BALTIMORE — Johns Hopkins University has picked a Massachusetts police commissioner to serve as a public safety vice president, signaling plans to move forward with the creation of a private police force that has sparked protests in the past.
News outlets report the university announced Tuesday that Branville Bard Jr. will oversee security for the university, its medicine campuses and facilities worldwide starting Aug. 30 and “play a leading role in the development and implementation” of the force.
The university announced last year that it was pausing these plans for at least two years amid nationwide protests against police brutality.
Having a vice president for public safety is a prerequisite to begin negotiations with Baltimore police to formalize police force operations.
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