A new bill would require all inmates to be restrained by a seat belt while in police custody.
A few days before Freddie Gray's arrest, Baltimore police changed its seat belt policy. Previously, restraining a prisoner was up the discretion of the officer.
The new order reworded the policy requiring that all prisoners be restrained. In Gray's case, he was not belted in after his arrest at Gilmor homes.
Ten months after Gray's death, a bill filed in the Maryland senate would require everyone in custody and all inmates to be belted during transport.
It states that corrections and law enforcement officers are prohibited from operating the vehicle unless the person they are transporting is restrained by a seat belt. Under the bill, if an officer violates the law and the inmate or detainee suffers serious physical injury, the officer could be fined up to $10,000.
The bill was filed by Senator Joan Carter Conway from Baltimore. It will have its first hearing in the Senate on Tuesday.
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