WASHINGTON ― The Baltimore Police Department routinely abused residents’ civil rights, performed unconstitutional searches, retaliated against individuals exercising free-speech rights and failed to hold cops accountable for misconduct, according to a damning federal report.

The Justice Department report, to be formally released on Wednesday, confirms what some Baltimore residents already know ― that Baltimore police routinely and disproportionately stop, frisk and arrest poor black residents without legal justification.

“Baltimore’s legacy of government-sanctioned discrimination, serious health hazards, and high rates of violent crime have persisted and compounded for years ― making Baltimore a challenging city to police fairly and effectively,” the report says.

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