BALTIMORE — Johns Hopkins Medicine & University has selected its first ever police chief following years of pushback.
Branville Bard Jr. was named to the position on Thursday, after serving as Hopkins' Vice President for Public Safety since August 2021.
He takes over an agency that remains in the developmental and implementation stage.
Prior to joining Hopkins, Bard served as Commissioner for the Cambridge, Massachusetts Police Department. He also spent more than two decades with the Philadelphia Police Department, reaching the level of district commander.
The building of a private police force was first proposed back in 2019.
It was met with immediate backlash including petitions and months of protests and sit-ins.
In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, Hopkins placed those plans on pause.
More than two-years later the idea to create a police force picked up steam.
In September of 2022, Hopkins released a memorandum of understanding (MOU) between themselves and the Baltimore Police Department (BPD).
The MOU primarily addressed what jurisdiction the new police department would have, which includes all properties owned, leased, and operated by the hospital and university.
Hopkins officers would handle vehicle accidents without serious injury, larcenies, burglaries, and auto-thefts, as well as other offenses such as DUI/DWI, disorderly conduct, and trespassing/loitering.
BPD meanwhile would remain the lead in major investigations involving violent crime. Hopkins officers would also be responsible for the transport of anyone they take into custody.
Following multiple town halls and public forums the MOU was officially signed last December triggering lawsuits, which so far have been unsuccessful.
What I hear most consistently from members of our community is they want to feel safe, and they want to have direct input into how we develop the JHPD," Bard said on the Johns Hopkins University website. "And as the inaugural chief of police, I believe my job is to protect the public from two things: crime and bad policing.
If all goes as planned, officers could be deployed at the Homewood, Peabody and East Baltimore Campuses as soon as Spring 2024.
Bard previously said the department would "be small in scope, with narrowly defined jurisdictional boundaries around our Homewood, East Baltimore, and Peabody campuses and no more than 100 personnel."
