Associated Press/Patrick Semansky
Baltimore police stand in formation as a curfew approaches in Baltimore.
The US Justice Department has "serious concerns" about gender bias and how sexual-assault cases are handled by the Baltimore Police Department, according to a new report released on Tuesday evening.
In the report, the DOJ highlighted "troubling" statements made by BPD officers and detectives in the Sex Offense Unit.
According to the report, officers would frequently ask women who brought up sexual-assault claims, "Why are you messing that guy's life up?"
The Department of Justice also said that it was "troubled" by statements that BPD detectives made, suggesting an "undue skepticism" on reports of sexual assault.
A victim advocate - a person who acts as a guide for victims to navigate the criminal-justice system - told Justice Department investigators that a BPD detective from the Sex Offense Unit commented at a party that "all our cases are bulls---," according to the report.
REUTERS/Eric Thayer
Demonstrators stand on top of vehicles at North and Pennsylvania avenues in Baltimore on May 1, 2015.
When asked to soften his stance by another officer, the detective allegedly said, "OK, 90 percent."
In another instance, Justice Department investigators reviewed correspondence between a prosecutor and a BPD officer that "openly expressed" contempt and disbelief for the women who had reported sexual assault.
The prosecutor wrote that "this case is crazy. . . I am not excited about charging it. This victim seems like a conniving little whore. (pardon my language)," to which the BPD officer responded, "Lmao! I feel the same," according to the report.
The DOJ notes that the BPD "seriously and systematically" under-investigates reports of sexual assault, which "significantly compromises the impartiality and effectiveness" of these investigations.
The report also found that the BPD routinely disregards reports of sexual assault by people involved in the sex trade.
The Justice Department launched its investigation into the Baltimore Police Department following widespread unrest after Freddie Gray's death in April 2015.