the incident, in fact she was only suspended after her indictment. Police misconduct and brutality is a scourge on our society. Burke Jaskot will soon file a lawsuit against the Baltimore City School Police in this case and we intend to prove that the school police need serious reform and training in order to prevent police violence against students in Baltimore from occurring in the future.

Jared Jaskot is a Baltimore City Lawyer who sues the police for their brutality and misconduct.