For safety reasons, it's not too good an idea to conduct stops or make contacts when one is OFF duty as you tend to NOT have nifty little things like a vest, a radio, a Taser, handcuffs, etc. When we are off duty we may have a badge and a gun, but, that's about it. Most agencies discourage this or forbid it except in very limited cases, even if the law allows it. I can't speak for Baltimore, but, if this is commonplace for OFF duty officers, I have to scratch my head as to the "why" of it.

