Baltimore Police News

Articles Compiled by; The Court Jester

Baltimore Police News

"We have had these types of conversations before. I have made it very clear that I work with the police and instructed them to do everything they could to make sure the protesters were able to exercise their right to free speech. It is a very delicate balancing act because while we tried to make sure they were protected from the cars and the other things that were going on, we also gave those who wished to destroy the space to do that as well. And we worked very hard to keep that balance and to put ourselves in the best position to de-escalate, and that's what you saw."

Mayor Stephanie-Rawlings Blake
26 April 2015
The next day Baltimore's 2015 Riots broke out

Click HERE or above article for full size article

Following Violent Weekend, Mayor Scott And Commissioner Harrison Pledge To Hold Perpetrators Accountable

By CBS Baltimore Staff 

25 January 2022 at 6:10 pm

BALTIMORE (WJZ) — Following a weekend of “brazen, despicable acts” of violence, Mayor Brandon Scott and Baltimore Police Commissioner Michael Harrison pledged to hold the perpetrators accountable and asked Baltimoreans for their full support to curb violent crime.

Between Friday and Sunday, there were six homicides, seven non-fatal shootings and 25 robberies, officials said in a joint release.

During that same period, there were 84 arrests, including 10 for handguns, four for robberies and three for carjackings. Sixty-four warrants were also issued, officials said.

“Baltimore, we must be better,” said Scott. “The level of senseless violence occurring across our city is sickening. I met with police leadership Monday evening to ensure that we continue to focus and further our coordinated efforts on those who continue to carry out acts of violence in our city to reduce violent crime.”

The mayor said the city will continue to work with local, state and federal law enforcement agencies to fight crime. But both he and the commissioner called on Baltimoreans to work toward curbing the violence.

“It will take all of us, every single resident in Baltimore, rolling up their sleeves and getting in this fight to curb the current cycle of violence and bring about sustained reductions in violence across our city,” said Scott.

“The violence must stop and we need everyone’s support to achieve sustainable reductions of violence in our city,” said Harrison.

Shantay Jackson, Director of the Mayor’s Office of Neighborhood Safety and Engagement, said the city will continue to implement’s Scott’s violence reduction strategy “with a focus on accountability and addressing the web of trauma every shooting and killing leaves behind.”

Anyone with information on the incidents from this weekend is asked to call Baltimore Police Department Homicide detectives at 410-396-2100.

Callers wishing to remain anonymous can call the Metro Crime Stoppers tip line at 1-866-7LOCKUP.

GTTF Commission report faults Baltimore police department leadership, makes reform recommendations

By JUSTIN FENTON

BALTIMORE SUN |

DEC 02, 2020 AT 2:52 PM

A state commission created to investigate the roots of the Gun Trace Task Force scandal concluded there were leadership failures at the highest levels of the Baltimore Police Department and also recommended changes to Maryland’s Law Enforcement Officers Bill of Rights.

The Commission to Restore Trust in Policing’s 184-page report found that while top Baltimore Police officials said integrity was paramount, the panel’s investigation saw “little evidence” it was a true priority. And they faulted the department for not taking serious steps to investigate the scandal once it burst into public view.

“The Commission finds that prior to the GTTF indictments, and continuing through today, the BPD has under-emphasized integrity and accountability,” the report says.

The report recommends that the police department resume random “integrity stings” on officers and institute ongoing drug tests and polygraphs. It also calls for increased staffing in internal affairs by March and requiring aspiring top-level supervisors to spend at least six months in that unit. “Internal Affairs must become a valued and integral part of the agency, not a pariah,” the report says.

It proposes a number of changes to the controversial Law Enforcement Officers Bill of Rights, a Maryland law that governs the police disciplinary process statewide. Among them: giving police commissioners more power to fire or suspend officers — a change sought by Baltimore Police Commissioner Michael Harrison — as well as more involvement for residents and the public defenders office.

Some of the recommendations have been pushed before in the General Assembly, but the commission’s report could carry additional weight as its members were appointed by Republican Gov. Larry Hogan and the Democratic leaders of the state Senate and House of Delegates.

“These are solutions that no one really disagrees with, but which haven’t been implemented,” Sean Malone, an attorney who is a member of the commission, said in an interview.

Senate President Bill Ferguson, a Baltimore Democrat who introduced legislation to create the commission, said the panel’s work will help inform reform efforts in the General Assembly session that begins next month.

“The story of the Gun Trace Task Force is a prime example of problematic policing that can erode confidence and faith in policing, and make communities less safe as a result,” Ferguson said in a statement. “The legislation we will pass this session will ensure we restore trust and accountability in our law enforcement, not just in Baltimore, but throughout the state.”

Though given subpoena power to access disciplinary and other records unavailable to the public and to interview witnesses, the panel’s report contains few revelations. All of the commission’s interviews with 25 key police supervisors and other officers were conducted behind closed doors instead of at its public hearings, and the officers are not identified.

The commission was told that Sgt. Wayne Jenkins, who led the corrupt gun squad, was viewed as a top officer who few suspected of being involved in criminal activity. He was given autonomy and had a direct line to top supervisors, the panel found. Officers who testified at the federal racketeering trial had similar comments, saying Jenkins was a “golden boy.”

Ashiah Parker, a commission member and a West Baltimore community leader, said she did not believe department were forthcoming in their comment before the panel, instead giving “safe” testimony.

The commission was able to review internal affairs records, which are not available to the public, which showed the BPD had logged more than 100 internal affairs complaints naming one or more of the eight now-convicted members of the GTTF from 1997 to 2016. In addition, those eight officers collectively were involved in more than 60 use of force incidents during the same time period, the panel said.

Four of the eight officers had fewer than five serious internal affairs complaints on their record. But two of the officers had 20 or more, the commission’s report says.

There was only one sustained complaint in Jenkins’s disciplinary history — a previously reported 2014 incident in which he was accused of planting drugs on a man. Jenkins was recommended for a demotion and suspension, but the punishment was reduced.

The commission concluded that some of the city’s police commissioners seemed to be aware of the department’s struggles yet failed to take key steps. They cited Anthony Batts and Kevin Davis, two commissioners who came from outside the Baltimore department, and said they were stymied by institutional inertia and resistance.

“Despite recognizing effective tactics to ensure integrity throughout the agency, the failure of past BPD Commissioners to utilize and implement detection and deterrence protocols aided and enabled the GTTF criminal enterprises,” the report says. “Their failure to act and prioritize integrity in the agency plays an undeniable role in the GTTF wrongdoing.”

The commission was created through legislation in 2018, with members appointed by Hogan, then-Senate President Mike Miller and then-House Speaker Michael Busch. It began its work that fall and held a series of public hearings, taking testimony from officials including Harrison and Baltimore State’s Attorney Marilyn J. Mosby, and others such as defense attorney Ivan J. Bates, who represented a long list of people arrested by GTTF officers and who alleged misconduct.

“The corruption in the criminal justice system in Baltimore City is systemic. There’s a lot of blame to go around,” Bates told the panel last year.

Officers on the Gun Trace Task Force had been robbing people for years, but it was a suburban drug investigation in 2015 that finally put the unit in the crosshairs of federal authorities. An ensuing FBI wiretap investigation revealed the officers were not only taking money, but falsifying evidence and in some cases taking and reselling drugs.

Fifteen current and former officers have been charged in the fallout, with investigators uncovering crimes dating to 2009. All but one of the officers have been convicted; that officer’s case is pending.

Jenkins, the former leader of the unit, is serving the longest sentence — 25 years. He was recently moved to a federal prison in Atlanta.

In recent weeks the city has approved more than $13 million in lawsuit settlements stemming from the misconduct, including $8 million to two men who were wrongly convicted after officers planted drugs on them following a fatal crash in 2010. City prosecutors have dropped hundreds of cases, saying the integrity of the convicted officers and others were too compromised to allow convictions to stand.

The Baltimore Police Department, however, did not initiate any broad review of how the officers’ actions went undetected — or ignored — for so long. At a 2019 meeting of the Commission to Restore Trust in Policing Harrison said city officials were concerned about exposure to liability. Following that meeting, the department hired former Justice Department Inspector General Michael Bromwich to conduct an investigation for the city. That review is continuing.

“I think the entire commission was stunned” when officials said they hadn’t done a thorough review, said Gary McLhinney, a commission member who has served as both a city police union president and a police chief, for the Maryland Transportation Authority.

The commission attempted to speak with the convicted officers. Two — Marcus Taylor and Daniel Hersl — maintained their innocence, while the commission said Jenkins told them he had an “agent” helping him on a film production and would speak in exchange for a reduced sentence. No interview took place.

The commission spoke with one convicted officer, whose identity was withheld and who “described his misconduct in detail, and appropriately expressed regret and remorse for his actions.”

Among the commission’s other recommendations are creating “Police Accountability Boards,” not just in Baltimore but in each county in the state. The boards would be authorized to file misconduct complaints on behalf of citizens, and select residents who would be trained and serve on disciplinary hearing boards.

It also recommends creating charging committees that would include a civilian and members of the public defender’s and state’s attorney’s offices, among others, to review internal affairs investigations.

The panel also calls for reconstituting the Baltimore Criminal Justice Coordinating Council, which was a monthly meeting of criminal justice leaders for 17 years until Hogan disbanded it in 2017 by stripping funding, citing a “lack of urgency” by the group on crime-fighting.

“Because Baltimore’s police have a long history of corruption, it is hard to restore trust with one report, so our committee worked to set forth recommendations that would be the first step to ensure that reform takes place in this next chapter of Baltimore’s history,” Parker said.

Sometimes the police used trickery over brute. this was my favorite way to police. I once yelled into a apartment that was being burglarized telling those inside that I was Baltimore Police K9 Unit and wanted them to come out, or I would send my dog in, I turned my head away from the window gave a couple of deep barks, with that the two teenagers inside came running to the window ready to turn themselves in.

What follows is a similar story, but instead of being in the late 1980's early 1990's this story took place in February of 1918, and this Patrolman pulled off a masterful con. 

 

Click the Above Article, or HERE to see the Full Size Article

Click the Above Article, or HERE to see the Full Size Article

4 June 2018

Baltimore Police commander under investigation for theft from police-community relations nonprofit

 The following was written by Retired Lieutenant Leo T. Kelly in the late 1920's early 1930's. It was found in his writing by his son Leo T Kelly Jr retired Deputy Commissioner and transcribed by his granddaughter Patricia (Kelly) Wilhelm. Mrs. Wilhelm was also a member of the Baltimore Police Department as she worked in our Central Records Divison as did her great-grandfather also a member of the department.  

A Plea for Policemen

Kind reader, remember the policeman’s life is an extra hard one, that his trials and troubles are many. Alone in the dark and stormy night, every law-breaker is his enemy, his friends are few (as he really has no time to make friends ) and his position being such that he has at times o do things which he does not like; in fact which he hates to do. During these times it seems every man rallies against him. The fireman and the soldier, unquestionably brave men, still there is attached to their positions something of a “Stirring Drama,” something if the hero. There are crowds around to cheer on the former, while the latter fights in numbers, cheering and urging one another on with bands of music playing such martial airs as the “Star Spangled Banner,” the Marry Own, o the Marseilles which make a man fight ten times his number. But how about the poor policeman? No crowds to cheer him on, no stirring tunes at the dead of night. Not all was still, save the tread of his own feet. An assassin jumps out from a dark hallway and without a seconds warning sticks a knife in the policeman’s heart, and he does without even a chance t fight back. Let a dozen thugs are beating a policeman nobody helps him. Why in the world does not the honest citizen side in with him? Why do you allow your faithful servant, the protector of yourself, your wife and little children to be beaten to death by thugs, by the enemies of every honest man? To me, It is a mystery which I have tried to solve but failed. Do not condemn us all for the few. Take any three thousand men, and you shall find a few “Black Sheep” among them. Bear in mind, whenever you feel like criticizing policemen, that he must decide in ten seconds what it takes the courts years to render a decision on. Suppose the hears people fighting in a house if he hesitates a second there might be a murder, a soul gone to meet its God. If he breaks the door in, he is “rash,” a “bull-head,” taken before the trial board and discharged. Yes, and maybe; and in the penitentiary on perjured testimony: which is easy to get against a policeman, he is the poorest paid man in the united states for the work he does and the danger he is in, the long hours on duty night time, reserve all day, or vice versa. He is asked thousands of questions a day, such as; What is the best cure for teething babies? How to grow hair on a dog? Where “John-son” lives (and ten thousand Johnsons I  Baltimore)? How to cook Turnips? How many blacks in the Masonic Temple? Where are gold bricks for sale? What train did I come in on? Did you see my son Jim, he came into the yards with the cattle? And hundreds of other questions, all of which he is expected to answer, And though most of our policemen are walking encyclopedias they cannot very well answer the above, and the questioner walks away offended. Citizens think twice, investigate before you condemn the policeman, forgive his little faults. Had he the patience of  Jobe and the wisdom of Solomon he would yet make mistakes; because he is human. Yours truly Sergt.

Remember the Honor System...
All Told meant the Sergeant varified his men were there,
and you can bet they were as he said
"All Present and or Accounted for!"

Baltimore PD to Use Fingerprint Scanning to Track Officers' Time at Work

The PD plans to require officers to scan their fingerprints at the start and
end of shifts to prove they’ve worked the hours claimed on their pay slips

Feb 1, 2018

BALTIMORE — The Baltimore Police Department plans to require officers to scan their fingerprints at the start and end of shifts in order to prove they’ve worked the hours claimed on their pay slips, officials have confirmed to The Baltimore Sun.

The move comes as the department struggles to control ongoing overtime spending of nearly a million dollars a week and amid the ongoing federal trial of two Gun Trace Task Force officers whose corrupt colleagues have admitted to rampant overtime fraud by the unit.

“Let’s not sugarcoat this: Criminals found a gap in the system and took full advantage of it,” T.J. Smith, a department spokesman, said Wednesday. “That’s not fair to the city, and it’s not fair to the men and women in this agency who do their job honorably every day.”

Smith said the department is in the early phases of implementing the new biometric technology. Officials have purchased some hardware, but do not have an estimate for when officers will begin using it or how much the system will cost.

He said adoption of the biometric system is not about a lack of trust in officers and supervisors, to tell the truth on their time sheets, but “instilling a layer of trust in the community that we are doing something” about the vulnerability of the current paper-based overtime and payroll system to fraud.

“We’re not just going to say, ‘Oh well,’ and everybody crosses their fingers and hopes we do better in the future,” Smith said. “We’re taking steps to make sure we do better.”

According to multiple current and former commanders in the department, the underlying hope is that the technology will not only halt outright corruption but curtail a longstanding culture within the department in which frontline supervisors — lieutenants and sergeants — use unearned overtime and other unapproved paid time off as an “internal currency” for motivating and rewarding proactive policing.

In the Gun Trace Task Force case, officers are accused of, and some have admitted to, outright overtime fraud. Some officers claimed overtime pay while on vacation or while gambling at a local casino.

But prosecutors, defense attorneys, and witnesses called in the case also have discussed officers being given informal days off, called “slash days,” as a reward for good work. Former Detective Maurice Ward, one of six officers who have pleaded guilty in the case, testified that unearned overtime pay was used in the department to motivate officers.

Several commanders who requested anonymity to speak candidly about the department said the actions of the gun unit were criminal and in no way reflected common practices, but the practice of frontline supervisors using “slash days” — or “g days,” when a gun seizure is being rewarded — is more “widespread,” despite not being sanctioned by top leadership.

Supervisors, they said, are desperate for ways to keep officers motivated in a city where morale-crushing crime is rampant. They said the practice goes back years.

“You would hear squads say, ‘Yeah, we got five guns last week, so we got five g days,” one former commander said. “Some districts were well known for it. Some supervisors were well known for it.”

“It’s a well-known, not-talked-about secret,” said another former commander. He said he saw slash days used to motivate officers, to reward them, and to get them to work undesirable details. “I don’t think that the overwhelming majority of supervisors who are doing it think that they are doing anything wrong. They think that they are looking out for guys who are working hard.”

Another commander, who said he supports the introduction of biometric systems, said the culture of the department has allowed some supervisors and officers to begin thinking that they are owed something extra simply for doing their jobs.

“Unless you have a way to track where people are when they say they’re working, particularly overtime, then there is always going to be abuse,” he said.

For years, the police department has far exceeded its overtime budget. Last year, it budgeted $16 million for overtime and spent $44.9 million.

Much of that spending is to cover patrol shortages, the department says. Officials have said the department is hundreds of officers short, and that a scheduling structure in the officers’ contract — four days on, three days off — is forcing it to draft officers to work additional overtime shifts during the week to maintain necessary staffing levels.

Current and former commanders say overtime is a necessary component of every police department’s budget, as police must respond to unforeseen emergencies.

But the fraud revealed in the Gun Trace Task Force case, record levels of violent crime and ballooning overtime expenditures despite a half-a-billion-dollar police budget have forced a new reckoning with the problem within City Hall.

After the Gun Trace Task Force officers were indicted in March, Mayor Catherine Pugh ordered an audit of police overtime, which she said she wanted completed “as soon as possible.”

“We allow police overtime to run up when a lot of other areas of the city, like schools, housing and parks and recreation, could benefit from that money,” she said at the time.

The audit has not been completed.

City Solicitor Andre Davis said Wednesday he could not discuss the status of the audit because it is “an integral part of ongoing litigation” around a police union lawsuit against the city claiming unpaid overtime.

Lt. Gene Ryan, president of the Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 3, could not be reached for comment.

The current and former commanders who spoke with The Sun said the audit would not be easy, in part because the payroll systems in place to track overtime have been inadequate for so long.

Officers put in for overtime by using paper forms that must be filled out by hand and then entered manually by clerks. The computer system in which overtime is logged lacks clear categories that distinguish the reasons for the work, making it more difficult to track and justify.

Smith said the logistics for the new biometric program have not all been worked out, but the department is not the first “large organization with a lot of moving parts” to introduce such a system and is confident it will improve its payroll process.

“This is not any type of groundbreaking thing that we’re coming up with,” he said. “This is technology that exists.”

©2018 The Baltimore Sun

CHANGED FOREVER / Freddie Gray's impact on the BPD

BALTIMORE (WBFF) - City officers have stood trial; the murder rate has soared, with more than 1,000 people killed; and there's the consent decree. All have impacted the way this city is policed. April 12, 2015: the day that forever changed policing in Baltimore. The events surrounding Freddie Gray's death led to major reform within the Baltimore Police Department. New police vans were rolled out, body-worn cameras implemented and leadership changes made. Amid the turmoil, then-mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake requested the Department of Justice to investigate the BPD. By the time it was over, the justice department discovered a pattern of illegal policing, and within months, a federally-supervised reform plan went into place. The consent decree's aim was to change how police patrol the streets of Baltimore. On Friday, the federal monitor will present its first public update to the judge overseeing the consent decree. The monitor will provide details on where reform efforts stand at this point regarding the BPD. 4 April 2018- Baltimore Police Commissioner Darryl De Sousa said Wednesday he is close to signing an agreement with a six-member panel — including two former Baltimore police detectives — to investigate the unsolved death last year of Det. Sean Suiter. De Sousa said he has a memorandum of understanding with the former detectives “sitting on my desk right now” to investigate the fatal shooting of Suiter — one of the few unsolved killings of a police officer in the Baltimore department’s history. “What I can say is it’s going to be two former Baltimore City police detectives,” De Sousa told reporters at City Hall on Wednesday. He said the detectives were “well respected” in the field. “When I share the names you’ll understand what I’m saying.” The police chief said the two former detectives will be joined by “a few other outside police leaders.” 

“I added up the years of the six members on the panel,” he said. “It was 220 years of law enforcement experience.”

De Sousa said he hoped to finalize the agreement with the investigators “in the next couple of days” and bring in the outside panel next week.

He said he would not provide more information until the agreement was finalized. He did not say who would be named to the panel, how long they would work or how much they would be paid.

“The mandate is for them to take a look at the case, come up with findings and come up with recommendations,” De Sousa said.

Suiter was shot at about 4:30 p.m. Nov. 15 in a vacant lot in the 900 block of Bennett Place in Harlem Park. It was the day before he was to give testimony before a federal grand jury investigating Baltimore’s corrupt Gun Trace Task Force. Police have said Suiter was not a target of that investigation.

His death has been the subject of much debate within the police department. Some believe the detective killed himself. Others say he was killed.

The state medical examiner ruled the death a homicide, not a suicide.

De Sousa and Mayor Catherine E. Pugh outlined their policing strategies during the media briefing Wednesday at City Hall.

After three straight years of more than 300 homicides, the city is beginning to see crime decline.

Homicides have fallen 27 percent to begin 2018. Violent crime has dropped by 20 percent.

Pugh’s budget for the next fiscal year includes funding for 100 new officer positions and more money for the anti-violence Safe Streets program. She also included money to help fund an intervention program for boys and young men called Roca and extra services in seven Violence Reduction Initiative Zones throughout the city.

De Sousa said he’s deploying a mobile command vehicle to parts of the city where violence is most intense.

“We’re definitely trending in the direction we want,” De Sousa said of crime. “We have a lot of work to do.”

The commissioner also described more technologies his officers will soon be using.

Starting in June, De Sousa said, the Baltimore Police Department will begin employing crime analysts in East and West Baltimore, who will use “crime forecasting software” to predict where criminal activity will occur and position patrol officers there. He said a computer algorithm will tell officers how long to monitor a location.

“The crime analysts will direct the officers per shift, telling them where to go,” he said. “The whole concept behind the crime forecasting software is to tell us where to go before the crime occurs.”

The predictive policing strategy was created by Sean Malinowski, a deputy chief in Los Angeles, who has built a national reputation as a math-saavy police commander. Part statistician, part crime fighter, he has spent the past year helping Chicago police open high-tech “nerve centers” in violent neighborhoods.

Computers in those centers predict retaliatory shootings and transmit reports of gunfire to patrol officers. Those reports hit officers’ cellphones an average of three minutes before the first 911 call, Chicago police say.

Predictive policing has won over police chiefs around the country but also stirred debate among civil libertarians.

De Sousa said he hopes to allay any community concerns over predictive policing by sharing the algorithms the analysts will be using with the community.

“We’re going to be completely transparent about what those algorithms are,” he said.

Pugh said she heard about predictive policing while researching which police departments in other cities were being successful.

“The reduction in violence in Chicago has been attributed to these types of centers,” she said.

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ANNAPOLIS, Md. —

A Maryland House committee heard testimony Friday on a bill that would allow civilians to become voting members on police trial boards.

The city Fraternal Order of Police didn't object to having one civilian voting member, 11 News has learned. The offer came during contract talks, but was rejected by the City Hall negotiating team under then-Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake.

"It's late, to be honest with you. The bill got held up in that committee. They didn't have an early hearing. It was introduced late, so the chances are less than perfect to get the bill through," said the bill's sponsor, Delegate Curt Anderson, D-Baltimore City.

According to the proposal, police receiving probation before judgment verdicts are not entitled to a hearing board. The legislation does not supersede bargaining agreements. The board must consist of an odd number of voting members. Two civilians will be allowed to vote, but they must be trained by the Maryland Training and Standards Commission and on procedures of the Law Enforcement Officers' Bill of Rights. Board members cannot be part in the investigation or interrogation of the law enforcement officer.

"We are willing to make concessions, but it should be done at the table. It shouldn't be done down here in Annapolis," FOP Lodge 3 President Gene Ryan said.

The city police union also opposes giving the police commissioner the final authority to decide the outcome of the trial board.

"That may not stay in the bill. Certainly, our commissioner would want that," Anderson said.

It's unlikely the bill will get out of committee. The House chairman opposes changing the Law Enforcement Officers' Bill of Rights. His counterpart in the Senate is against using legislation to circumvent union negotiations.

After being shot, Baltimore police officer spends four years recovering in hope of returning to duty

In a large room filled with workout equipment at MedStar Union Memorial Hospital’s Curtis Hand Center, Keith Mcneill gripped a small clip between his thumb and index finger and placed it on a metal bar. It was a simple task — and just over four years in the making.

Mcneill was sitting in his Toyota Tundra outside a friend’s auto body shop in East Baltimore on March 14, 2014, when a masked man approached and began banging on a door.

Mcneill identified himself as a Baltimore police officer. The man pulled out a .45-caliber handgun and opened fire. Bullets punched holes in Mcneill’s left arm, his chest, his abdomen.

He remembers a bumpy ambulance ride. He doesn’t remember the pain. But he avoided looking at his left arm, for fear he’d go into shock.

Hundreds of people are shot to death in Baltimore each year. Hundreds more are wounded but survive. Few remain in rehabilitation as long as Mcneill.

The lifelong Baltimorean had served 19 years on the force when he was shot. He had risen to sergeant, supervising seven officers in the city’s Eastern District. Now he’s on medical leave, earning a salary but focusing on his recovery.

On each of the more than 1,400 days since the shooting, through multiple operations and endless physical therapy, a precipitous weight loss and months in a wheelchair, Mcneill has drawn motivation from a single goal: To return to duty.

Police work, his wife says, is a calling.

Mastering the hand exercises at Union Memorial is the last step of his medical odyssey — and perhaps the most important since trauma surgeons saved his life.

Four or five of the eight bullets fired at Mcneill tore through his left arm, wrecking the system of bone, tendon, muscle, blood vessels and nerves that make his hand work. Restoring its function is critical for his return to work.

“Sometimes it hurts a little and I’m sore after workouts,” Mcneill, 43, said during a recent rehab session. “I have faith I will regain full use of my hand. I’m very patient.”

At the University of Maryland Shock Trauma Center, a top-tier facility that sees the most grievous wounds Baltimoreans can inflict on each other, Mcneill recognized the elevator and hallways. He had escorted other victims there.

Now he was the patient. All injured police officers are taken to Shock Trauma.

His heart raced. Then it stopped.

More than 65 police officers have been killed in Baltimore in the last two centuries, almost two thirds by gunfire. Doctors say Mcneill lost so much blood he nearly joined them.

Another officer collected Mcneill’s wife, Danielle, and their son, then a junior in high school, and took them to the hospital. She didn’t reveal the severity of Mcneill’s injuries.

Separate surgical teams attended to Mcneill’s abdomen, chest and arm.

“Damage control,” said Dr. Thomas Scalea, the center’s physician-in-chief.

The doctors performed a procedure new at the time: inserting balloons through the femoral artery in the leg to the aorta to stop bleeding so they could make surgical fixes. It likely saved his life.

Mcneill was in surgery when Danielle arrived so she set up in the fifth-floor waiting room.

Scalea emerged after hours of surgery. Mcneill was unconscious.

“I did all I can,” he told Danielle. “Now it’s up to God and Keith.”

There would be more procedures to come — Scalea can’t say how many. For the first several days, he didn’t bother closing the wound in Mcneill’s belly because he would just have to open it again to clear debris, make more repairs and tackle infection.

Mcneill remained unconscious. Danielle, who had been his high school sweetheart, lefther job as a secretary at a Catholic school — and most food and sleep — for life on the fifth floor. As Mcneill was returned to the operating room each morning, she would say a prayer.

Mcneill woke after three weeks. He and his wife cried with relief. He would spend the next year in and out of the hospital, for patches, repairs and complications, and two more returning for other treatments.

“When we do this, a year and a half isn’t a long time,” Scalea said. “Three years is a long time.”

I did all I can. Now it's up to God and Keith.—        Dr. Thomas Scalea, physician-in-chief at University of Maryland Shock Trauma Center

The family imagined each treatment or operation as a step forward. Mcneill, a reserved man speaking publicly for the first time, acknowledged frustration and fear only rarely — such as the moment when doctors couldn’t find a pulse in his arm, calling the limb’s viability into question.

Every nerve in his arm had been injured or severed, says Dr. Ray Pensy, an orthopedic surgeon at Shock Trauma and the University of Maryland Center for Hand and Upper Extremity Care. He performed his first operation on Mcneil the day after the shooting, and continues to assess whether additional tweaks might offer incremental improvements.

Pensy knew a working hand was vital. When Mcneill woke, he immediately wanted to see his arm. Nurses, fearing the sight would cause his volatile blood pressure to spike, had hoisted the limb up and behind his head to hide the scaffolding holding it together.

During eight or so surgeries, Pensy installed metal rods from Mcneill’s shoulder to his wrist and moved tendons and nerves from healthy fingers to damaged ones.

In between procedures, Mcneill was relearning how to walk and talk. Though he watched hours of the Food Network to pass time, he relied on a feeding tube for nutrition. He dropped from 235 pounds to 170 pounds.

His wife, initially queasy about bodily fluids, learned to change bandages, colostomy bags and the feeding apparatus.

Mcneill used a wheelchair during his stay the University of Maryland Rehabilitation & Orthopaedic Institute and later at the hand center.

He also wheeled himself to court, to testify against his shooter. Police said Gregg Thomas had a grievance when he showed up at the auto body shop, but was targeting the wrong place. After three mistrials, he was convicted in 2017 of attempted murder and gun charges, and was sentenced to life in prison plus 35 years.

The rehab continues. For two years, Mcneill has been visiting the hand center to grasp fat wooden dowels, lift weights, pinch clips. Danielle helps ferry equipment.

“It’s a miracle to see him here doing anything,” she said. “I couldn’t even recognize him after it first happened. His face was bloated and he was hooked up to machines.”

Mcneill has found joy in tending to his beloved yard again and using power tools to build a wood trash bin receptacle. A steak lover who settled for mashed potatoes as his first meal after the shooting, he revels now in eating meat.

The strides he has made have left an impression on medical staff. Lauren Davis, his hand therapist, said she rarely sees a patient for so long — and so willing to keep pinching clips.

That wasn’t even possible when Mcneill first started hand therapy. He had little range of motion or strength.

She began by using her hands to stretch his fingers. She made custom braces for support and later she added bands to stretch the digits. She used paraffin wax to warm his joints and soften scar tissue.

Mcneill has moved onto arm bikes and other gym equipment to build strength.

His progress is evident. When he started at the hand center, he worked on picking up small pieces of cut up sponge. Now he can affix the most resistant clip to the thickest bar.

Doctors are considering transferring another tendon from a healthier finger to a scar-covered one to improve mobility this summer. Moving one of the two tendons that bend the middle finger of his injured hand to the index finger won’t harm the former, Davis said, but could require retraining the latter.

Pensy said the recovery after reattaching an amputated hand is less complicated. But Mcneill continues to press for the next thing.

“If you give a mouse a cookie, he’ll want milk, and then a napkin,” Pensy said. “When you’re doing well, you want to keep going. Keith is highly motivated to keep going, and if we can provide more function to achieve his goals then we will proceed.”

Mcneill’s goal remains returning to duty.

The department he would rejoin is much changed.

Freddie Gray died in police custody, the city erupted in riots and violence surged — a three-year spike in killing that has begun to abate only this year.

Investigators with the U.S. Justice Department found the department routinely violated the constitutional rights of citizens, particularly the poor and minorities, and the city entered a court-enforced consent decree that requires reforms.

Eight members of the elite Gun Trace Task Force were convicted of federal racketeering charges for shaking down citizens, stealing cash and drugs and claiming unearned overtime.

Anthony Batts, the police commissioner when Mcneill was shot, was fired, as was his successor, Kevin Davis.

Mcneill says police still have a positive impact on his community. Darryl De DeSousa, the new police commissioner, said Mcneill is what the city needs.

“Sergeant Mcneill is a courageous officer who possesses the character and attitude that the community wants in a police officer,” De Sousa said. “He puts the community first. After going through the unthinkable, all he wants to do is return to doing the job he loves. Just like on that fateful night he was shot, Sgt. Mcneill continues to fight. We will continue to support him and we hope that he can soon return as a full-duty Baltimore police officer.”

Back at the hand center, Lauren Davis massaged warm wax on Mcneill’s tired hand.

“It will happen,” Mcneill said.

 

2 Feb 2018

Baltimore Police Recruits Set to Graduate
w/Poor Understanding of Law,
Says Academy’s Legal Instructor

A third of Baltimore Police academy recruits set to graduate and become cops lack a basic understanding of the laws governing constitutional policing and are being pushed through by the department nonetheless, according to the academy’s head of legal instruction.

“We’re giving them a badge and a gun tomorrow, the right to take someone’s liberty, ultimately the right to take someone’s life if it calls for it, and they have not demonstrated they can meet [basic] constitutional and legal standards,” said Sgt. Josh Rosenblatt Friday.

After a gun and badge ceremony at the academy Saturday, the recruits will receive eight weeks of training on the street before formally becoming Baltimore police officers, department officials noted.

But Rosenblatt, an attorney by training, said in an interview with The Baltimore Sun that 17 of those 50 recruits failed to pass scenario-based practical tests on legal standards related to basic police work, such as the need for probable cause before making arrests.

He said all did pass eventually, but only after he and other legal instructors were removed from administering the tests.

Some of the recruits, he said, have not been able to master the basic material. Four have been in the academy for 18 months, having been recycled back from previous classes to continue their training, and still haven’t grasped the legal concepts, he said.

“With 18 months of training, they’re still failing to meet very basic legal standards,” he said. “Don’t illegally arrest people. Don’t illegally search people. These are not high standards.”

Acting Police Commissioner Darryl De Sousa said Friday night that he is looking into Rosenblatt’s concerns and reviewing the curriculum at the academy.

“Under my watch, there isn’t going to be a single police officer who does not satisfactorily pass any Maryland police training requirements,” De Sousa pledged. “They won’t be allowed to go on the streets. It’s plain and simple.”

A spokesman for Mayor Catherine Pugh said she is confident De Sousa is addressing the concerns. The Baltimore State’s Attorney’s office referred all questions to police.

Rosenblatt said he decided to speak to The Sun because academy leaders have ignored concerns raised by him and others.

After some recruits repeatedly failed legal tests, Rosenblatt said, academy officials returned to an old, less rigorous multiple-choice test.

Academy leaders also decided the tests would be administered by other police officers at the academy, rather than by Rosenblatt and other legally-trained instructors, Rosenblatt said.

“When I said that police officers are not more qualified to test the law than lawyers are, I was forcefully told that I was wrong,” Rosenblatt said.

When the multiple choice test was administered, every recruit passed, he said.

De Sousa defended the testing, saying it met state standards. But he said he would be reviewing how the current recruit class was tested and would make “any modifications” that are needed.

“I’ll take a look at that, and we’re doing it really rapidly,” he said.

Rosenblatt said his more rigorous testing model was not new — he introduced it after becoming an academy instructor two or three years ago — and has not been a problem before.

Pugh and police officials have said that the department is hundreds of officers short, and is doing everything it can to fill those positions.

Pugh has said the department should have 3,000 officers and called the fact that it has fewer than 2,000 on active duty working on the streets “really devastating.”

She has also said that her administration has made huge strides in recruitment — including by shortening the amount of time it takes to get new police officers on the job.

In September, then-Commissioner Kevin Davis — who Pugh fired last month — said that recruitment was outpacing attrition for the first time in years.

“There’s rumors out there and urban legends out there about no one wants to come to Baltimore, no one wants to be a Baltimore cop,” Davis said. “That’s all really a bunch of B.S.”

At a Neighborhoods Symposium Dec. 5, Pugh said she had used her Bloomberg Innovation Team, funded by Bloomberg Philanthropies, to brainstorm and come up with solutions to the shortage after two years of frozen police hiring and attrition rates of 20 to 25 officers a month had left the force depleted.

“I was in a position that I had to step up hiring police officers for our city,” she said. And she claimed her administration had been able to cut the time it takes to “become a police officer” dramatically.

The department has promised to improve training on constitutional policing as part of its consent decree with the U.S. Department of Justice.

The decree, which mandates sweeping reforms to the police department, was the result of a U.S. Department of Justice investigation that concluded the police department had engaged in widespread unconstitutional and discriminatory policing for years, particularly in poor, predominantly black neighborhoods.

The federal agency said illegitimate police stops, searches and seizures were a major problem for the department, as was a lack of adequate training for officers. 

Baltimore Police Officers found Guilty in Gun Trace Task Force Corruption Case

Justin Fenton The Baltimore Sun

A federal jury has convicted two Baltimore Police detectives for their roles in one of the biggest police corruption scandals in recent memory.

Detectives Daniel T. Hersl, 48, and Marcus R. Taylor, 31, were found guilty of racketeering conspiracy and racketeering. Federal prosecutors said they and other members of the Gun Trace Task Force had acted as “both cops and robbers,” using the power of their badges to steal large sums of money from residents under the guise of police work.

The convicted officers join six of their former colleagues who previously pleaded guilty in the case, four of whom took the stand at the trial and testified for the government.

Three other men, including a bail bondsman who was supplied drugs by the unit’s supervisor Sgt. Wayne Jenkins, have also pleaded guilty.

 

1/3 Baltimore Recruits Fail Final Academy Tests, So They Get Rid Of It

The Baltimore Police Training Academy's head of legal instruction said many recruits haven't met basic standards.

Baltimore, MD – The Baltimore Police Training Academy’s head of legal instruction said that a third of the recruits who will graduate from the academy on Saturday have not demonstrated sufficient understanding of practical legal standards.

“We’re giving them a badge and a gun tomorrow, the right to take someone’s liberty, ultimately the right to take someone’s life if it calls for it, and they have not demonstrated they can meet [basic] constitutional and legal standards,” Sergeant Josh Rosenblatt told The Baltimore Sunon Friday. “Don’t illegally arrest people. Don’t illegally search people. These are not high standards.”

Sgt. Rosenblatt, who is also an attorney, said that he turned to the media after academy leaders refused to address the concerns raised by him and others.

He explained that 17 of the 50 recruits who are being pushed through to graduation by the department were unable to pass basic scenario-based practical tests on legal standards, such as the need to establish probable cause before affecting an arrest.

Four of the recruits were attending the academy for the second time, but were still unable to understand and apply many basic legal concepts after spending 18 months in training, he said.

The testing model wasn’t the problem, Sgt. Rosenblatt explained. He said that he personally implemented the measure two or three years ago, and that there were no problems with prior classes.

But after some recruits failed the legal tests repeatedly, academy administrators reverted to an old, less difficult multiple-choice test, and decided to have the tests administrated by police officers, instead of trainers like Sgt. Rosenblatt.

Every recruit passed the antiquated, less-rigorous test, he said.

“When I said that police officers are not more qualified to test on the law than lawyers are, I was forcefully told that I was wrong,” Sgt. Rosenblatt said.

Acting Police Commissioner Darryl De Sousa told The Baltimore Sun that he will be examining the academy’s curriculum, as well as the concerns raised by Sgt. Rosenblatt.

“Under my watch, there isn’t going to be a single police officer who does not satisfactorily pass any Maryland police training requirements,” Commissioner De Sousa vowed. “They won’t be allowed to go on the streets. It’s plain and simple.”

He also defended the use of the multiple-choice test, and said that it met state standards. Commissioner De Sousa did say that he planned to review how testing was conducted on the current class of recruits, however.

“I’ll take a look and that, and we’re doing it really rapidly,” he told The Baltimore Sun.

In the recent past, Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh acknowledged that the city was struggling to fill hundreds of police positions. She said that under her administration, officers were being trained and put to work more quickly.

“I was in a position that I had to step up hiring police officers for our city,” Pugh said, adding that her administration had been able dramatically reduce the time needed to “become a police officer.”

The academy’s training concerns came at a particularly instrumental time for the department, which had promised to improve constitutional policing as part of a consent decree following a U.S. Department of Justice investigation.

That investigation determined that officers had made illegitimate stops, searches and seizures, and that a lack of adequate police training was a major concern.

Following Saturday’s graduation, the new recruits will complete eight weeks of training in the field before they officially become Baltimore Police Department officers, the department said.

Grave Concerns: Will Detective Suiter’s death bring Commissioner Davis down?

Click here or the picture above

Often the media will release a story without enough facts to tell a complete story, and insinuations of foul play are started. Had they released their tapes with all the facts might t have changed the opinions of those that now might not be willing to admit they may have jumped the gun. personally I like to come up with conclusion based on all the facts, not be force fed someone else opinion using only partial facts. In this case for instance - Internal doc details meeting w/ Asst State's Atty in April says ASA "...satisfied with how the events took place." The time stamped administrative report shows why the laps in time was there, the time stamp show it wasn't something they came up with at a later date. Please take a minute to read what was written and make your mind up while you have more facts. I should also point out, we don't work on a quota system, police don't make more if they arrest more. In this case, it would appear as if the initial stop team couldn't find it, which is not unusual, we often have guys do multiple searches, even on a grid search in a wide open field, we might go over it two or tree times with "fresh eyes" to have a better chance of finding what we are looking for, in a dark car, at night with plenty of small places to hid tiny packages, it don't take long to lose something. But I won't take sides, all I can do is present the information I have been given Son of officer slain in 2007 fatally shot Friday night 

Kowalczyk, 37, was a sworn officer in a position typically held by civilian communications professionals. He said he worked to improve the agency's outreach efforts across media platforms, particularly to highlight the existing community work officers were doing.

"The work we've been doing over the past two years was to try to find ways to humanize our officers," he said. "It was to find stories that connected with the outreach efforts we were doing." The agency now counts 130,000 Twitter followers, one of the most of any police department in the country, but was also criticized in some corners for a public relations approach that could be too heavy-handed.

He also marshaled the agency's outreach efforts as frustration with the department boiled over into unrest and rioting following the death of Freddie Gray in police custody. Kowalczyk said that frustration had accumulated over the years.

"One of the things we've said routinely is that the solution won't come overnight," he said. "It will take a lot of energy put into really engaging and showing the community that there's a sincere desire to be equal partners."

In its review of the riot response, the police union singled out the media relations office for disseminating a "gang threat" against police officers that was later deemed not credible. Kowalczyk said that the agency spread the warning under exigent circumstances and would do so again out of caution, which the union said lacked introspection over the way it undermined public trust.

Kowalczyk was a trailblazer of sorts as one of the agency's most prominent openly gay members. Earlier in his career, he served as an LGBT liaison for the agency to the public, and helped put together an LGBT advisory council for then-Police Commissioner Anthony W. Batts.

Recently, the department started putting together materials for Pride Week and sought gay officers who would be willing to tell their story. A few years ago, few were willing to be part of such efforts, he said.

"One by one, we started to see officers and sergeants popping up – more than I had an idea were even in the department," Kowalczyk said. He paused, holding back emotions: "It was very moving to see how far we've come."

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Copyright © 2015, The Baltimore Sun

Baltimore police chief Anthony Batts fired

Michael Winter, USA TODAY 8:38 p.m. EDT July 8, 2015

The Baltimore mayor fired the troubled city's police commissioner Anthony Batts, saying that a recent spike in homicides weeks after an unarmed black man died of injuries in police custody required a change in leadership. Wochit

(Photo: Andrew Burton, Getty Images)

Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake announced Wednesday that she has replaced Police Commissioner Anthony W. Batts.

Deputy Police Commissioner Kevin Davis, a veteran Maryland law enforcement official, was named the interim commissioner.

A Los Angeles native, Batts headed the department since the fall of 2012 after serving as chief in Long Beach and Oakland.

In a brief statement Tuesday evening, Batts said, "I've been honored to serve the citizens and residents of Baltimore. I've been proud to be a police officer for this city," the Baltimore Sun reported.

Rawlings-Blake said her motivation for replacing Batts was a spike in murders during the past month and not a police union report criticizing her and Batts for the April riots after Freddie Gray was fatally injured while in police custody. Six officers have been indicted, including one for murder.

"We cannot grow Baltimore without making our city a safer place to live," the mayor said at a news conference. "We need a change. This was not an easy decision, but it is one that is in the best interest of the people of Baltimore. The people of Baltimore deserve better."

So far this year, there have been 155 homicides in Baltimore, compared with 105 in 2014, WBAL-TV reported. Shootings have also spiked, with 303 shootings this year, nearly double a year ago.

May was the most violent month in four decades, with 43 slayings.

USA TODAY

Baltimore homicides in May worst in nearly 40 years

Tuesday night, three people were shot dead and one was wounded near the Baltimore campus of the University of Maryland.

Batts' dismissal came hours after the Baltimore police union released its review of the department's response to riots and unrest after Gray's death. The report found the response "lacking in many areas" and questioned Batts' leadership abilities.

"The question begs now, is the Baltimore Police Department prepared for the next potential unrest? Does Commissioner Batts have the leadership skills necessary to get the job done?" the review concludes.

"Before and during the riots, Police Commissioner Batts and his top commanders adopted a passive stance that put the image of themselves and City Hall ahead of the safety of its citizens and public servants," the review states. "This tentative posture allowed the destruction of personal property and needless injury to first responders."

USA TODAY

Report: Freddie Gray died of 'high-energy injury' in Baltimore

The mayor's office slammed the report by the Fraternal Order of Police.

"It is disappointing that the FOP continues to issue baseless and false information instead of working with us to find solutions that will protect our officers," spokesman Kevin Harris said in a statement. "The FOP is using the same sad playbook they relied on when they opposed our efforts to reform state laws and hold officers who act out of line accountable for their actions."

USA TODAY

6 Baltimore officers indicted in Freddie Gray's death

The statement said the city had "already identified and corrected some weaknesses, including the need to update how we assess the effectiveness of our riot gear and an order to begin the process of placing cameras in the backs of all police transport vans."

"Now is a time for healing; a time for progress," the statement continued. "This report offers neither."

Rawlings-Blake promised a review that would be "extensive, independent and consist of all of the facts."

"Our reviews will offer the citizens and officers more than a rehash of tired political rhetoric," her statement said.

Baltimore Mayor Fires Police Commissioner Anthony Batts

Deputy Police Commissioner Kevin Davis named interim commissioner - 8 July 2015

Effective immediately, Deputy Police Commissioner Kevin Davis becomes interim commissioner. Davis is a veteran law enforcement official who joined the city department in January after serving as Anne Arundel County police chief, a position he resigned from in Nov. 2014.

"The mayor made a decision. Now we have to move on and move forward," Baltimore City Councilman Brandon Scott said.

Davis was also previously a high-ranking official in the Prince George's County Police Department, which he joined in 1992 and where he eventually became deputy chief before taking over the top spot in Anne Arundel County in July 2013.

The move comes on the same day that the Baltimore police union came out with its review of the department’s handling of the riots and unrest following the death of Freddie Gray.

Batts has come under fire in the months since the riots and as violent crime has spiked.

"It's Baltimore. We know people are dying. It's time for the next man up in this business. We have to move on. We thank Commissioner Batts for service, especially for the great things that he did, but also you have to hold him accountable for the not-so-great things that happened during his tenure in the Police Department so we know that in this business we have to move forward," Scott said. 

Through July 8 there have been 155 murders so far in 2015, compared to 105 at this point in 2014. In addition, there have been 303 shootings in the city this year, compared to 163 in 2014.

The recent spike in violence includes a quadruple shooting Tuesday night near the University of Maryland at Baltimore, during which three people died.

Batts served as police chief of Long Beach, California from 2002 to 2007 before becoming the chief in Oakland, California. In 2012, Batts replaced Fred Bealefeld, who announced his retirement after a five-year run as chief that included a drop in the number of homicides in Baltimore.

Rawlings-Blake, Davis hold news conference

During a news conference Wednesday afternoon, Rawlings-Blake said the scathing FOP report had nothing to do with her decision to remove Batts. She said the focus on police leadership recently has been a distraction from crime-fighting efforts.

"Together, we helped Baltimore city realize the second-lowest number of homicides in a generation, but as we have seen in recent weeks, too many continue to die on our streets," Rawlings-Blake said. "Families are tired of feeling this pain and so am I."

"We know that people are dying at record levels that have not seen since the '90s right now in our city and accountability starts at the top. Over the past few months, we have seen the relationship with the police and community deteriorate. We've seen the relationship with the police and police deteriorate and a lot of that people hold the police commissioner accountable for," Scott said.

The mayor said it "has not been an easy decision," but "the people of Baltimore deserve better."

Rawlings-Blake named Davis as the interim commissioner, citing his extensive law enforcement experience.

"Under (Davis') leadership, we will continue to take guns off the streets," Rawlings-Blake said.

Davis briefly spoke at the news conference. He stressed a service relationship with the community and building a relationship with the rank and file.

"I won't speak for the rank and file," Davis said. "I will walk with them. I will serve with them."

Meanwhile, Davis praised Batts for his service and friendship. He said he learned a lot from his predecessor.

"There aren't many police chiefs who've done what he's done (with police work)," Davis said.

To stem violence, Davis said, "We have to sharpen our focus."

Rawlings-Blake said the attention has been taken away from the essential work on making the city safer. She and Davis said they hope to return the focus on community policing and reducing crime in the city.

Officials release statements on Baltimore Police Department leadership change

Baltimore Fraternal Order of Police Lodge No. 3 President Gene Ryan released the following response.

"Our After Action Review, released this morning, detailed officers' concerns that the Baltimore Police Department's response to the riots was lacking in many areas. We look forward to working with Interim Commissioner Kevin Davis to unite the Baltimore Police Department and move both our Department and City forward."

Meanwhile, U.S. Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein released a statement on the change of leadership.

"Kevin Davis worked his way up through the ranks and helped to reform the Prince George’s County Police Department, raising morale and professionalism while dramatically reducing crime," Rosenstein said. "The Baltimore Police Department is filled with many outstanding officers who deserve our trust, respect and appreciation."

Rosenstein extended a statement to Batts.

"I extend my best wishes to Tony Batts. Commissioner Batts faced challenging circumstances and did what he believed was best for the citizens of Baltimore," Rosenstein said.

Baltimore City State's Attorney Marilyn J. Mosby released the following statement about the change.

"We've already met with Interim Police Commissioner Kevin Davis and look forward to working with him and the dedicated men and women of the Baltimore Police Department. Mr. Davis brings an extensive amount of experience to Baltimore City and I believe together we will continue to move our city forward. We thank and appreciate Commissioner Anthony Batts for his service to the city of Baltimore."

Sen. Barbara A. Mikulski also weighed in on the decision.

"I strongly support Mayor Rawlings-Blake's decision to bring in new leadership at the Baltimore City Police Department. It's necessary to get the crime surge under control and restore faith in the police department. Baltimore City residents need to be both safe and treated justly. During this transition, I offer my thanks and support to the men and women in blue serving our communities every day."

Baltimore City Council President Bernard "Jack" Young released a statement that read in part:

"I worked closely with Commissioner Batts and always found him open to my ideas for reforming the department. He was engaging, experienced, and served our city to the best of his ability.

"But as I've recently crisscrossed the city, connecting one-on-one with citizens and members of our police force, it became increasingly clear that a growing lack of confidence in the direction of our city’s crime-fighting strategy had the potential to severely damage the long-term health of our city.

"As we continue to engage in the difficult and transformative work of reforming the practices and procedures of our police department, and institute a concrete community policing strategy, we must do everything in our power to quickly restore the trust of our uniformed officers, and the members of the public they are sworn to protect and serve.

"I look forward to working alongside Interim Commissioner Davis as we build a stronger Baltimore." 

Refresh wbaltv.com and our app, and watch 11 News for late-breaking updates.

A Baltimore police officer feared for her life when she shot a suspect during a struggle in Northwest Baltimore, police said Friday.

Police commanders said they believe the officer's actions Thursday were justified. The suspect was shot in the abdomen and was recovering Friday after surgery, police said.

"When we pull the trigger, that is the last option," said Deputy Commissioner Jerry Rodriguez.

It was the second time in a month that a Baltimore officer shot a suspect. The other incident occurred Dec. 28 in East Baltimore.

Police said officers encountered the suspect about 9:05 p.m. Thursday after they saw a van with its headlights off in the 4400 block of Reisterstown Road. Police tried to pull the van over, but it fled and then crashed near a senior center in the 4300 block of Pimlico Road.

Police said the driver and two occupants jumped out of the vehicle and ran. A group of officers gave chase, and a juvenile was arrested without a struggle.

Another officer caught up to a suspect, who began to resist arrest, Rodriguez said.

"We have reason to believe the man turned on the officer," he said.

The officer felt overpowered and had no choice but to shoot the man, Rodriguez said. The suspect was described as 6 feet, 2 inches tall, weighing 235 pounds.

The man, who was shot once in the abdomen, escaped before police found him wounded on the porch of a vacant home on Loyola Northway.

Rodriguez said the man was a "documented dangerous individual" with a "violent past."

"An officer is allowed as a last resort to defend themselves, their partner or the community," he said.

The van's third occupant was arrested after a "minor" struggle, Rodriguez said. Police say he was struck with a Taser. No officers were injured.

The names of the three suspects were not released because they haven't been charged, police said Friday. The name of the officer won't be released for 48 hours, as is Baltimore police policy. She was placed on paid leave while the department's Force Investigation Team reviews the shooting.

Part of the incident was captured on a CitiWatch surveillance camera, police said.

Baltimore police last shot a suspect Dec. 28 in East Baltimore. Officers responded to the 3000 block of Monument St., where they said Michael John Johansen, 45, was burglarizing a corner store. Johansen came out of the store holding something "shiny," police said. When he did not obey police commands, an officer shot him once in the upper torso.

Police did not say at the time whether Johansen had a weapon and said this month they could not comment further on the case because it was being reviewed by prosecutors.

Johansen survived after surgery. Court records show he faces multiple charges of burglary and failure to obey a law enforcement officer. No weapons charges were listed in the court records.

The Police Department also recently posted documents online detailing another officer-involved shooting on Jan. 13, 2014, in which an officer shot a suspect who had already shot himself in the head.

The report obscures the names of the officers and civilians involved, but the agency previously identified the officer who fired the shot as Detective Warren Benn and the victim as Perry Webb, 24.

The incident unfolded in the 1800 block of E. Lanvale St. as two officers from the Special Enforcement Section pulled over a vehicle after watching someone climb into the car who appeared to be concealing an object, police said.

After Benn placed one of the passengers in handcuffs, another officer said he saw Webb in the car holding a gun. According to the investigative report, the officer yelled "gun," took out his service weapon and took cover.

Police say Webb discharged the gun once, and Benn fired at Webb, striking him in his side.

When other officers arrived, they said Webb had gunshot wounds to his side and head, and was still holding the gun in his hand. An autopsy determined he died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound, police said.

The second man in the vehicle, identified in court records as 26-year-old Adam Williams, told detectives that he believed Webb had a weapon because he was "seeking revenge for the death of his cousin," according to the report. A backpack found in the car had an additional handgun inside, police said.

Williams was convicted of a handgun violation and sentenced to one year in jail.

The report posted on the Baltimore Police Department's website says a "Use of Force review board" found the shooting adhered to policy because of an imminent threat. They also found that the traffic stop was conducted properly. After the shooting, Benn completed a training program and "was able to display his ability to perform within the scope of departmental use of force policies," the report says.

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Baltimore police change work schedule

Officers to work 4 days per week, 10 hours per day

BALTIMORE —Baltimore City police are changing tactics in how they schedule officers in an effort to make officers' jobs more efficient and city streets safer.

Police said the new plan will give the department flexibility to rapidly move officers to areas where crime is occurring.

Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake said the strategy behind the Baltimore City Police Department's new public safety deployment plan is to get more officers on the streets where and when they are needed.

"Under this new schedule, Commissioner (Anthony) Batts will have the power to quickly and more efficiently flood neighborhoods experiencing increased violence. He will be able to more effectively implement strategies that allow our police officers to spend more time getting to know our residents," Rawlings-Blake said.

The Police Department's schedule is expanding from three to four shifts with officers, mostly on patrol, working four days a week, 10 hours a day.

The police commissioner said it's a more efficient way to fight crime, saying it's driven by calls for service. Batts said the plan is designed to have overlap, with officers always on the streets. The plan will also reduce overtime and create more community policing.

"That means officers have the ability now to get out of their car, to go to community meetings, engage with the community, and the community has made it very clear time and again, 'We want walking beats,'" Batts said.

Batts said he thinks the plan will give officers more time with their families and that will improve morale. But whenever police make a schedule change, the commissioner said he knows criminals take notice.

"Our strategy is based on throwing them off constantly, so we're changing our strategies on a regular basis. We're not going to dramatically change the schedule, but what it does allow us to do is move smaller pieces around. We'll have more resources independently to do more things with, so I think that will be a positive for us," Batts said.

Baltimore City Fraternal Order of Police President Gene Ryan and members of the Community Relations Council said they are also supportive of the plan, saying more officers will be on the streets during heavy-crime periods.

For the first time in the Police Department's history, officers were given an opportunity to choose their daily work schedule through a bidding process. Each officer's work schedule was awarded based on seniority, according to the mayor's office.

"The new schedule is a direct result of our new union contract," Ryan said. "The negotiations required to bring this new contract to fruition were often very difficult; however, each struggle strengthened the resolve to bring us to this point."

The new plan takes effect Sunday.

The bitter irony of the Michael Brown case is that if he had actually put his hands up and said don't shoot, he would almost certainly be alive today. His family would have been spared an unspeakable loss, and Ferguson, Missouri wouldn't have experienced multiple bouts of rioting, including the torching of at least a dozen businesses the night it was announced that Officer Darren Wilson wouldn't be charged with a crime.

Instead, the credible evidence (i.e., the testimony that doesn't contradict itself or the physical evidence) suggests that Michael Brown had no interest in surrendering. After committing an act of petty robbery at a local business, he attacked Officer Wilson when he stopped him on the street. Brown punched Wilson when the officer was still in his patrol car and attempted to take his gun from him.

The first shots were fired within the car in the struggle over the gun. Then, Michael Brown ran. Even if he hadn't put his hands up, but merely kept running away, he would also almost certainly be alive today. Again, according to the credible evidence, he turned back and rushed Wilson. The officer shot several times, but Brown kept on coming until Wilson killed him.

This is a terrible tragedy. It isn't a metaphor for police brutality or race repression or anything else, and never was. Aided and abetted by a compliant national media, the Ferguson protestors spun a dishonest or misinformed version of what happened—Michael Brown murdered in cold blood while trying to give up—into a chant ("hands up, don't shoot") and then a mini-movement.

When the facts didn't back their narrative, they dismissed the facts and retreated into paranoid suspicion of the legal system. It apparently required more intellectual effort than almost any liberal could muster even to say, "You know, I believe policing in America is deeply unjust, but in this case the evidence is murky and not enough to indict, let alone convict anyone of a crime." 

They preferred to charge that the grand jury process was rigged, because St. Louis County prosecutor Robert McCulloch didn't seek an indictment of Wilson and allowed the grand jury to hear all the evidence and make its own decision. This, Chris Hayes of MSNBC deemed so removed from normal procedure that it’s unrecognizable.

It's unusual, yes, but not unheard of for prosecutors to present a case to a grand jury without a recommendation to indict. Regardless, who could really object to a grand jury hearing everything in such a sensitive case? If any of the evidence were excluded that, surely, would have been the basis of other howls of an intolerably stacked deck.

It’s a further travesty, according to the Left, that Officer Wilson was allowed to testify to the grand jury. Never mind that it is standard operating procedure. As former prosecutor Andrew McCarthy points out, guilty parties usually don't testify because they have to do it without their lawyer present and anything they say can be used against them.

It is also alleged that the prosecutor McCulloch is biased because his father was a cop who was killed by a criminal. Follow this argument though to its logical conclusion and McCulloch would be unable to handle almost all cases, because of his engrained bias against criminality.

Finally, there is the argument that Wilson should have been indicted so there could be a trial "to determine the facts." Realistically, if a jury of Wilson's peers didn't believe there was enough evidence to establish probable cause to indict him, there was no way a jury of his peers was going to convict him of a crime, which requires the more stringent standard of beyond a reasonable doubt.

Besides, we don't try people for crimes they almost certainly didn't commit just to satisfy a mob that will throw things at the police and burn down local businesses if it doesn't get its way. If the grand jury had given into the pressure from the streets and indicted as an act of appeasement, the mayhem most likely would have only been delayed until the inevitable acquittal in a trial. 

The agitators of Ferguson have proven themselves proficient at destroying other people's property, no matter what the rationale. This summer, they rioted when the police response was "militarized" and rioted when the police response was un-militarized. Local businesses like the beauty-supply shops Beauty Town (hit repeatedly) and Beauty World (burned on Monday night) have been targeted for the offense of existing, not to mention employing people and serving customers.

Liberal commentators come back again and again to the fact that Michael Brown was unarmed and that, in the struggle between the two, Officer Wilson only sustained bruises to his face, or what Josh Marshall of Talking Points Memo calls an "irritated cheek." The subtext is that if only Wilson had allowed Brown to beat him up and perhaps take his gun, things wouldn't have had to escalate.

There is good reason for a police officer to be in mortal fear in the situation Officer Wilson faced, though. In upstate New York last March, a police officer responded to a disturbance call at an office, when suddenly a disturbed man pummeled the officer as he was attempting to exit his vehicle and then grabbed his gun and shot him dead. The case didn't become a national metaphor for anything.

Ferguson, on the other hand, has never lacked for media coverage, although the narrative of a police execution always seemed dubious and now has been exposed as essentially a fraud. "Hands up, don't shoot" is a good slogan. If only it was what Michael Brown had done last August.

National Review

Judge Threatens Detective with Contempt for Declining to Reveal Cellphone Tracking Methods
Baltimore prosecutors withdrew key evidence in a robbery case Monday rather than reveal details of the cellphone tracking technology police used to gather it.

The surprise turn in Baltimore Circuit Court came after a defense attorney pressed a city police detective to reveal how officers had tracked his client.

City police Det. John L. Haley, a member of a specialized phone tracking unit, said officers did not use the controversial device known as a stingray. But when pressed on how phones are tracked, he cited what he called a "nondisclosure agreement" with the FBI.

"You don't have a nondisclosure agreement with the court," Baltimore Circuit Judge Barry G. Williams replied. Williams threatened to hold Haley in contempt if he did not respond. Prosecutors decided to withdraw the evidence instead.

The tense exchange during a motion to suppress evidence in the robbery trial of 16-year-old Shemar Taylorwas the latest confrontation in a growing campaign by defense attorneys and advocates for civil liberties nationwide to get law enforcement to provide details of their phone tracking technology, and how and when they use it.

Law enforcement officials in Maryland and across the country say they are prohibited from discussing the technology at the direction of the federal government, which has argued that knowledge of the devices would jeopardize investigations.

"Courts are slowly starting to grapple with these issues," said Nathan Freed Wessler, an attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union who is tracking stingray cases. "What we're talking about is basic information about a very commonly used police tool, but because of the extreme secrecy that police have tried to invoke, there are not many court decisions about stingrays."

Defense attorney Joshua Insley still believes that police used a stingray to find Taylor. He cited a letter in which prosecutors said they were prohibited by the Department of Justice from disclosing information about methods used in their investigation.

The portable device was developed for the military to help zero in on cellphones. It mimics a cellphone tower to force nearby phones to connect to it.

Records shows that the Baltimore Police Department purchased a stingray for $133,000 in 2009.

Some critics say the use of such technology might be appropriate, with court approval, to help law enforcement locate a suspect. But in the secrecy surrounding its use, they say, it's not always clear that law enforcement officials have secured the necessary approval, or stayed within their bounds.

They also express concern for the privacy of other cellphones users whose data are caught up in a search.

In the case before the court Monday, two teens are accused of robbing a Papa John's pizza delivery driver at gunpoint in April.

Police say phone records show that the phone that was used to call in the delivery was also used to make and receive hundreds of calls to and from Taylor's phone. Police believe the first phone belonged to Taylor's co-defendant. They say Taylor confessed after he was arrested.

Taylor is being tried as an adult. The other suspectis being tried as a juvenile.

In court Monday, the robbery detective who prepared the warrant to search Taylor's home testified thatmembers of the department's Advanced Technical Team did a "ride-by" — described in court papers as "sophisticated technical equipment" — to determine one of the phones was inside the home. Detective Alan Savagesaid he did not know what technology or techniques the unit employs.

The defense then called Haley to the stand. He said police can use data from the cellphone companies to locate phones in real time.

Insley asked Haley whether police can ascertain a phone's location "independently," without the help of a phone company. Haley said yes.

When asked how, he balked.

"I wouldn't be able to get into that," Haley said.

Insley tried again later. Haley responded that police can get GPS location data from phone companies.

"Then there's equipment we would use that I'm not going to discuss that would aid us in that investigation," Haley said.

Williams, the judge, instructed Haley to answer the question. Haley invoked the nondisclosure agreement.

"I can't. I'm sorry. I can't," Haley said.

Williams called Insley's question "appropriate," and threatened to hold Haley in contempt if he did not answer.

Haley demurred again, and Assistant State's Attorney Patrick R. Seidel conferred with other prosecutors in court to observe the hearing.

Finally, Seidel said prosecutors would drop all evidence found during the search of the home — including, authorities have said, a .45-caliber handgun and the cellphone. The prosecutor said the state would continue to pursue the charges.

Wessler, of the ACLU, said Williams was right to ignore the nondisclosure agreement with the FBI.

"You can't contract out of constitutional disclosure obligations," Wessler said. "A secret written agreement does not invalidate the Maryland public records law [and] does not invalidate due process requirements of giving information to a criminal defendant."

Attorneys say they have suspected for years that police were employing secret methods to track cellphones. But only recently have they begun to find what they believe are clear examples.

Police and prosecutors in another case ran into a similar problem in September, when they were asked to reveal how a cellphone was tracked.

Sgt. Scott Danielczyk, another member of the Advanced Technical Team, testified in that home invasion case — also before Judge Williams — that police used data from a court order to track a cellphone to the general area of the 1400 block of E. Fayette St.

Danielczyk and three other members of the unit were tasked to "facilitate finding it," he testified, and determined the phone was in the possession of someone on a bus.

Williams asked how Danielczyk concluded the phone was being carried by the suspect.

"Um, we had information that he had the property on him," the officer said.

Williams pressed.

"This kind of goes into Homeland Security issues, your honor," Danielczyk said.

"If it goes into Homeland Security issues, then the phone doesn't come in," Williams said. "I mean, this is simple. You can't just stop someone and not give me a reason."

In that case, too, the phone evidence is no longer in play. Prosecutors are proceeding without it.

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Sergeant James A. Kulbicki at district court in Towson

Sun Paper pic with a partial caption, I don't think he deserves the title "Sergeant" anymore, and don't get how he can be given the title by this paper, when I have seen other articles in which an officer was injured, or lost their life and the title was either reduced to "Mr." or had "Former" in front of the rank, or is called a “COP”. I could be wrong but I think any officer that retires honorably deserves to hold and use their title, (If they so choose) but anyone that is dishonorably retired, or fired lost their title. Why the media would allow them to maintain that title has an agenda. Read more: http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/crime/blog/bal-exbaltimore-police-sergeant-granted-new-trial-in-murder-of-mistress-20140827,0,1273607.story#ixzz3Be1lJ2u9   Court of Appeals Opinion http://www.mdcourts.gov/opinions/coa/2014/13a13.pdf 

Ex-Baltimore Police Sergeant Granted New Trial in Murder of Mistress

Court of Appeals said his lawyers should have challenged evidence harder Sgt. James A. Kulbicki at district court in Towson. Photo by Wm. G. Hotz Sr./file photo (Wm. G. Hotz Sr., Baltimore Sun file photo / January 13, 1993)
By Ian Duncan, The Baltimore Sun
12:31 p.m. EDT, August 27, 2014

A sharply divided appeals court granted a new trial to a former Baltimore Police Sergeant convicted in 1995 of murdering his young mistress, finding that his attorneys should have done more to attack questionable forensic evidence. James Kulbicki was convicted of killing 22-year-old Gina Nueslein, a convenience store clerk with whom he had fathered a child. Nueslein’s body was discovered in Gunpowder Falls State Park just a few days before a child support hearing was scheduled for the pair.
At his trial, Baltimore County prosecutors marshaled an array of forensic evidence against him. That included testimony from an FBI expert who compared bullet fragments found in the woman’s skull and Kulbicki’s truck and gun and found their chemical composition matched. But in the years since, the Court of Appeals has ruled that the conclusions reached based on that science are badly flawed and that bullet analysis should not be used as evidence in criminal cases. In Kulbicki’s case, the court found that questions about bullet comparison had already been raised at the time of his trial and should have been raised by his attorneys. “Kulbicki’s attorneys’ failure to appropriately investigate … and to challenge the State’s scientific evidence on cross-examination at trial, thus, fell short of prevailing professional norms,” Judge Lynne A. Battaglia wrote for the court. It’s the second time Kulbicki has secured a new trial. He was originally convicted in 1993, but the case was overturned and he was convicted again in 1995 and sentenced to life in prison without the chance of parole.

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Batts to Remain Baltimore Police Commissioner for Six More Years

WMAR Staff

BALTIMORE - Baltimore City Police Commissioner Anthony Batts will remain on the job for at least another six years.

Batts’ status with the department became official Wednesday during a confirmation hearing. Batts, who came from Oakland, Calif., has been on the job two years and replaced the retired Fred Bealefeld.

Batts has worked to help reduce the rate of violence in the city. Baltimore’s homicide rate remains behind last year’s pace, but the city has been rocked by a series of recent unsolved murders, including the drive-by shooting death of 3-year-oldMcKenzie Elliott and the shooting death of 20-year-old CCBC lacrosse player Devin Cook.

City police to upgrade handguns
.40-caliber weapon to replace 9 mm for 3,200 in department
More `stopping power'
Officials say officers are `outgunned' by criminals on street

August 25, 2001|By Del Quentin Wilber | Del Quentin Wilber,SUN STAFF

Worried about being outgunned on city streets, Baltimore police are upgrading their weapons and expect to begin outfitting the department's 3,200 officers within the next few months.

Police are buying .40-caliber Glock handguns because they have larger shells than the department's 9 mm Glock pistols and more "stopping power," police officials said.

The new guns will also protect city residents, police said, because the .40-caliber bullets are less likely to travel through bodies and hit bystanders.

The bullets flatten out more than the 9 mm bullets, travel more slowly and have more force upon impact because they're slightly larger, said Lt. Col. Stanford Franklin, who heads the department's training division.

The added force will allow police to fire fewer rounds when they try to stop someone, decreasing the chance of errant shots, Franklin said.

"It's going to incapacitate a suspect" better than the 9 mm, Franklin said. "The less we have to fire, the better it is for everyone."

The .40-caliber and 9 mm handguns look alike and require the same trigger pressure to fire, Franklin said. The .40-caliber carries 15 rounds - two fewer than the 9 mm.

Franklin also said that police officials wanted to buy new weapons because the 9 mms were getting old. Most of those handguns were bought in the early 1990s, he said.

The purchase of the guns was approved Wednesday by the city's Board of Estimates. Baltimore police will pay Glock Inc. nearly $1.4 million for 3,350 .40-caliber handguns and 700 additional magazines.

It will take about a year to outfit the department, officials said.

Resale plan abandoned

Police officials had planned on trading their 9 mm weapons to Glock in exchange for the upgrade, a plan that would have substantially reduced the price - from $414 per pistol to about $150 each, said Bert F. Shirey, deputy police commissioner.

But police shied away from that plan because Glock would have sold the department's weapons overseas. Police officials feared the handguns might be used in a crime in another country or find their way back to Maryland.

Shirey said that the department's legal experts examined a state law that probably would have prevented the trade anyway.

The law passed last year says law enforcement agencies may only destroy their guns, sell them to another police force, sell them to retired state troopers or sell them to the officers who used the guns.

Baltimore police will be offered the chance to buy their Glocks, Shirey said. Those that aren't bought will be destroyed.

"If these ended up on the streets of Baltimore, it would be on our plate," he said.

Trend of gun upgrades

Baltimore police are on the tail end of a nationwide trend to upgrade police weapons. In 1998, Maryland State Police switched to .40-caliber handguns. Howard County switched to .40-calibers in March last year and Baltimore County police received their first shipments of .40-calibers late last year. All those departments had been using 9 mm weapons.

"The .40-caliber seems to be the caliber of choice for law enforcement," said Paul Jannuzzo, a vice president at Glock.

Baltimore police had been mulling a switch to more powerful handguns for about a year. Police Commissioner Edward T. Norris said in June that he hoped to quickly upgrade to the .40-calibers because he was concerned about police being "outgunned" on city streets.

Increasing firepower

Last year, city police seized 644 handguns that were more powerful than their 9 mms, according to city police statistics.

Gary McLhinney, president of the local police union, said the upgrade was needed to protect officers.

"The fire power of the criminals on the street is increasing," McLhinney said. "We're facing greater and greater danger."

AS 600-PAGE SURVEY RAPS CITY POLICE

RICHARD H LEVINE

The Sun (1837-1987); Jan 10, 1966;

pg. A1

Organized crime, place our terms of widespread

Police recruit standards down low…… page A9

By Richard Levine

The Baltimore Police Department has been closely examined and found to be seriously inadequate by the nation’s leading consulting firm specializing in police administration.

The 600 page report issued last night focuses severe criticism at the quality of leadership and management in the police department.

It points up many areas of critical deficiencies and levels both broad and detailed attacks on almost all aspects of police service, all phases of police administration and all divisions, bureaus, squads and specialized functions.

Reorganization Asked

It recommends an immediate, total reorganization of the department and immediate attention to some essential policing responsibilities that are most severely crippled by bad management practices.

It asserts that despite contrary opinion of the public, Baltimore is saddled with place and organization crimes of major proportions.

The report is the result of a $52,000 March to October study conducted by the field service division of the international Association of Chiefs of police.

Besides the dissection of the department problems, the report contains detailed recommendations for improvements.

Two Principal Concerns

The report bears down particularly hard on the top principal concerns of the Police Department – crime control and traffic control.

It engages in widespread faultfinding in both areas. The consultants recommend that the police department remain a state agency and that the governor retain its statutory power to appoint the Commissioner and his power to remove him from office misconduct for incompetency. Other major recommendations are these:

1. The organization of the department according to functions with clear lines of authority and responsibility. Include is the elimination of the rank of inspector and chief inspector.

2. The inauguration of an accurate, complete crime records system

Revision of Beat Patterns

3. A total revision of the beat pattern to equal the workloads of men in patrol.

. The proper development of the planning and research division with a crime analyst unit and expanded use of data processing.

5. The creation of a criminal investigation division for expert handling of all felonies and major vice cases from evidence gathering to preparation for trial.

6. The implementation of the internal investigation unit – now only on paper – as the commissioners watchdog on the department, responsible for intelligent information on misconduct, corruption, abuse of authority and the activities of organized crime figures.

Urges Formal Procedures

7. The establishment of formal disciplinary procedures and a disciplinary board for the prompt proper handling of charges brought against officers from within the department or civilians.

8. A formal system for airing grievances of uniformed and civilian employees of the department with the right to make formal grievances guaranteed by state law.

9. Higher education, physical mental and medical standards for applicants to the force.

10. A revision of the standard for rating candidates for promotion.

11. The restriction of promotion to the top five candidates on a merit rating list.

12. A serious police community effort to reduce the high automobile accident injury and fatality rate in the city with a special pedestrian safety program.

13. Elimination of the present law which restricts candidates for the position of Commissioner to residents or businessmen in the city.

14. A general increase in salaries and benefits including any bays, holidays, overtime pay, insurance benefits and uniform supplies.

15. The construction of a new department headquarters building: the immediate elimination of Northern district with its patrolling divided between Northwest and Northeastern: the abandonment of the Northern district headquarters building as soon as the police Academy can be moved to a newly constructed department headquarters building: the eventual abolishment of the southern district and a abandonment of its headquarters building.

It also calls for a realistic attitude toward problem of vice and crime and a harder attack on these conditions and on the block as a source of “moral blight.”

Two subjects that have drawn much public interest recently are handled by recommendations that the Police Department relieve itself of responsibility for them.

The consultants believe that all towing matters, removal of illegally parked vehicles as well as vehicles and accidents, should be turned over to private contractors.

Sanitary Inspection

And it recommends that the city assume the task of sanitary inspections.

The consultants call for the abolishment of the auto theft squad, the pickpocket, hotel and V.I.P. Squad, the riot squad, the mounted sections horses, and the transfer of their functions elsewhere.

There are thousands of specific suggestions directed toward every subject from the meter maid’s manner to the length of the Espantoon.

Even as it urges an immediate program of reform, the report points out that the consultants while engaged in the study, were met with the kind of obstinate resistance that prevented improvements and progress in the department in the past.

“These recommendations will be of little value unless the administrative climate of the Police Department is changed,” the reporter says.

“Superior officers must accept the fact that the department needs improvement and must recognize their responsibilities and lifting the department from its content with the status quo and traditional concepts, to those of the modern, progressive and efficient department the community deserves.”

First Study in 25 Years

The report points out that this is the first comprehensive survey of the department in 25 years, that the reorganization plan suggest that in the previous report was never adopted and that they did department’s structure is virtually unchanged from that which existed in 1940. The report warns:

“It is to be hoped to that history does not repeat itself: restructuring the Baltimore Police Department is sound in importance only to improving the competence of its management.”

The consultants ordered the following guide to their own approach to the survey: “of this report is critical in nature, because in an effort of this type, the most intensive examinations are naturally made into existing weaknesses.

“Intentions of this criticism is that it be constructive: that it assists in improving the organization, personnel and practices of the Baltimore Police Department so that the people will receive effective police services consistent with democratic ideas.

“It should be remembered that the survey is directed toward all police activity and is not just a narrow search for faults. Thus it is consistent with the standards of objectivity.”

The criticism is of two types: that directed toward practices and policies that are not as effective as they should be, and exposure of major flaws that are so basic as to cripple the department. As late as this fall, the department walked on the implementation of two aspects of report that were considered to be important enough for immediate action.

The police Association consultant said that the recommendations on record management were presented in preliminary form to Commissioner Bernard J Schmidt and his inspector on September 21, 1965.

Final Report Presented

Several meetings were held to discuss the recommendations, the consultant said, and a final report was presented to the department on 20 October to enable the department to inaugurate new reporting procedures by the start of the calendar year.

“Despite this, to date the department has taken no action whatsoever in preparation for a change in the present reporting procedures.”

“A second matter indicated similar dilatory handling.” Says the report.

On September 29, the report says, the police Commissioner was given to plans prepared by the I.A.C.P. For the establishment of an internal complaint investigation procedure.

These plans were made after conference had taken place with major McKeldin and Gov. Tawes. There were later conferences.

A Capt. was promoted to inspector, the report says, “reportedly to command the proposed new unit. The plans, however, has still not been implemented.”

What is required in Baltimore the report states, is “inspired, imaginative and indefatigable leadership in the police department and cooperation and support from the community and the state.

However, the consultant was described present leadership in a department in the following statements:

“Management competency is questionable.”

“Management sidesteps responsibilities.”

“Management fails to take strong stands, fails to plan for the future needs and fails to recognize the reality of poor procedures.”

“Supervision Misdirected”

“There is misdirection of the first line supervision – the practices of advancing or promoting personnel are antiquated and restrictive.”

“The system of evaluating personnel performance has been perverted.

“But management, even though cognizant of and dissatisfied with the use of the system, has failed to take meaningful corrective action.”

The report makes clear that under the present organizational structure the department’s chief inspector, George J. Murphy, is a “strong assistant Commissioner” who assumes and in ordinate share of the actual command and, therefore of the responsibility of the department.

Source of Difficulties

The report, where ever its intention turns, looks back at “management” and “the supervisors” to find the source of the difficulties. For instance: “demands for a civilian review board to oversee the conduct of force are not usually heard in those communities where the police agency operates an effective disciplinary program of its own.”

This statement is in a discussion of the internal investigation division IID. The unit that Commissioner Schmidt found an inspector for but, according to the report, has failed to organize.

The I.A.C.P. went against its own previous position and recommending that the police department remain under state control.

Transfer Idea Discussed

In lengthy discussion of this topic of the consultants conclude that “competent police management can do an outstanding job under the present set-up.”

Primary reason for making a change, the report says, would be to avoid political control and interference, to satisfy desire for home rule or to escape financial burden imposed by the state.

The consultants found none of these factors present in Baltimore.

There is no popular moved to transfer control, they said, and in referendum the citizens of Baltimore have previously rejected taking control.

Legislation last year gave the city control of the police budget. Purchasing and disbursements. Moves that gave the city virtual financial control of the department, they continued.

As for Political Interference:

“External control of the department does not appear to be a major problem… Indeed, the present political climate in the city might prove such a move (transfer to city control) to be harmful.”

Further on:

“We have seen little evidence of machine politics in the operation of the Baltimore Police Department, although there are rather well – circulated rumors concerning the influence of certain promotions. Many of the derogatory facts of unwholesome political control are conspicuously absent in the city of Baltimore.

The I.A.C.P. Experts, probably too many people surprise, did not recommend any increase in the number of patrolman needed for crime patrol.

Repeatedly, however, the consultants complained that that the departments in accurate crime stats hamper attempts to determine such things as actual workloads, the level of crime or whether crime is increasing or decreasing.

However, by utilizing a short time, temporary, control system enough information was gathered to allow a new mapping of the beats to equalize the workload for patrolman.

The suggested shifts actually resulted in a surplus of 136 positions over actual minimum needs. At the same time, the report said, the police coverage and quality of protection would be improved.

Other Cities Compared

In terms of money and men, the report says the Baltimore compares favorably with other major cities in the nation.

The Police Department gets $27 million annually which represents 14% of the receipts from general property taxation – a per capita cost of $24.30.

Comparative cost figure for other cities are: Chicago $25.69: Washington $32.49: Los Angeles $22.41: Detroit $21.82: St. Louis $21.81: Philadelphia $21.25: Milwaukee $19.59: Cleveland $18.62 and Houston $11.74.

In terms of police and please per inhabitant, Baltimore ranks higher than any city in that group with an exception of Washington in terms of police employees per square mile Baltimore ranks fourth.

The consultant said that a further significant comparison was with the city’s Los Angeles and Milwaukee “regarded by some as among the best police departments in the country.”

The I.A.C.P. Found the Baltimore spends more and has a higher proportion of police employees than either of those cities.

The picture of what the city gives the department is far brighter, however, then what is returned.

Because of the garbled records the department’s performance in criminal convictions could not be computed. The report said, it did conclude, however, that only a relatively small percentage of persons who committed major crimes in the city are ever found guilty of the original charge.

On Traffic Control

As for traffic control, this second major area of responsibility “provides some insight on the departments of efficiency.”

The report contains this summary statement” “the traffic performance record of Baltimore Police Department is below recommended national standards in the categories of training, hit and run convictions, overall enforcement, selective enforcement, enforcement by nine full-time traffic officers, pedestrian enforcement and enforcement of drinking driving laws. The overall 1964 traffic performance of the department was evaluated at 32% of the recommended performance 100% level”

The I.A.C.P. Recommend restructuring the department into three functional bureaus – administrative, operations and services – each headed by a deputy Commissioner.

Under them would be other functionally organize units headed by men with new ranks – three chiefs, 12 directors and three deputy chiefs – all above the rank of Capt.

That use would head the division’s largest in personnel and authority – patrol, traffic and the new criminal investigation division.

All the way down to the organizational chart, services would be combined with like services.

Because of the intense difficulties in traffic control the I.A.C.P. Recommends the formation of a special community committee to strike at this problem with the new traffic division.

Equally disturbed to the consultants was the departments approach to criminal investigations.

The report speaks of lack of understanding of the investigation process in modern policing and the confusion among units as to the responsibility for investigations.

Furthermore, follow-up investigations, the consultants found were draining a great amount of time from preventative crime patrolling and taking sergeants away from their primary responsibilities of supervision.

The separate investigation unit would take over follow-up work in felonies and vice, thus adding professionalism to the task of freeing the patrol for its specialty.

“Not satisfactory”

As for the present patrol assignments, the report turned them “Not satisfactory.”

It points, for example to the workload of the radio car 504 which was found to be the only 38% of that of a radio car 102.

The department was found to be guilty of other had patrol practices. Men are divided nearly equally among the three shifts each 24 hours even though the work load and crying frequently is not equally distributed.

A study showed that the greatest amount of work occurred during the 4 PM to midnight shift but that the largest proportion of patrolman were assigned to day shift.

In figures the 4 PM to midnight shift had 40% more work than a day shift and 17% fewer men.

Different Workloads

Similar inadequacies were found from district to district.

The one man patrol cars, the two men radio cars and foot patrolmen were found to be carrying workloads which were disproportionate to their total manpower strength.

Foot beats were found to be unrealistically large in many cases. Despite these illogical assignments the drain effectiveness the consultants found further that “a high proportion” of available manpower was assigned to a host of miscellaneous duties, and this “in the face of claimed that shortages of manpower to fill foot post.”

The discontinuance of the northern and southern police district, the consultant said, would further increase patrol efficiencies and free extra men for the streets by eliminating duplication of non-patrol assignments.

“The presence of the district station is in itself no deterrent to crime” a very small percentage of all police services originate with a complaints appearance at a station,” the report says.

Not only did the consultants find men enough to patrol Baltimore’s streets, they also found there were enough patrol sergeants to do adequate supervision. Outside of the patrol, supervisory ratios provided another kind of problem.

For instance it was found that there were twice as many detective Sgt. is needed the supervision of the 154 detective patrolman. The report recommends cutting the complement of 49 sergeants in half.

Beside the detectives, the homicide Bureau, Hotel squad, narcotics squad and states attorney unit was found to be “top-heavy with supervisors.”

And yet with all these supervisors, lack of supervision was an important complaint of the report.

The problem, “questionable selection process; failure to use a supervisory probationary period; failure to provide adequate supervisory training: excessive familiarity with subordinates and lack of bearing” and several other reasons.

Along with the lack of supervision, the consultants found a lack of effective control from the Commissioner which they particularly blame on the organizational structure and partially one lack of staff supervision.

The consultant said the apparent intent of the organization scheme is to give the Commissioner administrative functions and the chief inspection operational functions.

The report says this system makes the chief inspector “a strong assistant Commissioner” and quotes a textbook on this situation: “at best a single assistant chief accomplices tasks that are properly the duties of an executive officer or adjutant: the worst he isolates the chief of the department and takes over policy decisions without which the department head cannot be chief in fact and becomes sort of a “grandvizer” to which all ranks must bow in order to have their request granted.”

Responsibilities Shared

The survey team labeled the Baltimore system as “defective” because responsibilities from management are not clearly fixed but are shared.

“The final result is that the Commissioner is held responsible in practice by the governor and by the public for all the activities of the department, but is insulated and prevented from being an executive in fact.”

Because of the lack of staff inspections, the report said, Commissioner Schmidt must accept reports on performance of duty from those who are personally charged with the responsibility for the duty.

There is no way for the Commissioner to ensure that the line commanders are properly performing their duties.

The report says that the most singular recent example of what this lack of real information can lead to was the commissioner’s lack of knowledge of the faulty crime reporting procedures until outside sources disclose them publicly with the resultant wave of unfavorable publicity.

“Even an outsider unschooled in police work could detect something was wrong with the crime reporting and were courting as practiced by the Baltimore Police Department.”

The imperfect recording of crime incidents, the report says, was not the fault of the investigating officers and sergeants, lieutenants, captains and top administrators were aware of the practices and permitted them.

On December, 1964 after the police crime records were publicly questioned, a thick report was transmitted to governor Tawes by the Police Department in which nearly every officer above the rank of Lieut. claim that there was no evidence to indicate that they complete recording was not being practiced.

Very Little Praise

In a mass of criticism, very little praise comes forth.

The consultants do command the public relations efforts of Capt. Norman J. Schleigh, head of the police training academy, any attempts made by Thomas J. Miller, former personnel director, in areas of improving the process of selecting officer candidates and in trying to activate formal grievance procedures.

Among the miscellaneous services that receive strong criticism is the medical division and the police positions.

The consultants claim that physicians exercise more control over a high sickness rate in the department, an average of more than 12 days a man every year for the past two decades.

The consultant said that a combined sickness and injury rate of eight days or more a year as an average for the department should prompt the administration of the department to either improve control over misuse of sick leave or else and prove a genuinely poor health record.

In Baltimore’s case both approaches must be used, said the report.

Reducing the sick leave to a tolerable average of eight days a year would be the equivalent of a gain of 90 men on the force, the consultants figured.

Would Replace Doctors

“If physicians on the staff are not sympathetic to more stringent control procedures, they should be replaced with doctors who are willing to assert their responsibility and authority, “said the report. The positions were also said to have no well-developed medical standards for recruits and for accepting candidates of questionable physical fitness.

There are a number of miscellaneous criticisms of major importance in many areas.

The consultant thought the K-9 Corps was poorly assigned and wasting time patrolling hospitals.

A spot check revealed that citizens call for help were more probably answered on the regular administration telephone lines than through the emergency numbers.

With few exceptions this was followed almost to the letter bringing the department into modern times, and making the incoming commissioner at the time (Donald Pomerleau) look like a genius. Don't get me wrong he was very good at what he did and made some outstanding improvements to the department, but with a cheat sheet or umm.. "Suggestion sheet" like this, he had a nice head start. That said the rest was all up to him and he did and amazing job.

Baltimore Police to post "Use of force"' cases online

The Baltimore Police Department says it will begin to post a log of its investigations into serious use of force by officers online, and for the first time will ask the city's civilian review board to look at shootings involving its officers and deaths of people in custody.

Police Commissioner Anthony W. Batts said the move was the latest in a series intended to improve transparency and accountability.

"We have a responsibility to be as forthright and transparent as the law allows us to be, especially when it comes to our use of force," Batts told reporters Tuesday. He said the city force would be the first in the state to display such information online.

The agency began posting a list of incidents being investigated by a newly created "Force Investigation Team" online this week. The 15 cases on the department website Tuesday included fatal shootings that involved officers, an incident in which a shot was fired into a vehicle, Taser discharges, and allegations of police vehicle pursuits. Some had not been previously disclosed.

When the Force Investigation Team completes a review, a summary, including any policy recommendations, will be posted on the site, Deputy Commissioner Jerry Rodriguez said. Reviews typically take several months to complete.

Officials say state personnel laws prevent them from disclosing information on officer discipline.

Activist C.D. "Cortly" Witherspoon said the inability to tell the public when and how officers are disciplined "feeds this suspiciousness that the citizenry has for this entire process." Still, he called the online list "a positive move in the right direction."

Robert F. Cherry, president of the Fraternal Order of Police in Baltimore, said the union had not been advised of the details of the plan and intends to sit down with top officials. His chief concern was that release of too much information could compromise the investigations.

"We need to protect the rights of the officers who, at the end of the day, are the ones getting the job done," Cherry said.

Under Batts, the Police Department has been overhauling nearly every aspect of how it does business. Tuesday's announcement was laid out in a wide-ranging strategic plan that was released in November 2013.

Uses of deadly force by Baltimore officers have for years been investigated by the agency's own homicide detectives, while training reviews of such cases were not being conducted, according to a commission appointed in 2011 to review the friendly fire death of Officer William H. Torbit Jr.

The Force Investigation Team is modeled on a unit in Las Vegas developed by the U.S. Department of Justice. The Baltimore team is composed of specially trained officers who report to the department's accountability bureau.

"We will investigate the tactics, policies, and [the] actions of the officers leading up to, during, and immediately after" the use of force, Rodriguez said. "We continue to strive to bring the national best practices to the Baltimore Police Department."

A new "use of force" board of top commanders will then produce a report with recommendations to the police commissioner, he said.

The report is to be posted online once it is approved, he said. It's unclear how detailed such reports will be.

Once the commissioner has signed off on the report, Rodriguez said, the "entire investigation" will be handed over to the civilian review board.

The Baltimore Sun reported last year that four of the nine positions on the board had long been vacant, the police and union had stopped attending meetings, and some board members were asking whether they were fulfilling their mission. The city has been working since then to reconstitute the board.

The board's recommendations on cases of excessive force and abusive language have rarely if ever been followed, The Sun found, and its investigations and findings are not made public. In other cities, civilian review boards have had a more assertive role.

Rodriguez said asking the civilian review board to look at more serious use-of-force cases was "something that has not been done in the city, and we're very proud to bring that here with the ultimate goal of being as transparent as legally possible."

Alvin Gillard, a city official who oversees the civilian review board, said he had not been informed of the new plans. He said police have been working to increase cooperation with the board, including attending the board's meetings.

Still, he said, "When you have the law enforcement officer's bill of rights hovering over everything, it does limit what you're able to do."

Batts noted that the department has appointed outside panels to review the deaths of Anthony Anderson and Tyrone West while in police custody. The West review is expected to be completed soon.

Batts said more changes to use-of-force policies are coming.

J. Wyndal Gordon, an attorney representing Anderson's family in a $2 million lawsuit, said the department's efforts at transparency have fallen short. The family says officers used unnecessary force when the 46-year-old was thrown to the ground during a drug arrest, causing his spleen to rupture.

The officers involved were cleared of criminal wrongdoing, and the outside panel said the officers acted appropriately.

"Although they're trying to give the appearance that they're doing more, it's really more of the same," Gordon said.

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ARE NOW CITY POLICE

The Sun (1837-1987); Jan 6, 1919; pg. 6

ARE NOW CITY POLICE

33 Former Members of County Department Accepted By City

WERE ASSIGNED YESTERDAY (5 January 1919)

Many of Them Will Patrol Their Old Post in the Newly Annexed Territory

Marshal Carter announced last night That 33 former Baltimore county policemen had been accepted during the past week as members of the city department; had received their uniforms and equipment, and, were attached yesterday to six of the outlying districts and assigned to posts mapped out by the Police Board. As the Annexation act allowed but 60 men patrolling the 50 square miles of the Annex, Marshall Carter intends to build up the outline force as soon as he can obtain 27 new men for the territory.

Only two sergeants were made for the populous sections of Highlandtown and Canton. They were William C Feehly and Christian Hesse. Sgt. Feehly and Sgt. Hesse will alternate on the schedule of six weeks day and six weeks night duty. The policeman attached to the six districts are as follows;

Eastern District – Hesse, Patrolman Andrew Hartman, Timothy Feehly, Henry Wachter, Joseph F Hess, Nicholas Wolf, and Michael Noppinger.

Northeastern District – Patrolman John Pilsch, Dennis F. Starr, Henry B. Nuth, G Ritter G. Ritter, and Robert Grace.

Northern District – Louis Mehring, Perry A. Knight, Louis F. Bortner, John Rutledge and John F Hufstettler.

Northwestern District – Daniel M. Hoffman, James E. Kleeman, James McConkey and Earl L. Jackson.

Southern District – Sgt. John P. Helmer, patrolman John Dotterweich. Frank P. Hasse, Henry E. Rapp, Philip Mewshaw and Howard J. Swope.

Southwestern District – Patrolman Thomas G. Stein, Henry Schwink, Joseph A. Arnold, Barney R. Bealefild and George A. Moeller.

Some Are Dissatisfied

A number of the patrolman who live in Highlandtown, and to formerly assigned to post near their homes, have been assigned to post, and in the extreme outlying sections of the new territory in the southwestern and northern districts. Some of the men require nearly 2 hours to reach their post, and they are kicking. Marshall Carter is cognizant of the condition, and he proposes to remedy it as soon as he obtains men for the faraway posts.

Many of the patrolman, however, are patrolling their formal posts in an annexed area, and they have no complaint to make. All agree, however, that they expected shorter hours: a tour of duty which would conform with three shift system of the city. For several weeks, however, the patrolman of the Annex will be obliged to work on a 12 hour basis.

Marshall Addresses Men

What Marshall Carter said to the former County policeman when he had them appear in his office at police headquarters is quite interesting.

“Men, you are now members of the Baltimore Police Department.” He said, “and I want you to distinctly understand that you owe your allegiance to no politician, no gambler, or no one else who by act disposition, is opposed to law and order. There are no strings tied to your job. You are responsible for the preservation of law on the post assigned to you, and there is no one who can, in any degree, interfere with you in the performance of your duty. I earnestly believe that you are men who will perform your duty, and to that and you will have the unqualified support of your superiors and the board of police commissioners.” He continued with, “There are three things which this department will not tolerate: disorderly houses, elicit from selling and gambling. Should you have occasion to proceed against such violators, I want you to do it with vigor, and I will back you up. You need have no fear when you enforce the law, because you are protected by law and by the integrity of this department.”

A number of the new members of the force were greatly pleased at what Marshall said. They were men who knew what the old system of policing in the county had been, and who had actually had a difficult time keeping their jobs when politicians of the old 12^th district got after them.

It won’t be long, probably a week, before motorcycle patrolman will be detailed to the outlying sections to aid police work, and if Marshall Carter and the police board are successful in carrying out their plans it is probable that the Canton police station will be reopened ere many weeks.

Definition of “Ere” 1. Ere (adverb) before; sooner than 2. Ere (adverb) rather than 3. Ere (verb) to plow. [Obs.] See Ear, v. t

The Baltimore region has some cases that were all high-profile and caused tension in communities, but the rules for police are different.

"They shot a 14-year-old in the back," said a family member of Simmont Thomas in 1993 after the teenager fled from police officers pursuing a stolen car. City police Officer Edward Gorwell shot Thomas in the back and the teenager died at the scene. He was unarmed.

A grand jury investigated and indicted Gorwell on charges of manslaughter, but the first trial ended in a mistrial. New evidence surfaced to back up Gorwell's claim he thought he had heard a gunshot. He wasn't tried again.

In 1997, city Officer Charles Smothers shot and killed a man wielding a knife in plain view at Lexington Market. The Police Department claimed the man lunged at Smothers but video refuted it. Then-Baltimore City State's Attorney Patricia Jessamy chose not to prosecute, saying she wouldn't create a climate where officers hesitated to act.

"After a thorough review, I am unable to find Officer Smothers acted unlawfully; therefore, I am not presenting this matter to a grand jury," Jessamy said in August 1997.

More recently, outgoing Baltimore City State's Attorney Gregg Bernstein spared city officers from prosecution in two cases in which two men -- Tyrone West and Anthony Anderson -- died in scuffles with police officers. Bernstein chose not to go to a grand jury with either case, concluding the use of force was within the law.

A Supreme Court case from 1989 sets the standard by which police are judged. The court wrote: "The reasonableness of a particular use of force must be judged from the perspective of a reasonable officer on the scene, and must embody an allowance for the fact that police officers are often forced to make split-second decisions about the amount of force necessary in a particular situation."

The ruling poses three questions: What was the severity of the crime? Did the suspect pose an immediate threat? And, was the suspect resisting arrest or evading capture?

The ruling means the law treats police officers differently and gives them leeway. As one expert said, a citizen's duty is to retreat, just the opposite of the duty of a police officer.

More HERE  

Lawless in Baltimore

Ruffians Unmasked by The Marshal of Police
Organized Gangs of Malefactors
How They are Banded Together and How They Defy the Police.

At the request of the grand jury police Marshal John T. Gray addressed a communication to Mr. Robert Banks, foreman of the grand jury, given from the police records a history of lawlessness; naming nearly 250 ruffians and disorderly characters, some of them thieves, belonging to berries gangs in the different sections of the city, but more especially making their rendezvous’s in the middle district. The names of these parties are withheld at the request of the police board. Some of them are individuals who have figured conspicuously in the newspapers as violators of the law and disturbers of the peace: others have not achieved notoriety outside of station – house records. But they all are men of the police have found it necessary to mark and to guard themselves and the public against. The Marshal furnishes not only the names of some of the more prominent actors in cases of violence and disorder which have lately occurred in the city, but the locality, also, of the usual assemblage of these parties, with briefs of the more important cases in which they have figured.

Eastern District Ruffians

Beginning with the records of the Eastern district he says: I find in this district 68 cases of assault on police since January 1, 1877. Some of these cases were disposed of by the police magistrate requiring the parties to give bail to keep the peace or by committing those in default of such bail, and the others were sent on the court. The parties charged with these offenses are not confined to the membership of clubs or similar organizations, but quite a number of these offenses have been committed by persons is somewhat notorious as ruffians, having in all cases a considerable following, prominent among those who have been frequently arrested for assaulting and beating citizens and policeman, the Marshal enumerates 10 individuals, most of whom rendezvous’s at the corner of spring and Pratt streets, where in connection with some 12 others, they behave at times in a very disorderly manner. Whenever an arrest of any one of them is attempted, resistance follows. With not un-frequently and assault on the police officer. Others of those enumerated with their followers, congregate about the corners of Chester Street and Eastern Avenue. Others again are conspicuous as leaders of a crowd which congregates about the corner of bond and same Street. The Marshal also gives the names of 10 other rowdies who give trouble at lower Canton, some of them living over the city border.

Specific cases of violence by these people are furnished as follows: 7 November 1875: attack on policeman William V. Norris broken leg and left insensible on the Philadelphia, Wilmington and Baltimore railroad track, with the supposed intention of having him run over by a train and killed.

17 August 1877: attack on policeman Schlosser, in which he was beaten with his own Espantoon and afterwards, with a borrowed pistol, shot and arrested Courtney Tully, wounding him in the arm. Tully was sentenced to jail for four months and served only that many weeks, when he was released, the Marshal does not know by whom.

14 may 1878: another severe assault on policeman Schlosser by two of the bond and same Street gang, in which the evidence of comrades had the effect to procure a light sentences.

Rowdyism in the Northeast

Only one gang in the Northeast police district gives much trouble. This gang comprises six or eight men who usually frequent the beer saloons in the vicinity of Madison Square, they are notoriously disorderly characters, and the Marshal gives their names, which are frequently found on the station house records for drunken this and disorderly conduct, fighting and beating citizens and policeman. There is, however, less ruffianism than in other districts. Specific case: 23 September 1876, attack on policeman Granruth who was badly beaten by two of the gang for attempting to arrest one of their comrades.

Middle District Rowdyism

A number of localities in this district are infested by gangs of lawless men, who have been for a long time a terror to all order loving and peaceable citizens residing in the vicinity of their various rendezvous’. Notwithstanding the efforts of the police to disperse these gangs, they have been able to continue, to some extent, there lawless acts. As a rule attempts to arrest one brings the violent resistance of the whole gang. In self-defense the police officer is compelled to use his weapons, and in almost all such cases a host of witnesses, composed of active adherents, testify to an unprovoked assault made by the policeman on the prisoner. In many cases this sort of evidence has had the effect of two cause the discharge of the prisoner, and in some instances to bring punishment on the police officer.

Infested localities and gangs, the individuals of which are named: Monument and Constitution streets, 24 men: Chestnut and Douglas Streets six men names it with others, the whole crowd consisting chiefly of thieves who have been often arrested: center market space and fish market, 12 man named: little front and Plowman streets notorious for the crowd of “roughs,” police fighters and some of them thieves, 80 men the names of some having familiar to all newspaper readers: pleasant and Holliday streets, a lawless gang, 15 of them named. Many of them intermediate on this blacklist of the Police Department have been arrested for offenses ranging from disorderly conduct to robbery and attempt to kill. Many of them are noted for violence in the locality known as the “meadow.”

Specific acts of violence are enumerated as follows: 21 June 1876, assault on policeman Jas. P. Donohue, in bath Street, while protecting a woman. Thomas freeze, who afterwards killed Andrew Wieder in front of City Hall, was the object of arrest. The policeman was very badly hurt, and after assistance had been sent him to make the arrest, the testimony of some witnesses secured the conviction and a fine on the policeman.

Six October, 1877, assault of policeman McCrory at North and pleasant streets: case dismissed by the grand jury. 26 December, 1877, Monument Square, resistance to policeman McCabe: policeman Thomas Brown kicked in the face, assault on Capt. Barhart, of the Northwestern district, in all of which the grand jury failed to indict the rowdy assailants.

To July 1877, assault on policeman McCrory while protecting the life of a woman from the brutal assault of her son in law a member of the Constitution Street gang. The prisoner was committed for court, but the case has never been called for trial.

14 April, 1878, policeman mills and Mr. Russell, a citizen, struck in the face with stones the latter having his teeth knocked down his throat. Of the parties arrested the annual the clogging was sent to jail one week and John the clogging had his Cased stetted.

14 September 1878 assault on policeman Jas. O’Neill and the assailant acquitted by jury trial. 10 December, 1878, in a free fight on Gay Street, near Fayette Street – between a gang of roughs, policeman Dietz was knocked down. When he arose a pistol was placed against his breast by a man who screened himself behind another: the trigger was pulled, but it did not go off because the hammer fell on an empty chamber, all the other chambers being loaded. For this Patrick Kernan was tried before the criminal court and find $20 and costs.

8 September 1878, assault on Lewis Klaygon: true bill by grand jury against Nicholas Cripps, but nothing further heard of the matter.

12 August 1876, disturbance by a rowdy trying to pass the ropes at a fire: assault on police Cheney by center market gang. Knocked down and deprived of his Espantoon. Several shots fired by the mob. Policeman Hinds, who came up, was shot in the foot. Michael Farrell was shot in the leg. Policeman Cheney was arrested for the latter shooting. A large number of the mob appeared as witnesses against him, and the Police Department, being fully satisfied that whatever evidence might be necessary to acquit Farrell and convict the police officer would be forthcoming, concluded to compromise the case, and it was so disposed of on 12 September 1878. The same can assaulted policeman L. Ward, Lombard and Concorde streets, who was knocked down and beaten with his own Espantoon so badly that it was several days before he could appear, and if assistance had not arrived he would have very likely been killed. William Harrington was in this case sentenced to jail for two months afterwards charge the 14 days.

A number of other similar cases the records of the middle district. It is considered unnecessary to give, as being simply communicative. They are, however, open to the members of the grand jury whenever they may wish to see them.

Western District Lawlessness

Lawless characters are by no means so numerous in the Western district as in the middle district, and there are but few localities noted as meeting places. Yet the majority of these characters are widely known, their names often appearing on the records at the station and in newspapers, and it would seem surprising that a few lawless men should be able to play the role of ruffian for the length of time these men have. Nevertheless it is a fax, as the records of the district abundantly show. The evil doers resort to the same means to escape the consequences of their acts as like characters and other sections of the city and show equal contempt for the law. 13 August 1875 a number of the associates of a disturber of the peace rescued their comrade from the custody of policeman Jesse Carter, finally assaulting the officer, who was prosecuted in the criminal court, and so many of the gang testified that the policeman was sentenced to jail for 60 days. The ruffians about whom this affair occurred was afterwards convicted of burglary on the evidence of a citizen, and several of his comrades have been since arrested for theft and other unlawful acts. This gang infests the vicinity of Poppleton and Columbia streets, and 12 of their names are given. Attention is called to another gang of lawless men, who while they seem to have no particular rendezvous, yet commit offenses in various parts of the district. The Marshal mentions the names of 13 men, which appears several times for each on the record since 1870 for fighting, writing, beating policeman and other civilians, and several of them have been arrested as many as 12 times on various charges – the assault of Sunday afternoon, 18 August 1878 on policeman looks, is subscribed to members of this gang, two of whom were find $25 and $10 respectively, and one was acquitted. In another Western district gang, of which a certain man is said to be the leader, the Marshal says that while this Chiefs station – house record shows that since 1870 he has been arrested between 20 and 30 times, he has never been punished by the court more than twice, the punishments then being not more than trifling fines. Marshal gray further adds: “indeed, on one occasion, being unexpectedly in the criminal court room. I saw this man, to my utter astonishment in the jury box, sitting in judgment on offenses committed by persons of a like character to his own. I may say, to, that this is not the only instance in which I have found men of this character occupying the position of juror. Others of whose names are given in this record as lawless persons; and who but a short time previous had occupied the prisoners box, have been seen filling positions of jurymen.” The Marshal mentions the names of 16 adherents of the men. The tactics are to bring counter charges against police officers. The Marshal enumerates a number of cases transcribed from police records containing charges against the man from 1871 to December 1878 in the last of which, when brought before the grand jury, the Marshal says he “placed a patch of plaster on the side of his head, exhibiting it as proof of the beating inflicted upon him by the officer who had arrested him and against him counter charges had been made.”

 Southern District

“is southern district,” Marshal gray says: “I am glad to be able to say there has been, during the past two years, a marked decrease in acts of lawlessness, and I may say, to the credit of those who have hereto for been known as law, breakers, it was seldom that they offered any violent resistance to the police on occasions of arrests. I do not know the existence of any of the organized bands of men in the district at present. Who are combined together for the purpose of committing unlawful acts in resisting executors of the law.”

Northwestern District

in the Northwestern district there seem to be a pre-consorted determination on the part of several law – breaking gangs to commit violence, regardless of consequences, and to resist and assault officers whenever an arrest is attempted. This appears to have been the case from the time of organization of this section of the city into a separate police district. Such attempts are currently on the increase. Both in frequency and violence. Since 1874, when the district which formed. I find 60 cases of assault on policeman recorded. Quite a number of which were violent and brutal, and I regret to say that in cases where convictions were reached, we think the penalty handed out was certainly very mild in comparison to the crime for which they were charged, when the character of the offender and the gravity of the offense are taken into consideration. It may be truthfully said, however, that these results are owing in great measure to the ever – ready and willing testimony put in for the defense by the “fellow – roughs” and sympathizers.

A party of men assembling in the vicinity of Pennsylvania Ave., Union Street and extending along the Avenue to Lafayette market is known to the police as “the Pennsylvania Avenue crowd.” Its members seem to be numerous, for when an arrest of any of them is made their associates are generally on hand, sometimes to resist and often to assault the police officer, generally making counter charges against him, with abundant evidence of a peculiar kind to sustain them. Among the more prominent men of this gang the Marshal gives the name of 24 men, some of them he says, being notorious thieves and burglars as well as ruffians. Another crowd, equally notorious, he says, infests the Richmond market and falls road, among these the Marshal mentions the names of 30 men. Still another gang, known as “spring toads” congregates about Perkins spring. Of this gang the Marshal names 20 men.

A long record of misdeeds and light or no penalty is furnished the grand jury from this district, beginning 13 June, 1874, in which policeman work was beaten, and an attempt was made to have him indicted for using his weapon in self-defense, while the “rough” at the bottom of the trouble was acquitted. Specimens cases of furnished for each of the gangs mentioned, some of the offenders being class by the Marshal as notorious thieves burglars and ruffians, one of whom it was necessary to tie and all on a Dray to the station house in March 1876, for assaulting a policeman, and in whose case the police officer and other prosecuting witnesses attend the court 13 times on summonses, and when the trial was finally had the jury found the prisoner not guilty, his comrades swearing him entirely out of the case. Some of the members of these gangs have their pictures in the rogues’ gallery. Several of the cases cited show that the ruffians, by means unknown to the Marshal, succeed in getting clear of the law, and, in turn, appearing as the bold and on bruising prosecutors of the conservators of the peace, and sometimes was encouraging success.

The Marshal concedes his enumeration of specimens cases with the history of the “Modoc’s,” who infest the neighborhood of Fremont Street and Patterson Avenue. This gang has been in existence under the name of the Modoc’s but a short time, yet they have an established reputation for lawlessness inferior to know other gang in the city. Among their number Marshal gray mentions 25 by name. The deeds of the Modoc’s have been illustrated in the recent deadly assault of Sgt. Gaither and policeman Concannon, which is fresh in the minds of all. Marshal gray further says: “members of the various Northwestern gangs are found frequently consorting together. No single one of the crowds has any fixed place or room in which to meet, so far as I’m aware, but all of them make beer saloons, cigar shops and street corners their places of meeting. Many complaints have been made of their conduct, but, inasmuch as the complainants refuse and veritably to give their own names, for fear, as they allege, of bodily harm, no arrests have been made in these cases, except where the offenses committed within this site or nearing of a policeman. In most cases of arrest a violent resistance, usually followed by assault on the officer, is the result. Quite a number of Modoc’s have been arrested several times for beating policeman. Some of them are also thieves as well as ruffians, and I think of the very worst description of ruffians. Of this, however, I will leave yourself to be the judge, as your honorable body has had before it the evidence of a number of persons in reference to the brutal assault made by this gang on Sgt. Gaither and police officer Concannon of the 8 November 1879 last; I regret that the information asked for by the grand jury should have been so long delayed in its presentation. The necessity of examining the records of the several police stations has consumed considerable time and I have endeavored to present it to you as it is here recorded, together with some observations of my own in order to secure completeness of detail. While these details do not furnish very agreeable reading, yet I do not wish to be understood as asserting that there is more lawlessness in Baltimore then can be usually found in large cities. On the contrary, I am proud to be able to say that there is much less of it here than in any of our sister cities of equal and or less population. Still is on deniable that there is a growing disposition on the part of these disorderly bandits of men to resist the laws and maltreat the police officers whose duty it is to see that the laws are enforced, and I am sure that it cannot be other than a matter of great surprise to the grand jury, as it is to me, and must be every citizen who takes interest enough in the good government of our city to inform himself of the facts, that so small a number of lawless characters should be allowed to continue for so long to more the good name of our city. This state of things, I humbly submit, will not be found to be due either to the inefficiency of the police force or to any one of repressive efforts on the part of the Police Department J. T. Gray Marshal of the police.”

 

Sun paper article Dated 21 August, 1902 titled, "1000 to take Oath"
1000 to take Oath

Entire Police Force, Including Matrons, Must Be Re-Sworn

Old Form Declared Illegal

Mr. Alonso Miles, Counsel For The Board, Makes The Discovery And Change Is Ordered.

Is possible that for 30 years, or ever since the recognition of the Police Department in 1867, the members of the department have been sworn in illegally?

Is it possible that each and every member of the department, from the Veteran Marshall to the most Verdant Probationary Patrolman, carrying his Espantoon like a stick of dynamite, must file up to the courthouse, pay $.10 and be properly sworn in by the clerk of the Superior Court?

These questions are not vaguely speculative, but have assumed distinct form, and already preparations have been made for the swearing in once more of the entire department. The walls of the police board sanctum will echo more oaths within the next few days then Dorn any other. Since the board was created.

News of this remarkable prospect only leaked out yesterday (Wednesday, 20 Aug, 1902), and behind it is an interesting story. Hitherto it has always been the custom for the secretary of the board of police commissioners to swear in the newly appointed or promoted policeman. The system has been in vogue since the recognition of the department and its legal status has never heretofore been questioned. It is probably a relic of the old regime, when the department was a municipal organization. The discovery that the old way of administering the oath is illegal was due to the desire of the present board to conform with the letter of the law in all matters.

Mr. Upshur Investigates

When Marshal Farnan was appointed to his present rank on August 8 it happened that Mr. Joshua H Kinsley, the secretary of the board, was spending his vacation at the seashore. After the appointment had been made the question arose who should administer the oath of his new office to Marshall Farnan. Present ups are for the time being by concluding that as the secretary had administered the oath in the past, the president of the board had an equal right to do so, especially as the president is empowered to administer the oath to witnesses at trials. He accordingly swore in Marshal Farnan.

Afterward, in thinking over the matter, it occurred to Mr. ups are that, while he had as much right to swear in an officer as a secretary, the authority of the latter official to do so was not entirely clear.

Mr. of sire being a lawyer, the subject naturally interested him and he made a diligent search of the state and police loss, but failed to find any statue which would enlighten him. Realizing then that the matter was an important one and required immediate attention, he determined to call the attention to Mr. Alonso W. Miles, the Council to the board, to the subject. This was accordingly done.

Counsel Miles Opinion

Mr. Miles devoted much time to the subject and, after a painstaking investigation, came to the conclusion that since its organization in 1867 no member of the Police Department have been sworn in legally. This option he based upon a section of the Maryland Constitution and a statue of the public general laws of Marilyn. Section 6 of article 1 of the Constitution is as follows:

every person elected or appointed to any office of profit or trust, under this Constitution, or under the laws made pursuant thereto, shall, before he enters upon the duties of such office, take “and subscribe to the following oath or affirmation:

“I, _______, do swear (or affirm, as the case may be) that I will support the Constitution of United States; and that I will be faithful and bear true allegiance to the state of Maryland, and support the Constitution and laws thereof; and that I will, to the best of my skill and judgment, diligently and faithfully, without partiality or prejudice, execute the office of ________ according to the Constitution and laws of the state, and (if the governor, senator, member of the house of delegates or judge) that I will not directly, or indirectly receive the profits of, or any part of the profits, or any other office during the term of my acting as _______.”

Article 7 of the public general laws deals with official oaths, by whom, when and where they must be taken. After describing the oath for the governor, secretary of state, judges, comptroller incorporation officers, the article section 6 says:

all other officers elected or appointed to any office of trust or profit under the Constitution or laws of the state, including the mayor or other chief magistrates of municipal corporations, shall take and subscribe the said oaths, in the city of Baltimore before the clerk of the Superior Court, and in several counties before the clerk of the circuit court or before one of the sworn deputies of such clerk’s.

Section 7 - says,

The said clerk shall each procure and keep in his office a well bound book, to be called a test book, in which shall be printed or conspicuously written the oaths aforesaid, and every person taking or subscribing the same shell Annex to his signature the title of the office to which he shall have been elected or appointed, and the date of his signature.

Section 2 of the same article 6 is the fee of the clerk for ministering the oaths at $.10 each.

1000 Will Swear Anew

At yesterday’s meeting of the board Mr. Miles submitted to the board the result of his investigation. Immediate action was then taken. Deputy clerk Peter Stevens, of the Superior Court, was summoned to the board room and consulted about the best possible means of administering that oath to the 1009 members of the Police Department. He was also ordered to procure a book to be used as a “test book” in which will be preserved to signatures of each officer. This announcement will probably cause an immense expenditure of ink on the part of those who signatures resembled Chinese laundry tickets and who will naturally desire to improve their penmanship.

The work of Reese wearing in the membership of the department will begin at once, and will be carried on as rapidly as is consistent with the workings of the department. Exactly how it will be done has as yet not been definitely settled. There are 1000 members of the Police Department, including matrons and employees, and it $.10 each these Wilmette the clerk of the Superior Court about $100.

A Great Surprise to the Board

President Upshur was seen last night at the Maryland club. In answer to questions about the change in the manner of swearing in the members of the department he said:

“Yes, it has been found necessary to re-administer the oath of office to every member of the department. Mr. Miles announced to the board today that this was necessary, and the work of Reese wearing in the officers will begin at once. Mr. Stevens has been ordered to procure a test book, and the swearing in of the men will probably take place in the board room.

“The discovery that the oaths as administered to the officers by the secretary of the board is illegal was a great surprise to the board. Ever since the recognition of the department in 1867 it has been the custom of the secretary to swear in the officers, and his right to do so has never, I believe, been questioned. As soon as Mr. Miles gave his opinion on the subject the board ordered that all of the men must take another oaths, as prescribed by the law.”

Doesn’t Affect Departmental Acts

Mr. Alonso W Miles counsel to the board, at first declined to discuss the matters, but when pressed to talk, said:

“There is no doubt that the manner in which the oath of office has been administered in the past is illegal. The law is very plain and definite as to the manner in which the oath must be administered, and the wonder is that the fact should not have been discovered years ago. The question involved, however, is one of a minor detail and does not affect anything that the department has done or any arrest that have been made. The law says that a fee of $.10 is required for each oath and the men themselves will probably have to pay this fee.”

Mr. Peter Stevens, deputy Kirk of Superior Court, was seen, but declined to say anything about the matter. He admitted, however that he had been called to the board on business.

Baltimore police identify officer charged with killing dog

Jeffrey Bolger is a 24-year veteran of the Baltimore Police Department. He was charged Wednesday with animal cruelty, suspected of killing a dog in Canton.

WMAR Staff - 10:09 PM, Jun 18, 2014

Copyright 2014 Scripps Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

BALTIMORE - Baltimore police identified Jeffrey Bolger as the officer charged with animal cruelty after reportedly killing a dog in Canton, according to charging documents released by the department. 

Bolger, 49, has been on the force since 1992. 

Bolger, of the unit block of Saddle Drive in Eldersburg, was one of the officers to respond to the 900 block of South Grundy Street where fellow officers had contained a 7-year-old Shar-Pei in a parking lot on Saturday June 14, according to charging documents. 

Officers called for back up to assist with the use of a dog pole, a device used to restrained the dog named Nala. Earlier in the day, Nala had bitten a Baltimore woman in the 700 block of South Grundy Street. 

Upon Bolger's arrival, an eye-witness overheard the veteran officer say "I'm going to f------ gut this thing," according to charging documents.

Nala was foaming at the mouth and appeared malnourished when she was placed under control by police. Once the dog was on the ground, Bolger cut the dog's throat, according to the statement of probable cause. 

The dog was already dead by the time animal control had arrived. 

This is a breaking news story. Refresh for updates. 

 

2 March 1975

March 2, 1975, the current session of the state legislator might be an opportune one in which to reverse 115 years of Marilyn history and return control of the Baltimore Police Department to city government, from which it was wrested in the long-ago days of Baltimore’s antebellum political disorders. The present police Commissioner Donald D. Pomerleau, has managed to rub many people the wrong way. His aloofness to local opinions as an official answerable only to the Gov. as arouse community and city Council ire. His cavalier attitude toward black complaints, coupled with alleged police spying on black political activities, has cost him black support, and organize labor cannot overlook his vindictive post-strike reprisals against the police union.

After fitful years of in different support, a bill to put the police commissioner back under the mayor’s us could arouse a winning margin this year. But the fact the impetus derives from a convergence of dissatisfactions with the present police Commissioner good in itself be a cause for caution. And legislators currently are investigating charges of illegal intelligence operations under Mr. Pomerleau’s command, and if they find sufficient evidence to discredit him, they should have no difficulty persuading Gov. Mandel to remove him from office. But how well or poorly an individual police Commissioner has performed should not be the deciding factor in the larger issue of where the ultimate control should lie. Governors have made wrong choices for police commissioners, and there is no reason why mayors would do any worse. They may even do better. The argument for placing the city Police Department under City Hall control are that it would a race in ancient defamation of Baltimore’s capacity for self-government and perhaps make the Department more responsive to local policing priorities. Nothing of which we know can justify an assertion that the city is not fully able to handle its own police matters. On the other side, the argument for preserving the anomaly of having the police commissioner under the Gov. is up by and large it has insulated the Commissioner from some of the intrusions of local politics and has encouraged official recognition of the state’s role in providing substantial financial support for police functions in Baltimore.

We see no reason to rush to the decision, particularly in atmosphere created by those anxious to get Mr. Pomerleau one way or another. Baltimore should be on guard against having the appointment of a police Commissioner become a labor issue or a racial issue or city election-year issue. We also see no reason for a public referendum, is one of the Annapolis bills would require. The book need to be passed to the public when Maryland legislators are fully capable of reconsidering an action of their predecessors many years ago. What is required is a careful, unemotional weighing of what is to be gained from city control of the Police Department against what might be lost in future state support of Marilyn Governors were relieved of any direct responsibility for policing in Baltimore.

By way of guidance, legislators might well benefit from having available the report of the Marilyn commission on the function of government, which is not until June. Since the commission has been studying the city police questioned as part of his examination of intergovernmental relations, the report could offer valuable perspective, whether legislation agrees or disagrees with the findings. Legislators may also want to pay closer attention this spring to how well the city Council exercises control over the police budget said that large outlays were, say, intelligence activities are subject to certain questions. In addition, prudence dictates some thought as to how the Police Department would function within city government for instance directly under the mayor or under a police of equivalent of the fire board?

The issue does not have to be settled at this legislative session, even if the votes can be mustered to affect a change. After 115 years there is time to send the question of appointment and control to the legislative Council for a thorough airing of all pertinent considerations this summer. Then the general assembly a year from now would be prepared to take a position not just for the moment but one that would stand up for the next 100 odd years, irrespective of who the police Commissioner may be.

 

 

Crime Scenes: Deaths of officers come in rapid succession

It's not unusual for police department to lose two or more officers in a month's time

October 21, 2010|By Peter Hermann, The Baltimore Sun

The deaths of the city police officers came in such quick succession that the funeral for one had barely been planned before the next one died.

Off-duty Detective Brian Stevenson was killed Saturday night in Canton after being struck in the head with a chunk of concrete, apparently in a dispute over a parking space. Officer Thomas Portz Jr. was killed Wednesday morning when his cruiser ran into the back of a fire engine.

Two deaths. Four days.

Last month, Officer James Fowler was killed after losing control of his vehicle while driving to a training program in Pennsylvania.

Three deaths. Twenty-five days.

Baltimore police have lost more than 125 officers in the line of duty since an inmate fatally stabbed night watchman George Workner during a jailbreak in March 1808. Four suspects were hanged in the jail's courtyard a month later.

Since then, the department has lost two or more officers in a single month at least a dozen times, the first in 1894 when two patrolmen were struck and killed by a locomotive at Chase and Eager streets.

Tragedy has often come in pairs for the Baltimore Police Department.

Three times, two officers died in the same incident — John D. Platt and Kevin McCarthy when a drunken driver plowed into their cruiser in 2000; Webster E. Schuman and Thomas J. Dillon when they were shot by a mental patient in 1926; and Michael Neary and James T. Dunn, the two patrolmen hit by the train.

Each death forces the 3,000-member Police Department to pause. Elaborate funerals need to be planned — this time, two at about the same time — full of pageantry that includes motorcades, bagpipes, eulogies, politicians and rifle salutes befitting a fraternal order that closes ranks when a member's life ends violently. Black bunting will be hung from station houses; black mourning bands will be stretched across badges.

"It's tough to handle," said Robert F. Cherry, a former homicide detective and president of the police union. "When you have multiple deaths like this in a short period of time, it begins to affect so many officers in different parts of the city."

It's a large department, but cops tend to know other cops, and three killed in a matter of weeks means grief is spread out. Portz played on the same police hockey team with Commissioner Frederick H. Bealefeld III, and the two had recently golfed together at a charity tournament.

Bealefeld stayed away from the television cameras and did not make an official announcement of Portz's death. He spent Wednesday night with the officer's family in Pennsylvania. The commissioner, Cherry said, "finds himself in the same position as his officers on the street — he's not burying a colleague, he's burying a friend."

These tragic few weeks have police thinking back to 1998.

On Oct. 30 of that year, Officer Harold J. Carey was killed when his prisoner van collided with a police cruiser on a city street. Five days later, Barry W. Wood died when his police helicopter crashed near the B&O Railroad Museum. Police commanders dressed for one burial spun out of Carey's funeral procession on the Beltway and raced to the wreckage on West Pratt Street.

Cherry had skipped the funeral to help patrol the streets of the Central District, to allow Carey's colleagues time off to attend the funeral. He ran into then-Commissioner Thomas C. Frazier at a call on Mount Royal Avenue, shortly after Wood had died.

"You could see the emptiness in his face," Cherry recalled.

It wasn't the first time. Here are some other cases of officers killed within a month of each other (the information comes from the Baltimore City Fraternal Order of Police Memorial Fund):

Vincent J. Adolfo was fatally shot Nov. 18, 1985, a month after Richard J. Lear was hit by a car and killed. In September 1975, Edward Sherman succumbed to carbon monoxide poisoning while sitting in his parked cruiser, and the next month Timothy B. Ridnour was shot and killed with his own weapon while making an arrest.

A year earlier, in 1974, Frank W. Glunder Jr. was shot and killed while serving a warrant, and two weeks later Milton I. Spell was shot by a drunken driver he had pulled over. In March 1973, Richard M. Hurley died of a heart attack while arresting a murder suspect, and seven days later Norman F. Buchman was shot and killed during a traffic stop.

On Christmas Day 1964, Jack L. Cooper was fatally shot in the back by a man suspected of shooting another cop, and three weeks later, Charles R. Ernets was crushed to death between two cars while directing traffic. In November 1934, John A. Stapf was struck and killed by a trolley, and a month later, Henry Sudmeier was fatally shot by another officer who mistook him for a burglar inside a church.

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Funeral information

Viewings for Detective Brian Stevenson are scheduled 5 p.m. to 8 p.m., and Saturday and 2 p.m. to 8 p.m. Sunday at Vaughn Greene Funeral Home, 8728 Liberty Road, Randallstown. The funeral is scheduled for 11 a.m. Monday at New Antioch Baptist Church, 5609 Old Court Road in Randallstown.

Plans for services for Officer Thomas Portz Jr. have not been completed.

 

Know Nothing

The Know Nothing movement was an American political movement that operated on a national basis during the mid-1850s. It promised to purify American politics by limiting or ending the influence of Irish Catholics and other immigrants, thus reflecting nativism and anti-Catholic sentiment. It was empowered by popular fears that the country was being overwhelmed by German and Irish Catholic immigrants, whom they saw as hostile to republican values and controlled by the Pope in Rome. Mainly active from 1854 to 1856, it strove to curb immigration and naturalization, but met with little success. Membership was limited to Protestant males. There were few prominent leaders, and the largely middle-class membership fragmented over the issue of slavery.

The most prominent leaders were ex-President Millard Fillmore (the party's presidential nominee in 1856), Massachusetts Congressman Nathaniel P. Banks, and former congressman Lewis C. Levin.

History

Nativists were active in New York politics as early as 1843, under the banner of the American Republican Party. The movement quickly spread to other states, using that name or the Native American Party or some variant. They succeeded in a number of local and Congressional elections, notably in 1844 Philadelphia where the anti-Catholic orator Lewis Charles Levin was elected Member of Congress representing Pennsylvania's 1st District. "Native Americans" ostensibly championed native-born Protestants but were basically opposed to Catholics, native-born or otherwise. Levin was a first-generation American Jew who had lived in four other states before arriving in Philadelphia. He served three terms in Congress, at the end of which he served as a leader and speechwriter for the Know-Nothings.

Some historians have attempted to argue that the "Native American" party had no continuity with the Know-Nothings because in the 1850s those party names were briefly used for rival tickets in elections. However for contemporary politicians the two factions were practically the same movement. When appearing as speaker at Know-Nothing conventions and rallies in 1855–56, Lewis Levin was usually hailed as one of the movement's "founders" and one of the "old guard of '44." In the early 1850s, numerous secret orders grew up, of which the "Order of United Americans" and the Order of the Star Spangled Banner came to be the most important. They merged in New York in the early 1850s as a secret order that quickly spread across the North, reaching non-Catholics, particularly those who were lower middle class or skilled workmen. Outsiders called them "Know-Nothings", and the name stuck. In 1855, the Know-Nothings first entered politics under the American Party label.

Name

The origin of the "Know Nothing" term was in the semi-secret organization of the party. When a member was asked about its activities, he was supposed to reply, "I know nothing." Later in history, the party is also referred to as the "American Party".

Underlying issues

The immigration of large numbers of Irish and German Catholics to the United States in the period between 1830 and 1860 made religious differences between Catholics and Protestants a political issue. Violence occasionally erupted at the polls. Protestants alleged that Pope Pius IX had put down the failed liberal Revolutions of 1848 and that he was an opponent of liberty, democracy and Republicanism. One Boston minister described Catholicism as "the ally of tyranny, the opponent of material prosperity, the foe of thrift, the enemy of the railroad, the caucus, and the school." These fears encouraged conspiracy theories regarding papal intentions of subjugating the United States through a continuing influx of Catholics controlled by Irish bishops obedient to and personally selected by the Pope.

In 1849, an oath-bound secret society, the Order of the Star Spangled Banner, was created by one Charles B. Allen in New York City. Fear of Catholic immigration led to a dissatisfaction with the Democratic Party, whose leadership in many cities included Catholics of Irish descent. Activists formed secret groups, coordinating their votes and throwing their weight behind candidates sympathetic to their cause. When asked about these secret organizations, members were to reply "I know nothing," which led to their popularly being called Know Nothings.

Immigration during the first five years of the 1850s reached a level five times greater than a decade earlier. Most of the new arrivals were poor Catholic peasants or laborers from Ireland and Germany who crowded into the tenements of large cities. Crime and welfare costs soared. Cincinnati's crime rate, for example, tripled between 1846 and 1853 and its murder rate increased sevenfold. Boston's expenditures for poor relief rose threefold during the same period.

—James M. McPherson, Battle Cry of Freedom, p. 131.

Rise

In spring 1854, the Know Nothings carried Boston, Salem, and other New England cities. They swept the state of Massachusetts in the fall 1854 elections, their biggest victory. The Whig candidate for mayor of Philadelphia was editor Robert T. Conrad, soon revealed as a Know Nothing; he promised to crack down on crime, close saloons on Sundays, and to appoint only native-born Americans to office. He won by a landslide. In Washington, D.C., Know-Nothing candidate John T. Towers defeated incumbent Mayor John Walker Maury, causing opposition of such proportion that the Democrats, Whigs, and Freesoilers in the capital united as the "Anti-Know-Nothing Party". In New York, in a four-way race, the Know-Nothing candidate ran third with 26%. After the 1854 elections, they claimed to have exerted decisive influence in Maine, Indiana, Pennsylvania, and California, but historians are unsure due to the secrecy, as all parties were in turmoil and the anti-slavery and prohibition issues overlapped with nativism in complex and confusing ways. They helped elect Stephen Palfrey Webb as Mayor of San Francisco, and J. Neely Johnson as Governor of California. They were still an unofficial movement with no centralized organization. The results of the 1854 elections were so favorable to the Know Nothings that they formed officially as a political party called the American Party, and attracted many members of the now nearly-defunct Whig party, as well as a significant number of Democrats and prohibitionists. Membership in the American Party increased dramatically, from 50,000 to an estimated one million plus in a matter of months during that year.

A Historian of the Know Nothing party concluded:

The key to Know Nothing success in 1854 was the collapse of the second party system, brought about primarily by the demise of the Whig party. The Whig party, weakened for years by internal dissent and chronic factionalism, was nearly destroyed by the Kansas-Nebraska Act. Growing anti-party sentiment, fueled by anti-slavery as well as temperance and nativism, also contributed to the disintegration of the party system. The collapsing second party system gave the Know Nothings a much larger pool of potential converts than was available to previous nativist organizations, allowing the Order to succeed where older nativist groups had failed.

In California in 1854, a man named Sam Roberts founded a Know-Nothing chapter in San Francisco, California. The group was formed in opposition to Chinese immigrants, and a judge of the state supreme court who was a member ruled that no Chinese person could testify as a witness against a white man in court.

Fillmore/Donelson campaign poster

In the spring of 1855, Levi Boone was elected Mayor of Chicago for the Know Nothings. He barred all immigrants from city jobs. Statewide, however, Republican Abraham Lincoln blocked the party from any successes.[clarification needed] Ohio was the only state where the party gained strength in 1855. Their Ohio success seems to have come from winning over immigrants, especially German American Lutherans and Scottish-Irish Presbyterians, both reputed to be hostile to Roman Catholicism. In Alabama, Know Nothings were a mix of former Whigs, malcontented Democrats, and other political outsiders who favored state aid to build more railroads. In the tempestuous 1855 campaign, the Democrats won by convincing state voters that Alabama Know Nothings would not protect slavery from Northern abolitionists.

Know-Nothings scored startling victories in northern state elections in 1854, winning control of the legislature in Massachusetts and polling 40% of the vote in Pennsylvania. Although most of the new immigrants lived in the North, resentment and anger against them was national, and the American Party initially polled well in the South, attracting the votes of many former southern Whigs. Their incomes, occupation and social status were about average, but few Know-Nothings were wealthy, according to detailed historical studies of once-secret membership rosters. Fewer than 10% were unskilled workers who might come in direct competition with Irish laborers. They enlisted few farmers, but on the other hand, they included many merchants and factory owners. The party's voters were by no means all native born Americans, for it won more than a fourth of the German and British Protestants in numerous state elections. It especially appealed to Protestants such as the Lutherans, Dutch Reformed, and Presbyterians.

The party name gained wide but brief popularity. Nativism became a new American rage: Know-Nothing candy, Know-nothing tea, and Know-Nothing toothpicks appeared. Stagecoaches were dubbed "The Know-Nothing". In Trescott, Maine, a ship owner dubbed his new 700-ton freighter, Know-Nothing. The party was occasionally referred to contemporaneously in the slightly pejorative shortening, "Knism".

Violence

Fearful that Catholics were flooding the polls with non-citizens, local activists threatened to stop them. Tensions came to a head on 6 August 1855, in Louisville, Kentucky, where in a hotly contested race for the office of governor, 22 were killed and many injured. The Louisville riot was only the most spectacular of violent riots between Know Nothing activists and Catholics in 1855. In Baltimore the mayoral elections of 1856, 1857 and 1858 were all marred by violence and well-founded accusations of ballot-rigging. In Maine, Know-Nothings were associated with the tarring and feathering of a Catholic priest, Father John Bapst, in the coastal town of Ellsworth in 1851 and the burning of a Catholic church in Bath in 1854.

South

In the South, the American Party was composed chiefly of ex-Whigs looking for a vehicle to fight the dominant Democratic Party and worried about both the pro-slavery extremism of the Democrats and the emergence of the anti-slavery Republican party in the North. In the South as a whole the American Party was strongest among former Unionist Whigs. States-rightist Whigs shunned it, enabling the Democrats to win most of the South. Whigs supported the American Party because of their desire to defeat the Democrats, their unionist sentiment, their anti-immigrant attitudes, and the Know-Nothing neutrality on the slavery issue. In 1855 the American Party challenged the Democrats' dominance. In Alabama, the Know-Nothings were a mix of former Whigs, malcontented Democrats, and other political misfits; they favored state aid to build more railroads. In the fierce campaign, the Democrats argued that Know-Nothings could not protect slavery from Northern abolitionists. The Know-Nothing American Party disintegrated soon after losing in 1855.

In Louisiana and Maryland, the Know-Nothings enlisted native-born Catholics. Historian Michael F. Holt argues that "Know Nothingism originally grew in the South for the same reasons it spread in the North—nativism, anti-Catholicism, and animosity toward unresponsive politicos—not because of conservative Unionism." Holt cites William B. Campbell, former governor of Tennessee, who wrote in January 1855, "I have been astonished at the widespread feeling in favor of their principles—to wit, Native Americanism and anti-Catholicism—it takes everywhere."

Decline

Results by county explicitly indicating the percentage for Fillmore in each county.

The party declined rapidly in the North after 1855. In the presidential election of 1856, it was bitterly divided over slavery. The main faction supported the ticket of presidential nominee Millard Fillmore and vice-presidential nominee Andrew Jackson Donelson. Fillmore, a former President, had been a Whig, and Donelson was the nephew of Democratic President Andrew Jackson, so the ticket was designed to appeal to loyalists from both major parties, winning 23% of the popular vote and carrying one state, Maryland, with eight electoral votes. Fillmore did not win enough votes to block Democrat James Buchanan from the White House.

After the Supreme Court's controversial Dred Scott v. Sandford ruling in 1857, most of the anti-slavery members of the American Party joined the Republican Party. The pro-slavery wing of the American Party remained strong on the local and state levels in a few southern states, but by the 1860 election, they were no longer a serious national political movement. Most of their remaining members supported the Constitutional Union Party in 1860.

 

Plug Uglies

The Plug Uglies were a street gang, sometimes referred to as a political club, that operated in the west side of Baltimore, Maryland from 1854 to 1860.

The Plug Uglies coalesced shortly after the creation of the Mount Vernon Hook-and-Ladder Company, a volunteer fire company whose truck house was on Biddle Street, between Pennsylvania Avenue and Ross Street (later Druid Hill). They were originally runners and rowdies affiliated with the Mount Vernon. Plug Ugly captains included John English and James Morgan. Other prominent members were Louis A. Carl, George Coulson, George "Howard" Davis, Henry Clay Gambrill, Alexander Levy, Erasmus "Ras" Levy, James Wardell, and Wesley Woodward. The gang associated with the emerging American Party (the Know Nothings) in Baltimore.

Like similar associations in Baltimore and other United States cities during this period, the Plug Uglies' street influence made them useful to party politicians anxious to control the polls on Election Days. The Plug Uglies were the central figures in the first election riot in Baltimore in October 1855. Together with the Rip Raps, they were also actively involved in deadly rioting at the October 1856 municipal election in Baltimore and in similar violence at the Know-Nothing Riot in Washington in June 1857. At the Washington riot, the National Guard called out to quell the fighting, shot and killed ten citizens. Accounts of the Washington riot appeared in newspapers nationally and gained widespread notoriety for the Plug Uglies.

Besides election-day fighting, the gang was involved in several assassinations and shootings in Baltimore. Most notably, Plug Ugly Henry Gambrill was implicated in the murder of a Baltimore police officer in September 1858. Gambrill's trial (presided over by judge Henry Stump) and the subsequent deadly violence relating to it, made the crime one of the most sensational of the era.

The violence of the Plug Uglies and other political clubs had an important impact on Baltimore. It was largely responsible for the creation of modern policing and a paid, professional fire department, as well as court and electoral reforms. These reforms, together with the election of a Reform municipal administration in October 1860 and then the Civil War, led to the breaking up of the Plug Uglies.

The gang was featured in Herbert Asbury's book Gangs of New York, and Luc Sante's chronicle of old New York, Low Life.

On July 16, 1863, during the New York City draft riots, The New York Times reported that Plug-Uglies and Blood Tubs gang members from Baltimore, as well as "Scuykill Rangers and other rowdies of Philadelphia," had come to New York to participate in the riots alongside the Dead Rabbits and other New York gangs. The Times said that "the scoundrels cannot afford to miss this golden opportunity of indulging their brutal natures, and at the same time serving their colleagues the Copperheads and secesh [secessionist] sympathizers."

 Aerial Police Plan Useless, Tipton Thinks

6 December 1924 M. N. G. Air Service Chief Points To Difficulties of Enforcing Ordinance.Commander Favors Congressional Act
Approved Law Prohibiting Flying Over Baltimore Stadium. 

Creation of an aerial police force for Baltimore, as suggested by Charles D Gaither, Commissioner of police, provided the proposed ordinance regulating airplanes is enacted by the city Council, would not aid effectively in the enforcement of the ordinance, Maj. William D Tipton, commanding officer of the 29th division Air service, Maryland National Guard, said last night.

“Aerial police would have to be in the air continuously” Mayor Tipton declared. “How would they be able to catch a possible offender flying over Baltimore unless they were? It is impossible to take off from the ground in a few seconds. The motor has to be warmed, and usually it takes from 5 to 10 minutes to get into action. By that time offender could be miles away.

Favors Congressional action.

“It is the opinion of many who have given the matter serious consideration that it is far better to wait Congressional action on air regulations for the whole country.”

“If every city passes laws regulating air traffic the result would be a patchwork. I understand many of the cities are delaying passage of such ordinances until Congress acts.”

England, Germany and France, he asserts, prohibit low-flying over cities and they accomplish their aid without the aid of aerial police.

A bill for the regulation of airplanes now is before Congress, he explained. It provides for inspection of planes, licensing of pilots, marking of the Windows of planes so as to identify them regularly and regulates flying over congested areas.

Cities Army regulations.

Asked how the proposed city ordinance would affect plans of air services of the Maryland National Guard, Major Tipton said it would have no effect.

“Our standing orders are that none of our planes shall leave a certain designated area bounded on the north by East and Avenue and on the west by Sparrows Point Bay Shore Carline.”

Is it any time the National Guard planes have to fly outside that area on business connected with the Army, he explained, they will be governed by Army regulations, in this connection, he added, Army regulations provide that new airplane shall fly and altitude lower than that which will allow a safe glide outside the congested area with a dead engine.

Major Tipton said he thought it proper to act in ordinance prohibiting flying over the Baltimore stadium.

 

Baltimore Police Honor Officers in Awards Ceremony

By Justin Fenton, The Baltimore Sun

8:38 p.m. EST, February 7, 2014

The Baltimore Police Department's top brass recognized officers for bravery and excellence on Friday, the first time the awards ceremony has been held in more than two years.

Police Commissioner Anthony W. Batts and Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake handed out the awards to 30 officers from across the agency. Recipients were shot at and run over. They interrupted assaults, sprang into action while off-duty, or solved complex cases.

"We cannot thank you enough for the hard work and courage you have given in your daily jobs," Batts told the officers. "It's going to be people like you that are going to make a difference in the city of Baltimore."

Top honors — inclusion in the agency's "Legion of Merit" — went to detectives Robert Himes and Joshua Ellsworth for their investigation into the case of a Bloods gang member who was kidnapped and killed.

Himes and Ellsworth arrested Dajuan Marshall in June 2008 for fatally shooting rival gang member Kenneth Jones near The Block adult entertainment district in downtown.

The case, prosecuted by Assistant State's Attorney Traci Robinson, led to a conviction in 2011 on a murder conspiracy charge, as well as the first conviction for charges filed under the state's gang statute. Robinson was also honored.

Another award dates to a 2009 incident, when Capt. Byron Conaway, who at the time was an officer, was slipped a note by a woman who said she was in danger. When Conaway saw the man who had been in a car with her reach for a handgun, Conaway shot him.

The man, Marcus Hill, survived and was sentenced in August 2010 to 15 years in federal prison for being a felon in possession of a handgun. Conaway received the departmental Bronze Star.

Three officers who fatally shot suspects were given the Silver Star: Officer Charles Smith III, who in 2011 saw a man shooting at his wife and fatally shot him; Detective Olufemi Akinwande, who police said in January 2013 shot a man who fired a weapon at him; and Officer Timothy Copeland, who last May shot Van Keith Johnson, who police say had shot someone moments earlier in Pigtown.

Of the 30 officers honored, 12 had been involved in an incident in which a suspect was shot. A police spokesman said all of the officers had been cleared in internal reviews and the awards were decided in consultation with internal affairs and city prosecutors.

Officers Keith Savadel and Sgt. James Cardarella were recognized for pursuing an armed man whose gun malfunctioned when he turned and tried to fire at them. Police said the officers charged at the man and after a fight brought him under control.

Officer Michael Clanton II, who the agency said responded to an assault-in-progress call and ordered the attacker to drop a weapon, received a Bronze Star. Sgt. Keith Gladstone and Officers Carl Randolph and Lisa Coleman-Smith also received a Bronze Star for tackling a suspect who had fired a shot while holding up a business in Northwest Baltimore.

Members of the check and fraud unit — Lt. Regis Flynn, Sgt. Sarah Connolly, Sgt. Dennis Raftery, and detectives Dale Wood, Samuel Bowden, Shirley Disney, and Christopher Boyd — also were recognized for an investigation that led to the arrest of five people accused of scamming and robbing the elderly.

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 Baltimore Police Commissioner Not in Favor of Marijuana Legalization
By Justin Fenton, The Baltimore Sun

7:19 PM EST, January 30, 2014
Baltimore Police Commissioner Anthony W. Batts in a radio interview on Thursday evening expressed doubt that marijuana should be legalized. 

Copyright © 2014, The Baltimore Sun

www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/crime/blog/bal-police-say-reported-police-shooting-victim-shot-himself-20140130,0,3550038.story

 

Baltimore's First African-American Police Commissioner
Bishop Robinson dead at 86

" Bishop L. Robinson (left), was the first African American police commissioner of Baltimore, Maryland
who was Commissioner of the Department between 1984 and 1987. (Kenny Driscoll Det. Ret.)
Copyright 2014 Scripps Media, Inc. All rights reserved.
This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Forget the reassuring words by the mayor and police commissioner this afternoon about their strategy to fight crime in Baltimore. 

Their joint press conference, timed to the release of a report on improving public safety, was full of affirmations about their commitment to “meet the current challenges we face,” in the mayor’s words, and included community leaders displayed at City Hall as helpful props for the TV news cameras. 

In short, standard stuff from the handbook of crisis management as the city heads into the second straight year of rising homicides. 

But there was real value in the report, ordered by Police Chief Anthony Batts, following a $285,000 review of the department by Boston-based Strategic Police Partnership in conjunction with former LAPD Police Chief William J. Bratton. 

In a Reactive Mode 

The value is found in the back pages of the document where the state of police operations are described in detail. Even taking into account that the consultants had an incentive to find fault (if only to justify their sizeable paycheck), the report paints a disturbing portrait of a dysfunctional department. 

Among the findings: 

• Up to 40% of the posts on each shift are staffed on overtime, “so sergeants are often supervising personnel from other shifts or even other districts.” 

• The practice of staffing all posts at all times – “regardless of the call-for-service load and crime conditions” – is not only costing the city plenty in overtime, but “undermining morale and helping to drive attrition.” 

• The city’s nine police districts have not be adjusted “since the 1980s” when the city’s population was 130,000 greater and concentrated in different neighborhoods than today. 

• The eight-hour work schedule is obsolete and requires alternatives for more effective crime fighting. 

• The patrol force “has become disengaged from the problems on the street, and particularly from crime.” 

• And perhaps most damning: “the districts are largely functioning in a reactive mode, responding to calls, but doing little else to assert police control in the neighborhoods.” 

Losing Focus on Repeat Offenders 

Over the last few years, Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake has placed emphasis on finding and jailing the city’s most violent repeat offenders. 

That strategy was endorsed by former Police Chief Frederick H. Bealefeld III – targeting “bad guys with guns” was how he liked to put it – and “tough justice” was the mantra of Gregg Bernstein’s successful campaign for state’s attorney in 2010. 

But the violent repeat offender (VRO) program administered by the police and state’s attorney’s office has “lost its impetus and focus in recent years,” according to the report. The program’s centerpiece, the VRO lists, have become “too long and insufficiently selective” in part because some police commanders in charge of identifying VROs in their districts have fallen down on the job. 

Compounding the problem is the lack of effective communication between police and prosecutors. “Some in the [police] department believe that the State’s Attorney’s Office controls the VRO list,” the report says, “but the State’s Attorney’s Office representatives maintain that they are reliant on the department for most of the identifications. 

“There have also been some differences about when a VRO can be removed from the list, with the State’s Attorney’s Office favoring retaining VRO names until subjects have been successfully prosecuted and sentenced to at least two years in prison, and some BPD officers urging a quicker turnover.” 

Detectives Serving as Clerks 

In the growing area of homicides – up to 211 so far this year – there are multiple administrative problems. The consultants praise the concept of the District Detective Units (DDUs), saying decentralization helps police nurture informants and pick up knowledge about “the worst actors in the local criminal population.” 

But while the structural configuration is good, the nine DDUs “have been understaffed and subject to a wide range in the quality of their management.” Suffering worst from the understaffing – as few as seven detectives per district – are investigations of non-violent crimes such as burglaries. 

“There is often a lone burglary detective in a given district contending with hundreds of burglaries per year and basically performing what some managers call a ‘data-entry function’ rather than a true investigative role.” 

(The consultants could have added many stories from residents about the absence of police work in solving break-ins and other property crimes that hit home for so many citizens and deeply impact the city’s quality of life.) 

Beating the System 

The report goes on to cite other deficiencies that lead to “bad guys with guns” beating the system. 

Up to 25% of cases dismissed in court are the result of a police officer’s failure to appear at the scheduled court proceeding, the consultants report. 

The overall quality of report writing by officers is “poor” and their courtroom testimony “weak” – two prime reasons why convictions are so hard to get from Baltimore City juries. 

Sugarcoating the Findings 

Today, Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake and Chief Batts emphasized the future, saying the department would undertake steps between now and 2018 (a Five-Year Plan!) to reduce crime, improve services, increase efficiency and redouble community engagement.

“We know that there are things as an organization that we are incredibly good at,” Batts said without citing any specifics. Speaking in generalities to the media, he sugarcoated the systematic problems revealed by consultant Bratton and his team. 

Hopefully in private, the commissioner will read the report carefully and start wringing out results more effectively than his officers are doing on the street.

 

Baltimore's top elected officials set to receive automatic raise
Mayor Rawlings-Blake hasn't decided whether she'll donate her raise to charity

By Yvonne Wenger, The Baltimore Sun

11:45 AM EST, November 26, 2013

Baltimore's top politicians are set to receive automatic 2.5 percent pay raises, following a years-old decision by an independent body.

The salary hikes — which would increase the mayor's $159,380 salary to $163,365 — are tied to raises that city union workers receive each year, according to a 2010 decision by the Compensation Commission for Elected Officials.

All together, this year's raises for the mayor, comptroller and city council members would cost nearly $31,000. The cost-of-living increases would take effect in January following a legal vetting by the Board of Estimates on Wednesday.

Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake has not yet decided what she'll do with the money, Caron A. Brace, a mayoral spokeswoman, said.

"In previous years, the mayor has donated these increases to charity, particularly during the height of the recession," Brace said.

The Compensation Commission for Elected Officials, designed to add a buffer to the politically sensitive issue of raises for elected officials, is an independent board that was created in 2006 by a citywide ballot referendum.

The commission approved the 2.5 percent increases for each year from 2010 to 2014 as long as at least one city union group also receives a raise. The Board of Estimates must approve all major city expenditures, although the panel is asked only to "note" that the salary adjustments are in compliance with the law.

The Board of Estimates is asked to authorize two percent pay raises for crossing guards and health department workers, including nurses, that are part of the city's temporary staff. Increases to the rates paid to city auditors and firefighters, per the most recent union contract, also are up for approval.

Salaries for Council President Bernard C. "Jack" Young and Comptroller Joan M. Pratt will grow to $108,173 from $105,535.

Council members are to receive $1,535 more a year for an annual salary of $62,918. The council vice president, Edward Reisinger, would be paid $69,540, up from $67,844.

Young will donate his raise to a charity, his spokesman Lester Davis said Monday. The state constitution mandates that elected officials cannot "diminish" their salary, but they can donate it. Davis said Young would designate his charitable gifts rather than see a donation revert to the general fund.

"He'll use the increase to help others," Davis said.

The pending raises didn't draw immediate concern.

Councilman Carl Stokes said the cost-of-living adjustment is in line with increases received by city workers and individuals who receive Social Security benefits.

"I'm OK with it," said Stokes, who is chairman of the City Council's Taxation, Finance and Economic Development Committee.

"I didn't demand it. I didn't vote on it, but I think it's OK."

Several union officials, including Robert F. Cherry, president of the city's Fraternal Order of Police, and Michael B. Campbell, president of the fire officers union, declined to comment.

Rawlings-Blake enacted earlier this year an overhaul of the city's finances to address a projected $750 million structural deficit. The mayor's plans call for changes to the health care and pension systems and property tax decreases coupled with fee increases, such as new charges for stormwater management and taxi riders.

Council members are scheduled to receive a budget briefing in a public hearing at 5 p.m. Tuesday at City Hall. This year's budget is $2.4 billion.

The mayor's salary has grown significantly in recent years. The rate increased from $95,000 to $108,000 in 1999. Before 1995, the salary for the city's chief executive was $60,000.

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Richard A. "Dick" Simmons, a retired Baltimore police officer who was a founder and first president of the Baltimore City Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 3, died Tuesday of complications from an aneurysm at the University of Maryland Medical Center. He was 84.
Mr. Simmons was born and raised in Chicago, where he graduated from high school.
"Because of the Depression, his parents couldn't afford to keep him, and when he was 4 years old they placed him in Lawrence Hall, a home for boys that was run by an Episcopal priest," said his daughter, Janet Embleton of Franklin, W.Va.
"When he was 15, he ran away and lied about his age and then joined the merchant marine and then the Navy. He left the Navy in the 1950s, when his ship docked in Baltimore and he stayed," she said.
Mr. Simmons joined the Baltimore Police Department in 1955. At his retirement in 1979, he was working at police headquarters as a detective assigned to the robbery squad.
After leaving the department, he worked for a decade as an investigator for the Maryland attorney general's office until retiring for a second time in 1995.
He was a founder in 1966 of the Baltimore City Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 3 and served as the organization's first president until 1973. He was also its first national trustee to the Fraternal Order of Police Grand Lodge.
The Westminster resident enjoyed stamp collecting, gardening and fishing. He was a world traveler.
He was a member of Ascension Episcopal Church in Westminster.
His wife of 29 years, the former Anne Ningurd, died in 1982. His second wife of 19 years, the former Naomi Teeter, died in 2004.
A memorial service will be held at 8 p.m. Sunday at the Fletcher Funeral Home, 254 E. Main St., Westminster.
In addition to his daughter, Mr. Simmons is survived by two grandchildren and his companion, Eve McGrory of Hagerstown. His son, Michael Simmons, drowned in 1981.
God Bless him as he now Rest In Peace...

Batts' Crime-Fighting Plan Focuses On Gangs, Guns, Violent Offenders

It would bring change to nearly every part of city department

By Justin George, Justin Fenton and Luke Broadwater, The Baltimore Sun

9:12 PM EST, November 21, 2013

Homicide ruling brings back memories of 1981 police shooting
Two retired Baltimore police officers relive the only time they fired their service weapons

By Justin George, The Baltimore Sun

9:39 PM EDT, June 17, 2013

 

 

Baltimore Police Struggle with Vacancies, Increased Spending
Agency Again Exceeds Overtime Budget as Officers Fill Shifts

By Justin Fenton, The Baltimore Sun

6:40 PM EDT, June 18, 2013

The Baltimore Police Department is short almost  one-sixth of the officers it should have as it girds for warmer weather  and increased violence — prompting top brass to once again exceed their  overtime budget to fill patrol cars.

"At the most problematic time for crime, we have a high vacancy  rate," Police Commissioner Anthony W. Batts told the City Council at a  budget hearing earlier this month about the city's fiscal plan for the  year that begins in July.

Batts blamed the staffing shortage on challenges retaining officers  as he asked the City Council to approve his budget proposal, which  includes $20 million for overtime — an amount the department has  exceeded in the past two fiscal years. Without better pay to retain and  lure officer candidates, the department spends millions to keep officers on the beat for extra hours.

More than one officer left the agency every day last month, and while police say they're able to maintain patrol coverage through overtime  spending, some worry about officers being stretched to a breaking point.

"It's not only the overtime spending you have to worry about, but the officers are going to get tired," said City Councilman Brandon Scott.  "They're tired now. We're running them into the ground."

Batts has increased foot patrols in high-crime areas, often pulling officers from other assignments and requiring leave time be canceled.

Each day last week, messages went out across the department saying  that the Western District was short as many as eight officers a night,  according to Robert F. Cherry, the police union president. That often  requires supervisors to "draft" officers from the previous shift to work the next, meaning 16-hour shifts.

"It's happening every day, across the city," Cherry said. "Crime may  be down, but it's not down so significantly, like Chicago, that you can  say the plan is working," he said, referring to a surge in overtime  there that has been credited with a decline in homicides of more than 30 percent this year.

Baltimore's vacancies and overtime spending go hand in hand,  officials say. Lt. Col. Paul Abell, the head of the management services  division, said that 65 percent of overtime spending is connected to  staff shortages.

The Eastern District is short about one-tenth of its allotted  officers. On Monday night, two people were shot in the 2600 block of  Grogan Ave. about 6 p.m. After police had processed the scene for  evidence, another shooting rang out in the same block, killing  36-year-old Kwane Davis.

Police maintain that despite the district's vacancies on paper, all  patrol slots were properly staffed and an officer was around the corner  at the time of the shooting.

"The reality is, these officers are out there busting their tails for the community in that district, and other districts as well," said Col. Dean Palmere, the head of the investigations and intelligence division. "Whether we have to detail officers or pay them overtime, we're going  to fill those shifts one way or the other, and these officers are  willing to step up."

Police officials said they are able to make up for overtime payments  by using money seized in criminal investigations, a rare use of those  funds that are typically spent on training or equipment.

Overtime spending has been increasing in recent years. Under Mayor  Martin O'Malley, the department regularly exceeded budgeted projections  as commanders worked to control crime and make up for attrition.

Mayor Sheila Dixon pressured the department to rein in spending,  resulting in sharp declines — from about $31 million in fiscal year 2007 to $16.7 million in 2010 — that still exceeded budgeted amounts.

Under Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake, officials say, the overtime  budget has increased to more accurately reflect the department's  spending expectations, though it continued to overspend. In fiscal 2012, Police Department overtime was budgeted at $17 million and the  department spent $22.8 million.

For the fiscal year ending this month, police project that they will  spend $23.5 million after budgeting for $20 million. The agency has the  same $20 million overtime budget for the coming fiscal year.

In comparison, Chicago, a city with a police force four times the  size of Baltimore's, has a police overtime budget of $38 million and had not exceeded that amount through April despite a major push to flood  hot-spot crime areas that helped drive down crime to levels not seen  since the 1960s.

Baltimore's homicide count is about the same as it was last year.

"It continues to be a challenge, but it's directly related to the  attrition issue," said Ryan O'Doherty, a spokesman for Rawlings-Blake,  said of overtime spending. "I don't think the mayor would hesitate in  any way to spend overtime in order to make sure the police districts are adequately staffed at the levels the commissioner feels are  appropriate."

At the Police Department's budget hearing, commanders said there were about 200 sworn vacancies and another 260 sworn staff positions empty  due to suspensions, military or medical leave. Batts blamed the high  vacancy rate on the department's inability to offer salaries competitive with those of surrounding jurisdictions.

The department's starting salary is on par with other jurisdictions,  according to a survey by the Maryland Association of Counties — about  $59,000 per year, compared with $60,000 in Baltimore County, $55,000 in  Anne Arundel County, and $65,000 in Howard County.

But once promoted to sergeant, a Baltimore County officer makes $101,000. A city sergeant makes $76,000, the survey shows.

That issue is not new, though top officials say other agencies have  stepped up their efforts to recruit the city's officers, particularly  younger ones whom Baltimore police paid to train.

"You're leading a group of people looking for somewhere else to go,  and there's plenty of places," Councilwoman Mary Pat Clarke told Batts.

Baltimore's police department is one of the largest per capita in the country, with about 3,100 sworn officer positions, though Batts, who  took over the agency last year after a career spent on the West Coast,  said it has an unusually high number of officers on the sideline due to  injuries, suspensions or military leave.

The city hired a team of outside consultants, which is in Baltimore  this week to evaluate the department and determine whether it is  understaffed or whether it could actually reduce the force through  efficiencies.

Batts and his new deputy commissioner, Jerry Rodriguez, also a  California transplant, are also trying to find ways to streamline the  disciplinary process so officers are not suspended for years at a time.

Meanwhile, police have been looking for ways to handle the heavy load of 911 calls without using officers. Earlier this year, Baltimore  introduced an online reporting system for minor crimes — a service they  say has gotten modest use — and the department plans to create a unit to take reports over the phone for issues that don't require an officer to respond.

At the Police Department's budget hearing at City Hall, council  members spent considerable time discussing the department's lack of  competitive pay. But the cash-strapped city has yet to put aside  resources to significantly raise officer salaries.

The Fraternal Order of Police contends that the city could operate  with fewer officers and better pay, in part because fewer officers would leave and a higher-quality force would face fewer disciplinary issues.

Batts, for his part, signaled that compensation is something he is studying.

"We have been and are a training ground for other departments," Batts said. "It's critically important for us to keep and retain, to get the  best and the brightest. We have to look at pay. … In order for us to  become one of the best, we have to invest in that."

Baltimore police staffing

Sworn officers: 3,100

Vacancies on the force: 200

Positions empty because of suspensions or leave: 260

Overtime budget for fiscal 2013: $20 million

Estimated total overtime spending for the year: $23.5 million

Source: Baltimore Police

Numbers are approximate.

In 2010 when the Mayor came up with her 25 and out plan taking 5 years onto officers careers that had less the 15 years on, I told several Council members it will convert Baltimore into a Farm Team for Police, on top of them only stopping off in Baltimore for training, they will also do little, so as not to gain IID numbers or injuries that might prevent them from having a future in the surrounding counties, at the time one said, perhaps that could be a good thing, as it would lighten up the choke hold on the pension. I don't think things were thought through. The department for eyes has been paid well under the counties around us, and most only stayed for one of two reasons, the first being 20 and out, the second being excitement. But when you are overworked and underpaid, then have contracts broken, you lose good men and women to the counties that are keeping their word with their police, counties that seem to respect their police, this mayor seems as if she has a grudge or hatred toward police. It is a shame, because when the public sees that kind of disrespect for their police they too become disrespectful. There needs to be changes, the police need to have the respect they once had in order for them to act as respectful as they once did. We have a ton of great police on our force, guys and gals that will lay down their lives to keep an oath they made to protect the community, and more important to provide a back-up to their brother officer(s)

 

 

Baltimore Dirt Bikes Seized in Police Raid of Repair Shop
16 bikes seized; riders say crackdown is unfair

By Justin Fenton, The Baltimore Sun

6:50 PM EDT, April 19, 2013

Detective Hassan Rasheed had been watching the Northwest  Baltimore repair shop for weeks as men brought dirt bikes in and out for repairs. Now police, intent on cracking down on illegal bikes, were  prepared to move in.

Armed with a search-and-seizure warrant, Rasheed and a team of officers gathered up 16 bikes. Some had been reported stolen.

As the officers combed the West Belvedere Avenue repair shop, a crowd gathered outside the barbed-wire-topped fence.

"I'm sure everyone's [angry]," Rasheed said of the onlookers. "But these are the nuisance complaints that we get."

Police announced a new campaign this week to go after illegal dirt  bikes, including offering an email address for anonymous tips about  people riding or storing the vehicles.

Maj. Johnny Delgado, the commander of the Northwestern District, called the bikes and their riders a menace.

But authorities aren't relying solely on tips. Rasheed pursued his  investigation for weeks. Last weekend, police narrowed Reisterstown Road near Druid Hill Park from three lanes down to one and kept tow trucks  standing by to intimidate bikers from their Sunday ritual of riding in  the park.

With dirt bike riding emerging as a full-fledged subculture —  enthusiasts post slick videos of riding tricks on YouTube, and a  documentary film about Baltimore bikers premiered at the  South-by-Southwest festival in Texas — the enforcement effort has drawn  mixed reactions.

At neighborhood meetings, dirt bikes are a top complaint from citizens, who call them noisy, dangerous and threatening.

Among the critics is Reuben "Peas" Maxwell, 48, who owns the property leased by the repair shop and operates his own shop next door.

He said the bikers tear up the property.

"The police don't do nothing about it," he said.

But ask the bikers and their supporters, and they say riding is a harmless outlet for young people.

Police assert that there is a relationship between dirt bike riding and more serious crimes, from drug dealing to shootings.

Riders say that's unfair.

Take Saeed Jacob. He says he's a 23-year-old who works in real estate investments in Brooklyn, N.Y. When he got word that police were seizing bikes, he rushed to the garage. He told the officers that he had all  the necessary paperwork for his bike and offered to have it faxed over.

Jacob said he comes down to the city on the weekends to ride, which gives him an adrenaline rush.

"There's so many other things going on," he said. "This is trivial in comparison to what's really happening."

Standing with him was Jelani Aleong, 22, who also told the officers  he had a title and registration for his $2,500 bike, but to no avail —  he was told it was missing a vehicle identification number on the engine and would be taken.

"I'm a trail rider," Aleong said. "They've never caught me on no street riding."

The repair shop is around the corner from the Northwestern District  station, in an area surrounded by other similar businesses. As the  officers approached the building, men pushing shopping carts full of  hubcaps slowed to view the commotion.

"They're taking the bikes?" one of them asked. "He just fixes them."

Rasheed, accompanied by patrol officers and members of the Regional  Auto Theft Task Force, tried to gain access to the garage using bolt  cutters.

Then more officers were called in with a gas-powered saw, which also  didn't work. They finally got in — after the owner of the repair shop  arrived and opened the locks.

The owner declined to be interviewed.

Inside, police found not just the bikes but several pit bulls.

"Don't be afraid of the dog," Detective Chris Grant, a member of the  task force who had been to the shop previously, had told the officers  before entering. "The dog's nice."

Animal control took the dogs and said they'll be put up for adoption after 72 hours.

On his Twitter page, Jacob posted a picture of police loading his bike onto a tow truck.

"Police think this gon stop us from riding," he wrote. "We just gon flood the streets."

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Baltimore Police spot error in counting city rape statistics
Oversight panel worked with police to correct undercounting, officials say

By Justin Fenton, The Baltimore Sun

9:30 PM EDT, April 18, 2013

Baltimore police have been underreporting the number of rapes  across the city this year, but officials described the problem as a data error and stressed that it did not affect the number of cases being  investigated by sex offense detectives.

The mistake resulted in 16 rape cases being mis-categorized in the agency's records management  system, which reduced the number reported through the Comstat program.  The program produces publicly available data that commanders use to  track crime trends. Police said they had flagged the problem and were  working to correct it.

"I'm extremely confident in the process we  have to serve victims of sexual assault and rape," said Capt. Martin  Bartness, the commander overseeing the sex offense unit. "We are doing  right by our victims."

The incorrect data showed 45 rapes reported this year through April 13, compared with 81 at the same time last year  — a decline of 44 percent, the largest drop of any category of crime.

Heather Brantner, the coordinator of the city's Sexual Assault Response Team,  said the problem appeared largely superficial. Her group includes victim advocates and was formed in 2010 after The Baltimore Sun reported that  police were discarding rape reports at the highest rate in the nation.

Members of the team began to notice the drop in recent weeks and had been discussing possible reasons for the decline.

Brantner said police took a closer look at the data, and determined that the  unit's database of rape investigations showed a higher number. The  number of rapes being investigated by the unit instead showed a decline  of 25 percent over the same time last year, police said.

That's  still a notable decline, and Bartness said members of the sexual assault response team are tracking the issue. The sex offense unit's statistics are scrutinized regularly, and Brantner has access to the internal  police databases to look over the shoulder of detectives.

She said the group also discusses the data with advocacy groups, medical  providers and counseling centers to make sure they match the experience  on the ground.

"We're really dialed in," Bartness said. "At the  end of the day, I'm extremely confident in the process we have to serve  victims of sexual assault and rape."

Deputy Commissioner John P.  Skinner said the agency reviewed other categories of crime and have not  seen the same problem. He stressed that the records management data are  constantly reviewed and not official until they are reported to the FBI, which collects the data nationally.

When an officer in the field  writes a police report, it is hand-delivered to the agency's records  management section. Skinner said the reports are reviewed by a  specialist to make sure the category of crime matches what's described  in the report. The report is then scanned in and entered into a computer system, he said.

Detectives separately enter cases into a  database that allows them to enter summaries and progress notes. That  database is where the sex offense unit said it keeps its official  accounting of cases.

Police Commissioner Anthony W. Batts has said he wants to upgrade both systems.

Skinner said the undercounting in the records management system appeared to be  the result of clerical errors — for example, he said, a crime that was  supposed to be classified as a "3J" being entered as a "3G" — and was  not "downgrading" of the incidents, because sex offense detectives were  still investigating them as serious crimes.

Skinner said the sex  offense unit will submit its statistics directly to the Comstat program  until the problem is resolved. He said police take the same approach  with "shootings," a category that appears on Comstat reports but is not  one that the agency has to report to the FBI. Shootings are broadly  counted among aggravated assaults, but police count them separately on  internal records so they know where they stand.

In 2010, The Sun  reported that sex offense detectives were consistently discarding a high percentage of reports as "unfounded," meaning no crime occurred.  Officials acknowledged a widespread problem, and made a number of  reforms, including the formation of the sexual assault response team and launching a public awareness campaign.

While 31 percent of cases were deemed "unfounded" in 2009, just 1.7 percent were classified that way last year, Brantner said.

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Police Kill Man in Running Gun Battle in Canton
Two women also shot in incident, possibly by man who died

By Jessica Anderson and Kevin Rector, The Baltimore Sun

10:10 PM EDT, April 19, 2013

A running gun battle that broke out late Thursday night between  Baltimore police and a suspect after a domestic incident in Canton left  one man dead, two women shot and a quiet Southwest Baltimore street  rattled.

Police worked Friday to unravel the circumstances  surrounding the overnight incident. It was the year's eighth  officer-involved shooting and the second in which a suspect died.

Officers responded to call about a disturbance at a house in the 3400 block of  Foster Ave. just before midnight. Moments later, other officers heard  gunfire in the area and began to chase the man they believed  responsible.

A 42-year-old Baltimore resident, who was not  immediately identified, was killed in the exchange of gunfire, said  Anthony Guglielmi, a police spokesman. Two women who had been engaged in the dispute with the man also were shot: a 28-year-old in the ear and a 22-year-old in the arm, Guglielmi said.

While police are  "operating under the belief" that the women were shot by the man before  his encounter with officers, detectives are "combing through ballistics" and reconstructing the scene to make sure they weren't hit by officers' bullets, Guglielmi said.

No police officers or other civilians were injured, he said.

Neighbors said they were terrified as the incident unfolded.

"It was really scary," said Elizabeth Lina, who lives a few doors down from where the shooting occurred. "We don't unusually have that kind of  problem here."

She recalled hearing a shot, "a lady hollering,"  and then many more shots. Fearing stray bullets, she ran into the middle room of the home she's lived in for 50 years.

Uniformed police  officers initially responded to the Canton home about 11:45 p.m.  Thursday for a call about a disorderly man, Guglielmi said. They handled the disturbance between the man and two women, one of them his wife.

Minutes later, officers heard gunshots in the same area. Outside the home, the  man confronted the officers with a gun, Guglielmi said.

"They  [got] into a running gun battle in the neighborhood, multiple shots were fired and officers struck the suspect," Guglielmi said. The gunfight  took place in an area outside a few houses on the block, he said.

Three officers fired their weapons, Guglielmi said. He said it was unclear how many shots they fired.

Police believe the women were shot by the man before his exchange of fire with the officers but "are also exploring whether they were shot in relation to the suspect's confrontation with police," Guglielmi said

Lina  said she does not know the neighbors at the house where the incident  occurred, but she hadn't noticed any disturbances there until Thursday  night.

Norma Hrica, who lives on Highland Avenue, was sipping  coffee and doing a crossword puzzle in her kitchen when she heard  arguing though her open back door. She said she head a man say, "How  could you do that to me?'"

"Not long after that I heard what I thought was fireworks. I looked up the street and saw a guy holding a gun," Hrica said.

She ran from her front door and hid at the top of her basement stairs.  After waiting a bit and not hearing more gunfire, she came out and saw a man lying on the sidewalk.

"When I opened the door, he was  already down," Hrica said. She pointed to a bloodstain on the sidewalk  where she said his head had been.

Lina said she went outside after the gunfire and saw numerous police cars on her block. She and other  neighbors said they saw men in handcuffs. Guglielmi said he could not  provide information about whether there had been arrests.

The  incident started in a rowhouse across from Archbishop Borders School on  Foster Avenue. A few drops of blood remained on the sidewalk alongside a few pieces of gauze Friday morning. Around the corner on Highland  Avenue, a remnant of yellow police tape was left behind, but few other  signs of the shooting were visible.

The officers involved in the  incident have not been identified. They have been placed on routine  administrative duty pending the results of an internal investigation.

The eight police-involved shootings this year have wounded nine people, two of whom died. Last year there were 15 police-involved shootings the  wounded 15, nine of whom died.

Thursday's incident occurred during a violent night in Baltimore in which at least two other men were  killed and several people were wounded by gunfire.

In the second  overnight killing, police responded to the 2700 block of Jefferson St.  in McElderry Park and found an unidentified man with gunshot wounds  facedown in the street, Guglielmi said. He was pronounced dead at Johns  Hopkins Hospital about 1:25 a.m. Friday.

Three hours later,  officers found Jerrel Key, 29, lying on the sidewalk at McCulloh and  Presstman streets in the Druid Heights neighborhood. Key, who had  suffered several gunshot wounds, was pronounced dead at Maryland Shock  Trauma Center.

Police were investigating two other shootings  Thursday night — a man in the 400 block of N. Robinson St. in the  Ellwood Park/Monument neighborhood and a woman at West Patapsco and  Janice avenues in the Lakeland neighborhood. Both were expected to  survive.

Baltimore Sun reporter Justin Fenton contributed to this article.

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Baltimore officer indicted in police academy training shooting - William Scott Kern faces second-degree assault, reckless endangerment charges

By Justin Fenton  and Jessica Anderson , The Baltimore Sun

6:44 PM EDT, March 27, 2013

The Baltimore police training supervisor who shot a recruit during an unauthorized training exercise last month will face criminal charges after being indicted Wednesday by a Baltimore County grand jury. William Scott Kern, 46, faces counts of second-degree assault and reckless endangerment, both misdemeanors. The indictment comes six weeks after the shooting during an exercise at the shuttered Rosewood Center in Owings Mills. Kern, a Carroll County resident who had worked at the city training academy for more than a decade, turned himself in at the state police Golden Ring barracks. He was released on his own recognizance. Kern's attorney, Shaun Owens, said the shooting was a "tragedy," and his client never meant to hurt anyone. The victim, Raymond Gray, is a University of Maryland police recruit who was training with city officers. "This does not require pointing the finger at someone," Owens said. "It does not require blame. We will look forward to our day in court." Wednesday's indictment offered no details of the investigation, which was conducted by the state police. Baltimore County State's Attorney Scott Shellenberger declined to comment. Sources have said that Gray had peered through a window and Kern, an 18-year veteran, fired at him with what he thought was a gun that expelled paintball-like pellets. Instead, he had grabbed his service weapon. Gray may not have been participating in a drill at the time, the sources said, and was critically wounded after taking a bullet to the front of the head. Gray's attorney, A. Dwight Pettit, said the recruit and his family were pleased that charges had been filed. Discharged from University of Maryland Shock Trauma Center last month, Gray remained hospitalized and unable to communicate. But Pettit said he has made tremendous progress since then: Gray can not only talk but is walking, and Pettit expects he will be able to eat without the aid of a feeding tube soon. He is also expected to undergo eye surgery. Pettit said Gray cannot remember anything about the shooting. "The positive thing [about the indictment] is this will allow us to get some information now about as to what actually took place to cause this tragic event," Pettit said. Kern is charged with second-degree assault, which carries a prison term of up to 10 years. The maximum sentence for reckless endangerment is five years. Owens, Kern's attorney, said prosecutors would have to prove intent to prosecute the assault charge. He said there was no intent because the shooting was an accident. Kern's "main concern is for the health and well-being of Raymond Gray," Owens added. Officers' service weapons and live ammunition are prohibited in a training environment, according to city police, and it remains unclear how and why the officer had the real gun. Police use "simunition" weapons in training exercises, which have a similar feel to a service weapon but fire ammunition that is similar to a paintball. Firing a shot in someone's direction outside of an exercise, even from a "simunition" weapon, is prohibited by the policies governing training. In the fallout from the shooting, state officials disclosed that Baltimore police were not authorized to use the Rosewood Center for training. City police said that top commanders weren't aware of the exercise. A part-time member of Police Commissioner Anthony W. Batts' security detail was among the officers present at the Rosewood site at the time of the shooting. The department replaced the training academy commander, only to have his successor decide to retire days later. Judy Pal, Batts' chief of staff, said Wednesday that the former commander, Maj. Eric Russell, and other officers remain suspended but have not been charged internally. Some firearms training has resumed, and police said they are continuing to review the shooting and the training academy's standards. In a statement, Batts said the indictment "moves us one step forward in this painful but necessary process" as the department reckons with the incident. "When we fall short, we will not only hold ourselves accountable; but will take the necessary time, care and caution required to restore the public's confidence in our department," Batts said.

Mistrial in case of city officer accused of recording judge - Some observers point to larger problems with judges signing warrants after hours

By Carrie Wells, The Baltimore Sun
7:51 PM EDT, March 26, 2013

A jury declared Tuesday that it was hopelessly deadlocked over the case of a Baltimore police officer accused of secretly tape-recording a judge. The impasse triggered a mistrial that leaves the sergeant's fate uncertain. Sgt. Carlos M. Vila, an 18-year-veteran police officer, was charged with recording a telephone argument with a judge designated to sign search warrants after normal business hours. Prosecutors said the recording violated the state's wiretap laws. Vila wanted District Judge Joan B. Gordon to sign a warrant on a Saturday night to search a car in which a shooting victim had been found. Gordon thought the matter was not urgent and could wait until business hours on Monday, according to the recording, which was played in court this week. Catherine Flynn, Vila's attorney, said the sergeant has been suspended without pay from his job since he was charged last year. "The jurors definitely were methodical in reviewing the evidence, we appreciate that," she said. "But certainly, given his status of being suspended without pay, we were hoping for a resolution." Mark Cheshire, a spokesman for the state's attorney's office, said prosecutors would meet on Wednesday to determine their next step. Vila's defense was that he attempted to only record his side of the conversation to protect himself later, and recorded the judge by mistake. He also is accused of replaying the recording to colleagues a month later, but Vila maintains that was accidental and that he did not believe he did anything wrong. Judges are required to be on call after normal business hours to sign off on search warrants about one week out of the year, a job for which they take turns. In this case, the judge wanted to speak with Vila's supervisor before signing off on the warrant. Vila told her that his lieutenant was off that day and not on call.

'I've lost everything,' city officer testifies in wiretap case -
Sgt. Carlos M. Vila is accused of illegally taping a city judge
and playing recording to colleagues

By Ian Duncan, The Baltimore Sun

8:43 PM EDT, March 22, 2013

Accused of taping a judge without her consent, a Baltimore police officer broke down on the witness stand Friday as he testified that one phone call left his 18-year career hanging in the balance. "I've lost everything because of this," said Sgt. Carlos M. Vila. Prosecutors allege that Vila's recording of a phone conversation during which he argued with the judge was a violation of Maryland's wiretap laws. Vila is also charged with playing the recording — which he says was accidental — for colleagues on two occasions. The case arose from a dispute on a Saturday night between Vila and District Judge Joan B. Gordon over the urgency of a shooting investigation. Police wanted to search a car where the victim had been found, but the judge thought it could wait until Monday. Police and judges commonly discuss warrants outside of regular working hours. In court Friday, Gordon testified that she is required to be on call one week every year so she can review warrant applications when courthouses are closed. But that Saturday, the judge and investigators could not agree on the urgency of the shooting investigation. According to testimony Friday, they soon got into an argument over the phone. "The tenor was a very hostile one," Gordon said in court. Worried that the incident could lead to a complaint against him, Vila said he only intended to record his side of the conversation. The sergeant testified that he only made the recording of the judge's voice because he accidentally turned on the speaker of his cellphone. His lawyer, Catherine Flynn, argued that because it was an accident, he did not do anything illegal. "It was my intention to capture myself, and only myself," Vila said in court. But Assistant State's Attorney Paul Pineau asked Vila whether he had ever used a speakerphone before and whether he noticed the volume of the phone changing. Vila said he replayed the conversation once for Detective James Clark immediately after he recorded it, and again for another colleague who was facing a complaint about discourtesy. He said he did not think he had done anything wrong by making the recording and thought it would be OK to play it. Vila and Clark had worked through Friday night and into Saturday evening investigating the shooting, and Clark prepared a search warrant. Clark was the first to get in touch with Gordon, asking her to sign off on the search. Gordon raised questions about the application that night and asked to speak to Vila, Clark's supervisor. In the recording, which was played in court, Vila can be heard reminding the judge of her responsibilities. "It's your duty, your honor. You're on call," he said. Gordon can then be heard saying she wanted to talk to Vila's supervisor and gather more information. "I explained to you why it was necessary for us to be inside this vehicle," Vila said. He added that he did not want to bother his lieutenant, who was not at work: "You're on call. He's not on call." It is not clear what concerns Gordon had about the warrant application. Judge Lawrence Daniels, who is presiding over Vila's case, has barred any discussion of the underlying investigation. In arguments that took place while jurors were out of court, Daniels said he feared they might go easy on Vila if they knew the case concerned a shooting. Gordon testified that she was trying to determine whether the warrant was an emergency that would justify a detective coming to her house on a Saturday evening. Flynn, Vila's lawyer, questioned her in response: "You're aware that crime occurs 24 hours a day. Is that correct?" Gordon said she was. She said she signed another warrant for Clark in the early hours of that Sunday morning.

Cases Handled by Officer Convicted of Drug Charges in Jeopardy
Kendell Richburg pleaded Guilty to Falsifying Reports, Skimming Money

By Justin George, The Baltimore Sun

8:41 PM EDT, March 24, 2013

When Brenda Brown stood before a judge, she figured she had only one real option: plead guilty. She had been caught with three bags of marijuana in her pocket in Northwest Baltimore. She didn't know that Kendell Richburg, the arresting officer, had lied about having seen her buy the drugs, potentially violating her constitutional right against unreasonable search and seizure. Now, her case is among hundreds under review by prosecutors in light of Richburg's conduct. Brown, 52, is serving a sentence that includes a year of probation, court costs, counseling, drug testing and another possession count on a lengthy rap sheet. But she wonders whether the new revelations mean her conviction might be scrapped. "You mean I'm off probation?" she asked after hearing of Richburg's guilty plea this month to armed drug trafficking charges. Federal prosecutors said the Baltimore police officer set up innocent people, falsified reports, skimmed police money, and protected a drug dealer working for him as an informant. Brown's case — and others like it — are part of a complicated puzzle prosecutors will have to solve in coming weeks. "This could be a very big undertaking the state's attorney's office will have to embark on," said Glenn F. Ivey, a private attorney who served as Prince George's County state's attorney for eight years. He said one police officer's misconduct can ruin many cases. The Richburg affair has endangered cases against people caught engaging in criminal activity. And it illustrates how seemingly incidental, but fabricated, information can slip through the court system, limiting suspects' due process. "Whether the person is guilty or not, the police have to put truthful information in the report about him or her," U.S. Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein said. "You don't make cases by lying." Brown was arrested Sept. 18. That night, she said in an interview, a young man on a bike rode up to her at a bus stop in the 5100 block of Park Heights Ave. "Hey mama, I got some weed but you got to look out," Brown said he told her. "Some knockers down there." He pointed toward an area being monitored by plainclothes officers from Baltimore's Violent Crime Impact Section. Brown discreetly handed the man $15 for three "nickel" bags — enough to roll a joint, she said — and boarded a bus. Several minutes later, she said, a police car pulled in front of the bus. Richburg stepped onboard and pulled Brown off. "What you got?" she said he asked. "I know you have something." He reached into her pocket, pulled out the baggies. She never questioned how he knew she was holding marijuana. In the statement of probable cause for the arrest, Richburg wrote that he witnessed the buy. He said an "unidentified black male" in a white T-shirt and blue jeans approach Brown at the bus stop. Money changed hands, he said. "This detective believed that he had just witnessed a narcotic transaction," he wrote. He and his partner walked up and made the arrest. There was no mention in the report of Richburg stopping the bus. That wasn't the only omission. According to federal prosecutors, the entire arrest was set up. Earlier in the day, federal investigators, who by this time were monitoring Richburg, had been wiretapping his conversations with a confidential informant. According to Richburg's lawyer, Warren A. Brown, the officer had been under immense pressure to make cases, which led him to arrange busts with the informant. That day, the two discussed the potential drug arrest. "I'll write it up like I saw hand to hand," bits of the conversation made public by federal prosecutors show. It was unclear whether the man on the bikewas the informant. But after the drug deal was brokered, the informant gave Brenda Brown's description and location to Richburg, who texted back several minutes later: "I got her." Richburg's attorney said the officer felt he had to resort to such tactics to keep his job. "This unit, which was ostensibly meant to combat violent crime, was under extreme pressure to make arrests," Warren Brown said. "It was a numbers game and the higher ups didn't care what kind of arrests they were — they just wanted numbers." Baltimore police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi called any claim of top-down pressure to make arrests "absurd" and denigrating to honest police officers. "It was clear he was operating alone." Richburg was involved in hundreds of cases since April 2009, when he forged the relationship with the informant that would play a key role in his downfall. The street-level dealer, who has not been identified, was facing arrest when he agreed to help police. He worked the streets for tips in the same area he had been caught dealing drugs and was assigned to Richburg, who was part of Baltimore police's Northwestern District's special enforcement section. The relationship developed into a quid pro quo, authorities say: Richburg tipped off the informant about areas police were monitoring so he could avoid them when he sold cocaine, crack, heroin and marijuana. The informant told the officer who his customers were so Richburg could arrest them. Richburg never revealed that the informant was the dealer in many of his arrests. He even fueled the informant's illegal enterprises, prosecutors said, paying him for tips with police money — which Richburg skimmed — and resupplying him with drugs police had confiscated. The state's attorney's Police Integrity Unit began reviewing Richburg's cases weeks ago after they learned of the allegations against him. Officials have been consulting with every prosecutor who worked on a Richburg case to determine whether convictions or plea agreements need to be thrown out, spokesman Mark Cheshire said. Prosecutors are obligated to notify people who could be potentially freed or exonerated if they uncover evidence that might be favorable to them. The office of the public defender is conducting its own review. "We're looking into all of these cases, and we'll be pursuing it quite aggressively," District Public Defender Elizabeth L. Julian said. In the case of Brenda Brown, Byron L. Warnken, a University of Baltimore law professor and attorney who specializes in appellate cases, said that if it turns out Richburg had no probable cause to search her, it won't matter whether she had marijuana. "If the only thing that establishes that she did the crime was his statement and he lied, sounds like she didn't do the crime," he said. Brown, whois unemployed and on disability, said she grew up in West Baltimore and got caught up in doing and dealing hard drugs at a young age. Since 1984, she has been arrested 16 times, according to records read at her Sept. 27 court hearing. Court records show several convictions over the years, including multiple charges of possession of a controlled substance and theft. She said she has been "clean from the coke and the dope" for 13 years, since serving a seven-year sentence that ended in 2004. But she acknowledged continuing to smoke marijuana to help combat pain from surgeries and arthritis, and fatigue from HIV, which she has been fighting for 15 years. "I do it for me to get an appetite." For months, Brown thought it was just bad luck she had been prosecuted for buying marijuana last September. Usually, officers in special enforcement units focus on drug dealers, not users, she said. "Most of the knockers, when they find [drugs] they just smash it and tell you to go on your way," she said. Before she bought the marijuana, she had been out buying a pair of glasses. She joked that the glasses "must not have been that good" since she didn't notice police around witnessing her buy drugs. Now, she said, she knows they never saw anything at all.

City pension system facing $681 million shortfall 
System for elected officials' retirements is fully funded

By Luke Broadwater, The Baltimore Sun

The pension system for most city workers has nearly $700 million in unfunded liabilities, according to an audit released Wednesday. In contrast, the smaller system for elected officials — who contribute to their pensions — is in strong financial shape, another audit shows. City auditor Robert L. McCarty presented the documents to the city's spending panel, the Board of Estimates, along with annual financial reports that provided details about the fiscal health of the two systems. The police and fire pension system is separate and was not covered by the reports. The pension system for municipal employees, who do not currently contribute to their retirements, faces $681 million in unfunded liabilities, the audit says. It underscores the change in the system's funding over the last decade. Fully funded in 2003, the system has weakened each year and is now only 67 percent funded. An actuary, Cheiron Inc., recommended the city increase its contribution by 7.5 percent to shore up the system — from $88 million for fiscal year 2013 to $95 million next fiscal year. By contrast, the pension system for elected officials — who contribute 5 percent of their salaries — is funded to cover 109 percent of liabilities and has an excess of $1.5 million in assets, the reports show. City Council President Bernard C. "Jack" Young, who chairs the Board of Estimates, said officials are aware of the need to take action. At the same time, he said, he's concerned about promises made to city workers. "People come to work. They're promised a pension. They're promised certain things," Young said. "We're going to look at it and see what tweaks we can make." Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake has consistently pointed to pension payments as a major driver of the city's long-term financial woes. She has proposed requiring more city employees to contribute some of their salaries to their pensions, while moving to a 401(k)-style retirement plan for new civilian hires. Under the administration's proposal, the city would start requiring civilian employees to contribute 5 percent of their salaries to their pensions. The city would phase in the contribution increases, starting at 1 percent in the coming fiscal year. New employees would be given 401(k)-style plans instead of traditional pensions. The changes to city pensions would save $5 million in the coming fiscal year, city officials said. According to the city's budget, taxpayers will contribute $192 million to public employees' pensions next fiscal year. Andrew Kleine, the city's budget director, has called the growth of pension costs "relentless." Young said it makes sense for employees to contribute to their pensions, but he's worried about low-level employees with meager wages. "Police and fire make a contribution. We make a contribution," he said, referring to elected officials. "As you know, most of the city workers are on the lower end of the payroll scale. People are hurting." The pensions for municipal employees are in similar straits as those for police and fire department employees, who will contribute 10 percent of their salaries to their retirements this year. In 2003, 96 percent of the public safety pensions were funded, with $81 million in unfunded liabilities on the books. Now, however, the public safety pension system has $712 million in unfunded liabilities, and the percentage of fully funded pensions has dropped to 77 percent. In 2010, Rawlings-Blake moved to overhaul the pension system for police and fire employees, delaying retirement for many and increasing their contributions to the pension system. A federal judge struck down one aspect of that overhaul last year but said the rest of the law could stand. The mayor has also proposed a new "hybrid" retirement system for new employees of the police and fire departments. Meanwhile, City Councilman William H. Cole IV has suggested switching the pension system for elected officials to a 401(k)-style system. 

City pension systems

Municipal employees: 67 percent funded, $681 million in unfunded liabilities.

Public safety employees: 77 percent funded, $712 million in unfunded liabilities.

Elected officials: 109 percent funded, $1.5 million in excess assets.

Source: City of Baltimore reports

Copyright © 2013, The Baltimore Sun
October 6, 2011
Baltimore police hand out department honors
Baltimore Police had their annual Medal Day ceremony last week, and police this week provided the list of those who were honored. Here they are, in the order they appear in the program:
Others receiving awards included:
Officer Todd Strohman - Medal of Honor
Lt. Scott Mezan - Silver Star, Life Saving Award
Officer Jeffrey Schmitt - Silver Star
Officer Kurt Yourkovik - Life Saving Award
Officer Keith Romans - Medal of Honor, Citation of Valor
Officer Jordan Moore - Silver Star, Citation of Valor
Officer Joseph Wiczulis - Silver Star
Detective Latosha Tinsley - Medal of Honor
Detective Daniel Hersl - Medal of Honor
Detective Michael Rice - Citation of Valor
Deputy Major David Reitz, Sgt. Thomas Schaeffer, Sgt. Mark Ference - Silver Star
Officer Mikel Valerio - Silver Star
Officers Brett Schrack, Chantell Washington, Paul Sinchak, Edward LeMarie - Silver Star
Det. Sgt. William Knorlein, Det. Wayne Jenkins, Det. Craig Jester, Det. Ivo Louvado, Det. Victor Rivera, Det. Keith Gladstone, Det. Paul Geare - Bronze Star
Officers James Howard, Ruganzu Howard, Paul Heffernan - Bronze Star
Officer Daniel Harper - Medal of Valor
Dep. Maj. Dorsey McVicker, Sgt. Kurt Roepcke, Officer Matthew McClenahan - Citation of Valor
Officers Maxwell Anderson, Jonathan Ford, Donald Medtart - Bronze Star
Lt. Gordon Schluderberg - Bronze Star
Sgt. Jeffrey Young, Det. Michael Brinn - Bronze Star
Officer Thomas Robert - Bronze Star
Officer John Potter - Bronze Star
Officer Richard Lyles - Bronze Star

 

Father & Son 
Two of Baltimore's Top Police

Over 25 years ago the Baltimore Sun did a Fathers Day article featuring Father and Son; Col. Leon Tomlin and Det. Mark Tomlin. A retired officer named Mark Frank bought the picture from the Sun Paper's archives and gave it to Mark. A very... very special thing that someone from the BPD Brotherhood would think of a brother, and spend his hard earned cash to buy him a 25 year old Sun Paper photo. Thanks to both P/O Mark Frank and Det. Mark Tomlin for making this photo part of the Baltimore City Police History website.

University of Maryland Campus Police Officer Shot in Training Exercise
By Justin Fenton and Jessica Anderson | Baltimore Sun
Wednesday, February 13, 11:35 AM

Why are the police called cops, pigs, or the fuzz?

May 31, 2005

Dear Straight Dope:
Could you tell me more about the words fuzz, pigs, and cops and how they pertain to police? — Mike Paproski

Etymology is rarely an exact science. Words or phrases spring up, become popular, and eventually may find their way into print. The process takes time, and it's usually difficult or impossible to track backwards to discover where a particular word or phrase arose.

Let's start with cop. Cop the noun is almost certainly a shortening of copper, which in turn derives from cop the verb. The London police were called bobbies, after Sir Robert Peel who advocated the creation of the Metropolitan Police Force in 1828. Copper as slang for policeman is first found in print in 1846, according to the Oxford English Dictionary. The most likely explanation is that it comes from the verb "to cop" meaning to seize, capture, or snatch, dating from just over a century earlier (1704).

The derivation of the verb is unclear. Most authorities trace it to the French caper and before that to the Latin capere, to seize, take. Other English words derived from capere include capture. Thus, a copper is one who seizes. An alternative theory is that to cop comes from the Dutch kapen, meaning to take or to steal.

The word "cop" has other meanings as well, all connected to "catch" or "snatch":

• To "cop out" meaning to withdraw or escape, or to evade responsibility
• To "cop it" meaning to be punished or get caught
• To "cop a plea" is to try to catch a lesser punishment by admitting to a lesser crime
• "A fair cop" means to be caught in the act.

As with many words, there are several stories floating around positing various origins, almost certainly false. The notion that cop is an acronym for "Constable On Patrol" is nonsense. Similarly, the word did not arise because police uniforms in New York (or London or wherever) had copper buttons, copper badges, or anything of the sort.

The term cop has had derogatory implications. J. Edgar Hoover, the longtime head of the FBI, disliked being called "top cop."

The origin of "fuzz" is uncertain. The expression arose in America in the late 1920s and early 1930s, probably in the criminal underworld. It never quite replaced cop.

Evan Morris, The Word Detective, says:

Where in the world are you hearing people refer to the police as "fuzz"? . . . I have never heard a real person use it, unless you want to count Jack Webb on the old "Dragnet." When I was growing up in the 1960s, we called police officers many things, but mostly we just called them "cops" and we never, ever, called them "the fuzz." As a matter of fact, anybody calling the cops "the fuzz" would have been instantly suspected of being a cop. It would have been a faux pas right up there with ironing your blue jeans.

There are several theories about the origin of "fuzz":

• American Tramp and Underworld Slang, published in 1931, suggests that "fuzz" was derived from "fuss," meaning that the cops were "fussy" over trifles.
• A mispronunciation or mishearing of the warning "Feds!" (Federal agents). This seems unlikely.
• Etymologist Eric Partridge wonders if "fuzz" might have come from the beards of early police officers. This also seems improbable.

The term is not related to Fuzzy Wuzzy who wuz a bear. (You didn't ask, but the term "bear" for police refers to the Smokey the Bear hat commonly worn by state troopers.)

Evan Morris suggests the word "arose as a term of contempt for police based on the use of 'fuzz' or 'fuzzy' in other items of derogatory criminal slang of the period. To be 'fuzzy' was to be unmanly, incompetent and soft. How better to insult the police, after all, than to mock them as ineffectual?" That explanation seems as good as any, and better than most.

If you thought the term pig arose in the 1960s, you're in for a surprise. The OED cites an 1811 reference to a "pig" as a Bow Street Runner--the early police force, named after the location of their headquarters, before Sir Robert Peel and the Metropolitan Police Force (see above.) Before that, the term "pig" had been used as early as the mid-1500s to refer to a person who is heartily disliked.

The usage was probably confined to the criminal classes until the 1960s, when it was taken up by protestors. False explanations for the term involve the gas masks worn by the riot police in that era, or the pigs in charge of George Orwell's Animal Farm.

While police officers usually don't mind being called "cops," they aren't usually fond of the term "pig." A policeman's lot is not an 'appy one.

By the way, the French call their police gendarmes, which came from gens d'arme (people with weaponry) which ranked just below knight in medieval armies--the English equivalent would be "esquire," perhaps. No, somehow I don't think calling the police "squires" will catch on here.

  

Baltimore officer cleared of charges in shooting of man from inside police vehicle

By Justin Fenton, The Baltimore Sun

12:16 PM EST, February 7, 2013

  

Hero Medal of Honor Recipient Officer Gary Dresser Needs Assistance - Fundraiser
1-29-2013
Police Officer Gary Dresser, who served in the Western District and Northern District’s, and was awarded the Medal of Honor after rescuing a fellow officer under fire.. is suffering from lung and liver cancer.  In 1975 Gary was a recipient of the Baltimore Police Department Metal of Honor for saving the life of an Officer that had been shot.  Under gun fire Gary, with no regard for his own life placed himself in the line of fire and pulled the Officer to safety. Gary is also a former United States Marine.  Now Gary is in the fight for his own life and his medical bills are mounting and he now needs our help.  On May 11, 2013, his family is having a fund raiser in New York at the American Legion to help with the medical bills.  Please see below information and phone contact number.  If anyone is interested in making the trip to the benefit or to see Gary please contact me at 443-250-7595. Send donations to --- Tioga State Bank                   
183 Main Street                    
Newfield, NY 14867 Checks/money order made out to Gary Dresser and in the memo line state "for cancer benefit".  Please have any questions addressed to me, Kim Bailey, Gary's daughter my cell number-443-857-7727. 

The account will be set up this week or next. Physical donations such as a gift basket or a raffle item can be sent to Gay’s daughter Kim Bailey at:   

Gary Dresser benefit donation                                       
Kim Bailey                                     
5139 Jacksonville Road                                      
Trumansburg, NY 14886

City officer involved in deadly shooting
Posted: 8:43 PM 1/26/2013
By: Michael Quander, @MikeQReports  
BALTIMORE (WMAR) - A Baltimore City Police Officer was involved in a shooting that left a man dead Friday evening.   The shooting happened in the 500 block of North Madeira Street in East Baltimore around 8:00 p.m.   Police say their officers were working when they noticed a man who broke away from a group of guys. Officers report attempting to question the man when a physical battle started. The man then reportedly ran away. It would be when the officer chased the man that he shoots a handgun at the policeman, officials say. Police add that the officer was not hit by the fired shots, but the man was killed when the officer fired back. The officer remains in a local hospital with minor injuries from the physical confrontation, police say.

Police headquarters addition could mean new face

URBAN LANDSCAPE

March 10, 1994|By Edward Gunts | Edward Gunts,Sun Staff Writer

The 11-story police department headquarters that Baltimore built downtown in the early 1970s has been notorious for its mechanical defects, but that is not the only area where it failed.

As seen from the skyline on the edge of the municipal district, the building at 601 E. Fayette St. looks more like a commercial office tower than the command center for the department whose officers are sworn to protect the citizens of Baltimore.

With its reflective glass windows and polished granite surface, it is also an austere fortress that appears cut off from the city. In short, it sends all the wrong messages about the police department.

Now Baltimore has a chance to counter some of that building's negatives -- at a time when the Schmoke administration is looking for ways to convey a more positive image about the police force.

As part of a long-awaited effort to correct the mechanical defects in the 1973 building, the city plans to construct a five-story, 100,000-square-foot addition. The site is an irregularly shaped parcel bounded by Fayette, President and Baltimore streets and the eastern edge of the existing police headquarters -- a strategic location where the central business district meets the neighborhoods.

Seen by thousands of people a day who drive along the Jones Falls Expressway, the addition could be a new face for the police department -- literally reaching out to the community and showing that the police force is expanding its presence. Its appearance could reinforce the city's emphasis on community policing.

Whether any of those goals are realized depends in large part on the work of the architects, a team headed by Hellmuth Obata & Kassabaum (HOK) of Washington and RCG Inc. of Baltimore. They are still grappling with decisions about what the building will look like -- and what messages it will send.

HOK principal James Kessler said the design team wants to create "an important civic building" that provides a gateway to downtown while conveying its function as as "an arm of justice.

"The symbolic role of the police department in the city is something that is very serious and should not have a frivolous expression," he said. "We're trying to strike the right balance. . . . We also have some direction from the city to be modest in our approach."

Construction is due to begin in October and be complete by late 1996. Mr. Kessler said the addition will be separated from the older building by a glass and metal bridge and will be deliberately different in appearance. Besides constructing the $10 million addition, the city will spend about $22 million to renovate the existing 280,000-square-foot headquarters by mid-1997.

To show where they are headed, Mr. Kessler and his associates last week presented some concept sketches to Baltimore's Architectural Review Board. They also released computer-generated drawings that show the proposed configuration, but not the actual exterior design.

In their presentation, the designers said the addition will become the new public entrance to the police complex and will house the departments that interact most closely with the public. The older building's Fayette Street entrance, with its large murals in the lobby, will be for employees only, they explained.

The addition's north and south walls would most likely follow the city street grid and line up with other buildings on Fayette and Baltimore streets. But there will probably be a curved wall along the east side that follows President Street and helps soften the building, the architects said.

The designers suggested that the building have a colonnade and clear glass windows (not reflective) at street level to indicate that it is accessible and welcoming. They also talked about creating a plaza on the Fayette Street side, possibly with a monument to officers who have died in the line of duty.

These are promising ideas that show the architects don't want to repeat the mistakes made in the 1970s. Now they should be encouraged to do even more to give the addition a reassuring and distinctive presence above the first floor.

Public safety is the one subject on just about everyone's mind these days. The city's police headquarters should not look like a speculative office tower, or another banal government complex.

Police activity shuts down Loch Raven Blvd  
Police: suspect has makeshift flamethrower      
Posted: 9:23 PM 1/11/2013
By: Michael Quander, @MikeQReports  
BALTIMORE (WMAR) - Baltimore City Police have blocked off Loch Raven Blvd between Northern Parkway and

Regester Avenue.   ABC2 News crews on the scene report that the majority of police activity is in the 6400 block of Loch Raven Blvd at the Kirkwood House senior living facility.   Some of the people who live there are being evacuated from their homes for safety.   According to Anthony Guglielmi, spokesperson for the Baltimore City Police Department, officers responded to the high-rise apartment building around 8:30 p.m. Guglielmi confirms that the suspect blasted a makeshift flamethrower. Police fired shots back, but the bullets missed the suspect.   According to Chief Kevin Cartwright, spokesperson for the Baltimore City Fire Department, crews originally responded to the scene for a report of a shooting.   Upon arrival, they realized that there had not been a shooting, Cartwright said. Crews were able to quickly extinguish the fire, and two units remain on the scene for safety precautions. The suspect is barricaded in their apartment, and the police tactical team is now handling the incident, Guglielmi says.   There is no word on if anyone was injured, but medical crews are on standby. Police Pursue Person Suspected of Striking Officers with Vehicle   BALTIMORE - Officers with the Baltimore County Police Department are currently involved in a situation that crossed into county jurisdiction from the city Wednesday morning.   Details are scarce at this point, but a pursuit involving at least a dozen law enforcement vehicles could be seen from the windows of ABC2 News on York Road. The chase ended at the intersection of Joppa and Walther in the Parkville/Carney area.   Posts on Twitter from the Baltimore Police Department suggests the incident may have been an attempt to apprehend a suspect believed to have struck two city officers with a vehicle. It's also indicated that BPD officers interrupted a possible drug transaction when they were struck by the vehicle on Belair Road.

Injuries to the officers hit by the vehicle are not believed to be life-threatening. The were transported by medics to the infirmary. One officer has an arm injury, the other has a leg injury. The vehicle involved has Fraternal Order of Police (FOP) tags. Investigators say they have yet to resolve if the vehicle was stolen or not.

Witnesses at the scene say a female was taken into custody.

Retired Marshal Jacob Frey Buried

Notable men attend funeral of Former Police Chief
The Sun Jan 5 1911

With his bier surrounded by veteran policemen who admired him in life for his ability and courage, the funeral of ex-marshal Jacob Frey, who Died Sunday night, took place at 2 o'clock yesterday afternoon from his home 510 N Carey St.

The service conducted by Rev Harry D Mitchell, Pastor Harlem Methodist Episcopal Church, brought tears not only to the eyes of the veteran Police, and family, but also to the several members of the old Lobby Club, which met several years ago at Fords opera house.

The pallbearers were Messrs Emerson Loudenslager, Frank Reynolds, Rodger Reynolds, Jacob Frey, George Frey, and Roger Frey, grandsons and nephews of Marshal Frey. Burial was in Greenmount Cemetery.

The parlor were beautiful floral tributes sent by friends and by policemen from all 9 districts.

three bank president - Mr. Donald H Thomas, Mr. Thornton Rollins, and Mr. Jacob Hook - all of whom were closely associated with Mr. Frey in life and who were members of the lobby club, were present

Marshal Farnan, with all district captains in uniform, also attended and when the body was carried to the hearse from the house, they formed a guard on the pavement.

At grave Mr. Mitchell paid a glowing eulogy to Mr. Frey. Besides Marshal Farnan and Messrs. Thomas, Rollins and Hook the following were present:

Deputy Marshal Manning, Johns Swikert, secretary to Marshal Farnan, Josiah A. Kinsey, secretary to the police board, Captains League, McGee, Santry, Cole, Morheiser, Henry, Moxley, and Gottings, Serge, Edward Shultz,

Retired Capts. Cadwalder and Gilbert and Retired officers P H Stewart, Augustus Reinhardt, W J Fairbanks, William Wallace, William Pearson, and Andrew J Saucer.

Messrs, Robert Fusselbough and William J Murray

Police inspector Andrew Houghton of Boston also attended

 

Baltimore City Foxtrot helicopter makes emergency landing
No injuries in incident and helicopter able to fly back to base, police say

By Ian Duncan, The Baltimore Sun

10:28 AM EST, January 5, 2013

Copyright © 2013, The Baltimore Sun 

 

Baltimore police place focus on building faith-based ties
Activities such as "prayer walks" and "outreach events"
expected to help department better reach the community

By Justin George, The Baltimore Sun

8:07 PM EST, January 4, 2013

When drug dealers and prostitutes camped outside Eastern United Methodist Church last fall, the Rev. Lena Marie Dennis met with Baltimore police Maj. Melvin Russell and other faith leaders and came up with a unique plan.

The congregation would march around the church seven times, carrying banners, praying and proclaiming that they were taking back the block. It worked, Dennis said. Soon the dealers and hookers moved on.

On Friday, Police Commissioner Anthony W. Batts and Russell announced an effort to build faith-based partnerships across the city, which organizers hope will embolden worshipers to reach out beyond their walls. Police believe the initiative will also help improve relationships in communities that sometimes see them as a foreign and threatening presence.

"Most of our churches have a tremendous amount of credibility," Batts said.

The commissioner recently promoted Russell to lieutenant colonel, in large part on the reputation he built by working with ministers, rabbis and priests as the leader of the Eastern District. He's heading a newly created unit responsible for working with spiritual organizations, businesses and former inmates re-entering society.

In East Baltimore, Russell said he learned years ago that police can also help churches build community rapport.

An assistant pastor himself, Russell said he was taken aback by a drug dealer he spoke with who told him that many saw churches as no better than crack or heroin peddlers. The perception was that churches sucked up the community's money through tithes and offerings but gave nothing back.

As relations between residents, religious leaders and police improved, Russell said, the difference was clear.

Home to 47 homicides in 2007, the Eastern District has historically been recognized as one of the city's most violent. Russell took command of the district in 2008, and the homicide count dropped to 38. In 2011, it was down to 28.

Last year, Russell said, the total number of shootings declined for the third consecutive year, but the district saw 37 killings. That was the most in any city police district, a reminder of the difficulties that the new unit will face, even with successful community cooperation.

Jim Nolan, an associate professor at West Virginia University who focuses on crime and social control, said partnerships with places of worship are an effective long-term strategy, especially in cities. Pastors often provide police with the emotional pulse of communities, which can help officers decide the best methods to reach often distrustful residents.

"When police act as if neighbors need to be dependent on them to protect them, they come up with their own strategies, which involve a lot of arrests and sweeping the corners," said Nolan, a former Wilmington, Del., police officer. "But many neighborhoods don't like the police and don't want them to come."

As part of the initiative in Baltimore, police are hoping to strengthen information-gathering on the streets, something Batts said could have helped control gang skirmishes that flared up last fall and resulted in a string of shootings and killings.

About 25 faith leaders attended Friday's initial meeting at the Humanim nonprofit center in the American Brewery building. After an opening prayer, attendees tackled an agenda that included relationship-building, ways to support released or paroled prisoners and "increasing prayer and serving beyond the church walls."

Police hope the meetings continue monthly and even more frequently on smaller scales between neighborhood religious leaders and the police commanders who oversee the same blocks.

The move toward strengthening the bonds between police and faith leaders was just one facet of a new "community policing division" that Batts created last month as part of a broad reshuffling of the agency's command staff. Batts, who took over the department in the fall, tapped new leadership for four patrol districts and the homicide unit and created units focused on community relations and gangs.

The community unit, which will be paid for and staffed using existing department resources, has "reached out to every single denomination," Baltimore police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said. "Jewish, Catholic, Muslim, every one of them."

While partnerships with Baltimore police and churches aren't new, Batts found Russell's work with congregations in the Eastern District exemplary and wanted to replicate it citywide. The commissioner said he knows the value of churches for police from his time as a police chief in California.

"It has worked for him in his area," Batts said, "and it has worked for me in Oakland and it worked for me in Long Beach."

Early on in East Baltimore, Russell asked some of the 120 places of worship in his district to "come outside of those [church] walls," reaching out to drug houses or homes marked by repeated domestic violence.

Pastors bought in and began "prayer walks" that broke down communication barriers between residents, police and churches. Residents began sharing prayer requests and their needs with church members, who passed on those requests to police walking beside them. Police could then call on various nonprofit and governmental services for help.

"What you began to see was transformation in the community," Russell said.

The Rev. Rodney Hudson, pastor of Ames Memorial United Methodist Church in the Sandtown-Winchester neighborhood, is hoping for positive results citywide. He already works closely with Western District officers, sharing information and holding joint community meetings.

"As a faith leader, I view police as having special God-ordered authority to keep peace and order," he said.

That's crucial in a neighborhood such as Sandtown, he said, where he's seen the effects of violent family disputes spill into his church. On one occasion, he ministered to the families of a murder suspect and victim in the same crime — a tough situation.

Just as police can help him, he said, he can help officers and detectives understand neighborhood and family dynamics.

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O'Malley's Thuggish Side

Governor wants the World to see a Kind and inclusive Maryland
But Don't you Dare Disagree with Him

Marta H. Mossburg

10:14 AM EST, January 3, 2013

Attention national media: You know Martin O'Malley, defender of the underdog. It's time to get to know Martin O'Malley, thug.

The Maryland governor, widely rumored to harbor presidential aspirations, canonized himself in the progressive movement for championing gay marriage and in-state tuition for some illegal immigrants in the last election. He also deftly weaved a portrait of Maryland as a green energy, public-education utopia during his many appearances on national cable TV news during election season as President Barack Obama's surrogate.

But the man who says that we should celebrate diversity cannot tolerate those who oppose his political viewpoints.

Here are three examples from the past year:

•The champagne had not stopped flowing from celebrating big wins for gay marriage and the Dream Act (the in-state tuition bill) before Governor O'Malley told WBAL that it is "a little too easy" to petition a law to referendum. (Both laws had been passed in the General Assembly and were pushed to the ballot via the referendum process by opponents.) "We've been best served in our state over the 200 or more years of our history by a representative democracy, rather than plebiscites," he said.

How clever of him to use the language of democracy to undermine it. It is not simple to move a law to the ballot. Thousands of signatures must be collected and then verified by the state, part of the reason no statewide referendum had made it to the ballot in the previous 20 years. And there is no mechanism to put new laws on the ballot; only one to refer laws previously approved by the state legislature.

In addition, the pro-Dream Act advocacy group Casa de Maryland sued to remove that question from the ballot. The Democratic Party sued the state to remove another referred law, which placed the new, outlandishly drawn congressional map to a vote of the people. And MD Petitions, the force behind putting the congressional map, the Dream Act and gay marriage on the ballot, sued the state — and lost — in an attempt to get accurate ballot language for the congressional map question. MD Petitions, which largely automated the petition process online, received pro bono legal help from Judicial Watch because it did not have the means to defend itself — unlike Casa de Maryland, which receives millions from the state and local governments, or the Democratic Party, which dominates politics in this state.

So for Governor O'Malley, the democratic process works best when he can push his agenda unopposed and when the Internet can be used only to help Democrats.

•In the run up to the election Governor O'Malley strongly supported a ballot measure to expand gambling to Prince George's County. Perhaps frustrated by polls showing the question up for grabs (it eventually won 52-48), he unleashed a tirade against Peter Carlino, CEO of Penn National Gaming. The company opposed expanding gambling in the state and funded ads that debunked supporters' claims that public education would receive more money as a result of the ballot measure's passage.

"I would have expected more from Mr. Carlino, but I guess there's enough money at stake that he has to run these falsehoods," said Mr. O'Malley at a news conference in October. "I mean, what's the guarantee that a house won't fall on Mr. Carlino tomorrow?"

Enough said.

•The O'Malley administration supports State Center, a $1.5 billion taxpayer-financed project in Baltimore City whose developers happen to have hired some allies of the governor. A group of plaintiffs sued to stop the project, claiming the process for selecting the developers violated competitive bidding laws. The O'Malley administration tried to dismiss the case, failed, then countersued plaintiffs for $100 million and lost. Plaintiffs are still waiting for the state to turn over documents in the case as ordered by court. In the meantime, the O'Malley administration tried to push through legislation in the General Assembly that would have rewritten the law for the project retroactively and circumvented existing rulings.

Lesson: if you are not a multi-millionaire like Orioles' owner Peter Angelos, who is bankrolling the plaintiffs, don't try to oppose the governor.

How many more examples are necessary to show that Mr. O'Malley's inclusive, tolerant veneer chips easily and reveals a man who, whether through temperament or proximity to power, sees the law as something to use or disregard for his own good?

Marta H. Mossburg is a senior fellow at the Maryland Public Policy Institute and a fellow at the Franklin Center for Government and Public Integrity. Her column appears regularly in The Baltimore Sun. Her email is This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

 

Batts pledges 'dramatic' reform of speed camera process
Police chief says extra training, supervision and auditing will cut down on erroneous tickets

By Luke Broadwater, The Baltimore Sun

8:13 PM EST, January 4, 2013
Baltimore Police Commissioner Anthony W. Batts said Friday that his officers' rushed review of speed camera tickets has produced "unacceptable" mistakes and pledged "dramatic" reform of the system, including increased staffing.
"To be perfectly honest, we've made some mistakes that we shouldn't have been making in reviewing citations," Batts said in his first public comments since The Baltimore Sun found Baltimore's speed cameras have been issuing erroneous citations. "I've sat down and gone through the process, and we're making some dramatic changes. We're going to slow down. We're going to audit the process."
The Police Department has said a single officer typically reviews 1,000 to 1,200 of the machine-generated citations per shift — sometimes as many as five or six per minute. By law, the city must issue a $40 ticket within two weeks of one of its 83 speed cameras snapping a photo of an alleged speeder. With thousands of tickets to process, that means officers are frequently spending only a few seconds reviewing each ticket, leaving little time to properly determine whether the camera correctly nabbed a speeder or an innocent motorist.
During an investigation of area speed camera systems, The Sun discovered a series of erroneous tickets, including violation notices sent to drivers traveling less than 20 miles per hour and one sitting motionless at a red light.
"We're putting systems in place so that we have an error-free system," Batts said, adding that the reforms would include "extra training," "extra supervision" and "extra auditing." He said the reforms were already being implemented.
"We've already started them," he said. "I had a meeting earlier this month. ... I sat down with those responsible for doing the auditing and checking the tickets, and we've already started putting those systems in place."
In an email, police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said the department will increase staffing to review speed camera citations by Jan. 25.
"Our staffing will increase and be broken into quality compliance, speed camera, and red light cameras," he said, adding that the number of additional staff has not been determined. "This will be phased in as cameras come on line and is a direct response to the number of tickets we will be reviewing."
The police officials did not say which units in the department would provide the additional staff.
A city councilman who has called for an investigation of the city's camera system praised the promised changes. "I'm very much in support of increasing the staffing and training to make sure the only people getting tickets are the ones who deserve them," said Councilman Brandon Scott of Northeast Baltimore.
Ragina Averella, manager of government affairs for AAA Mid-Atlantic, said the motorist advocacy group was encouraged by Batts' comments. The changes "will hopefully improve the review process and minimize the issuance of erroneous citations," said Averella, who serves on a city task force studying the camera system.
Critics of the automated cameras have argued that the city relies too much on technology, which is known to sometimes produce false readings, and skimps on doing a substantive review of the tickets. For instance, city officials have acknowledged that in 2011, their red light camera system issued about 2,000 tickets to motorists with a signature bearing the name of a dead police officer.
Khalil A. Zaied, the city's transportation director, has said he's concerned that police officers are not doing a careful review of citations.
"It obviously doesn't make any sense for a police officer to be reviewing three to four to five tickets per minute," Zaied said recently. "That is going to make it very difficult."
Batts' comments came after a Friday morning news conference with faith leaders in East Baltimore. There, he empathized with innocent motorists who receive erroneous tickets, such as Lauraville lawyer Daniel Doty, whom city officials accused of speeding at 38 mph when he was actually sitting motionless at a red light.
"No one, including myself, wants to get a ticket for something that you did not do," Batts said. "The impact of taking time off from your job, the impact of having to pay something like that is unacceptable."
Later, Batts called The Sun to emphasize that Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake has created a task force to analyze the cameras, and that too many people are speeding on city roads.
"The purpose of the cameras is to protect kids," he said. "We have a lot of people speeding near schools."
The city's former speed camera vendor, Xerox State & Local Solutions, acknowledged last month that several of Baltimore's cameras have an error rate of greater than 5 percent. And the city's deputy transportation director said he no longer has full confidence in the accuracy of the city speed cameras' radar systems, prompting officials to start a new "reasonableness" test on two cameras known to have issued erroneous tickets.
As of Jan. 1, a new vendor, Brekford Corp. of Hanover, has taken over operation of the city's speed cameras.
The Sun has also found that tickets issued by Baltimore County, Howard County and the State Highway Administration don't include enough information for drivers receiving tickets to verify their alleged speeds. Several jurisdictions have entered into contracts that pay their vendors by the ticket, an arrangement Gov. Martin O'Malley has said is illegal.
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Baltimore replacing entire speed camera system

All 83 speed cameras will be scrapped at $450,000 cost after Sun investigation uncovered numerous errors

By Luke Broadwater and Scott Calvert, The Baltimore Sun

9:36 PM EST, January 7, 2013

Baltimore officials said Monday they are scrapping all 83 of the city's automated speed cameras and "methodically" replacing them with newer models, after a Baltimore Sun investigation found errors with the system.

The overhaul, estimated to cost about $450,000, comes after the city's new speed camera contractor, Brekford Corp., analyzed Baltimore's system and concluded the only way to cut down on the errors was to replace all the cameras with newer models, the company said.

Maurice R. Nelson, managing director of Brekford, said hiring enough employees and police officers to catch all the errors the old cameras were generating would be too expensive.

"The old radar cameras have not progressed with technology," Nelson said, adding that new cameras with "tracking" technology can focus on and follow a specific car and cut down on machine-created errors. "We want to rely on the systems and less on humans, who make errors. If you're using the old radar cameras and it's picking up something that's not the car in the photograph, you leave yourself open to errors."

City Transportation Department spokeswoman Adrienne Barnes called the new cameras "state of the art" and said some camera locations would need to be taken offline during the upgrade. The current cameras, some of which were originally red-light cameras upgraded to catch speeders, range in age, with some purchased recently and others in use for a decade or more.

Del. Curt S. Anderson, the chairman of Baltimore's state legislative delegation, applauded the city's announcement.

"If there is not a great degree of confidence in the cameras, then yes, make the change," he said.

But he wants the city's contractor and not taxpayers to foot the bill.

"I know how government works," Anderson said. "Nobody wants to say the taxpayers are paying for it. They'll say the money is coming out of future revenues from the program."

City officials did not respond to a question about financing the upgrade. Nelson said he planned to charge the city about $5,500 for each new camera purchased.

The Sun reported on scores of erroneous tickets during its investigation, including one violation issued to a minivan that was sitting motionless at a red light.

The city's former speed camera vendor, Xerox State & Local Solutions, acknowledged last month that several of Baltimore's cameras have an error rate of greater than 5 percent. And the city's deputy transportation director said he no longer has full confidence in the accuracy of the radar in the city speed camera system, which has issued more than 1.6 million tickets since the first camera went online in late 2009.

Ian Brennan, a spokesman for Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake, stressed the importance of getting the camera program right.

"The administration has always taken camera accuracy seriously, and that is why Mayor Rawlings-Blake appointed a task force of transportation and safety experts to review the entire program," he said in an email. "At the same time, hundreds of thousands of motorists are illegally speeding in school zones; it's dangerous and the camera program has helped reduced speeding."

Transportation advocates applauded the purchase of new cameras.

"We are pleased that the city is making a good-faith effort by addressing the operational and technical issues that have really placed the automated speed camera program under scrutiny," said Ragina Averella, government and public affairs manager for AAA Mid-Atlantic and a member of the mayor's task force. "This is certainly a step in the right direction."

But Ron Ely, editor of an anti-speed-camera blog called Stop Big Brother Maryland, remained skeptical of the system, even if it is upgraded with new technology.

"That sounds very fancy," he said. "We'll see how it works out."

The volume of tickets generated under the old system also led to some problems, city officials have said.Last year, the city collected more than $19 million, and it is on track to make even more this fiscal year. But the frenetic pace of processing tickets meant that police officers were sometimes asked to analyze up to 1,200 per shift.

Baltimore Police Commissioner Anthony W. Batts said Friday that his officers' rushed review of speed camera tickets has produced "unacceptable" mistakes and pledged "dramatic" reform of the system, including increased staffing.

Nelson said the new cameras might result in less revenue for the city because they will be more conservative in determining when a driver has exceeded the speed limit by 12 mph or more, the threshold in state law.

"The downside is our system will kick out more than not," Nelson said. "You have a system that will err on the side of the driver."

Baltimore City Councilman Robert W. Curran said it didn't bother him that the new cameras would likely generate less revenue.

"Obviously, we need to be accurate," he said. "It's not about the revenue. The public needs to be confident in the system."

City officials did not say when the replacement process will begin or how long it will take, and Barnes said the government will not publicize when cameras are offline "in the interest of public safety."

Even as the city pledged to buy new cameras, there appeared to be confusion about who is currently operating the city's speed cameras — or whether the cameras are operating at all.

The city's speed camera system has been in transition since Jan. 1, when Baltimore terminated its contract with Xerox, which served as the city's speed camera contractor since 2009. Hanover-based Brekford won a bidding competition to take over but has yet to sign a contract, according to Brekford.

Xerox spokesman Chris Gilligan said that on New Year's Eve, "our contract expired and the city began its transition to a new vendor." On Wednesday, Barbara Zektick, chairwoman of a city task force studying the cameras, said Brekford has "actively stepped in."

But Nelson said Monday that the company had not yet begun managing the city's cameras because it had not signed a contract.

"I have no idea," he said, when asked who is currently running the speed cameras. "As soon as the ink gets placed on the contract, I am prepared to do what we have to do."

Nelson said he believes the city's current crop of cameras suffer from several well-known radar errors, including beams measuring the biggest object on the road — but ticketing smaller ones — and bouncing off several objects, producing erroneous readings.

The new radar systems, he said, "won't make those same mistakes."

Ely said it's hard to say how much difference the new cameras might make because the city hasn't provided technical specifications of the existing cameras. Regardless of technology, he said the city will need to ensure a strong review process and employ a secondary verification method, such as painting white lines on the road to show how far a car travels in the split-second between the two photographs the cameras are required to produce under state law.

"Doing that type of verification is what will prevent errors in the future," Ely said. City officials "have to assume the devices are capable of being wrong. If they do otherwise, they'll wind up in the same situation later."

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Attached are a cover letter, the final Judgment Order and the Order Staying Judgment Pending Appeal issued by Judge Garbis on December 28, 2012. The City has appealed the decision. The F&P will continue the provisions of Ordinance 10-306 until resolution of the appeals process. Remember the First Active Member to be impacted by the change from 20 to 25 years will not occur until 1 July 2015. By that time all legal appeals should have taken their course. This may not be understood but even if Members are forced to work for 25 years in order to secure a Pension, the rate of accrual will not change, if you work until 25 years you will accrue a 60% Pension as opposed to 50% at 20 years. Questions may be emailed to Vic Gearhart or asked in person at any FOP Meeting.

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

FOR THE DISTRICT OF MARYLAND

ROBERT F. CHERRY, JR., et al. *

Plaintiffs *

vs. * CIVIL ACTION NO. MJG-10-1447

MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL OF *

BALTIMORE CITY, et al. *

Defendants

* * * * * * * * *

JUDGMENT ORDER

By separate Orders the Court has resolved all claims presented in the instant case.

Accordingly:

1. Judgment shall be, and hereby is, entered on Plaintiffs' claims presented in the First Amended and Restated Class Action Complaint as follows:

a. Count I - The amendments made to the Fire and Police Employees' Retirement System of the City of Baltimore by Sections 36A(b), 36A(h), 36A(i), 36A(j), 34(s-1), and 30(9)(ii) of Ordinance 10-306 are declared invalid and not enforceable. The other provisions of Ordinance 10-306 are severable and not declared invalid and unenforceable.

b. Count II – All claims are dismissed with prejudice.

c. Count III – All claims are dismissed without prejudice.

d. Count IV - All claims are dismissed without prejudice.

e. Count V - All claims are dismissed without prejudice. 2

f. Count VI - All claims are dismissed without prejudice.

g. Count VII – All claims are dismissed with prejudice.

h. Count VIII - All claims are dismissed without prejudice.

i. Count IX - All claims are dismissed without prejudice.

2. Any and all prior rulings disposing of any claims against any parties are incorporated by reference herein.

3. This Order shall be deemed to be a final judgment within the meaning of Rule 58 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure.

4. Plaintiffs shall recover their assessable costs from Defendant Mayor and City Council of Baltimore City.

SO ORDERED, this Friday, December 28, 2012.

/s/__________ Marvin J. Garbis

United States District Judge

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

FOR THE DISTRICT OF MARYLAND

ROBERT F. CHERRY, JR., et al. *

Plaintiffs *

vs. * CIVIL ACTION NO. MJG-10-1447

MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL OF *

BALTIMORE CITY, et al. *

Defendants

* * * * * * * * *

ORDER STAYING JUDGMENT PENDING APPEAL

The Court has, this date, issued a Judgment Order pursuant to Rule 58. Both sides intend to seek appellate review and a resolution that would differ from that provided in the Judgment. Moreover, it is in the public interest to defer the effect of the Judgment until the conclusion of appellate proceedings relating thereto.

Accordingly, the Judgment Order and any enforcement thereof is hereby stayed pending final resolution of appellate proceedings relating thereto.

SO ORDERED, on Friday, December 28, 2012.

/s/________ Marvin J. Garbis

United States District Judge

City killings up to 217 as gun violence falls Gangs were shooting each other in the head'; overall crime down about 5 percent

By Justin Fenton, The Baltimore Sun
8:29 PM EST, January 1, 2013
Baltimore was unable in 2012 to sustain a significant milestone — the first drop below 200 homicides in a generation — but officials see reasons to remain optimistic that declines will resume. As the Police Department's leadership changed, the city recorded 217 killings, about 10 percent more than the 197 in 2011, but still the second-lowest homicide rate since the late 1980s. Police statistics released Tuesday show that total crime and most categories of gun violence continued to decline. "While we continue to make progress, I'm not satisfied that we've had an uptick in homicides," said Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake. "I'm confident we will be able to continue the work of dramatically reducing crime to make Baltimore a safer city in the new year. But I do wish we had done better this year." Two days in August helped illustrate the obstacles police face in reducing violence. On Aug. 16, gunmen shot brothers Troy and Euclides Manley and ransacked their Southwest Baltimore home. As detectives worked to identify and apprehend the killers, the cycle of retribution was already in motion: The next night, the mother and brother of a suspect were killed outside their home. For the year, more than 60 percent of those who died in shootings were shot in the head, which experts say points to a high number of execution-style killings. That's the highest percentage in 10 years' worth of Police Department data. Police Commissioner Anthony W. Batts said the number of homicides was up largely because the city was the stage for two violent gang wars that were fueled by targeted attacks meant to kill, as opposed to unplanned bursts of gunfire that might have left victims wounded but alive. "Those gangs were shooting each other in the head. They were assassinating each other," Batts said. Batts, who spent his law enforcement career in California before taking the reins of the Baltimore force this fall, said the agency must respond by improving its intelligence-gathering in 2013. "We have to rebuild and construct our intelligence piece, so we can focus on these micro-rivalries taking place that are leaving a lot of death and destruction behind," he said. But the agency needs the public's help, he said. Referring last week to the percentage of homicides that have been closed by arrests, Batts said: "Right now, our clearance rate is at 48 percent. I don't think we can go higher until we build trust with the community and have the community participating as full-fledged partners." The clearance rate includes cases from prior years that were closed in 2012. At a recent vigil in Cherry Hill, Delaino Johnson, who works with the Safe Streets anti-violence program there, said residents must take responsibility. "We need to police our own communities," Johnson said through a bullhorn, with the tearful father of 26-year-old homicide victim Michael Robinson Jr. standing nearby. "We are the strongest when we're together." In recent years, nationwide trends have defied predictions that the weak economy would lead to spikes in crime. In Baltimore, overall crime in 2012 was down about 5 percent from the previous year — amid a continued trend of fewer arrests, according to unofficial data. Arrests in the city have been on a steady decline since 2005, and the number of people detained and released without charges — an indicator of the quality of the arrests — has plummeted. Gun crime, meanwhile, fell 6 percent from the previous year, according to police data. The number of juvenile victims continues on a steep decline, with deaths of infants for the first time outpacing killings of juveniles related to street crime. But the city's homicide rate remains a distressing focal point. Baltimore saw a double-digit year-over-year increase along with cities such as Chicago, Oakland and Detroit, while totals were largely unchanged in New Orleans, St. Louis and Philadelphia. Killings fell to a modern-day low in New York City in 2012. Washington, which once had more than 500 killings a year, recorded fewer than 90 last year. Perhaps not coincidentally, the District of Columbia's population is growing and is expected to surpass that of Baltimore for the first time. Gov. Martin O'Malley said he is not among those who chalk up Washington's crime declines to gentrification. "I don't think there'd be gentrification if they were still at 500 homicides," O'Malley said. He believes Baltimore is "three, four, maybe five years behind D.C." in crime declines. The increase in homicides in Baltimore last year came largely in the Eastern and Northwestern police districts, where there had been notable decreases in 2011, as well as from an uptick in the Northern District. Ten people were killed in the Harwood-Better Waverly-Barclay area alone, between the Northern and Eastern districts near Greenmount Avenue. Batts attributed the increase in violence to warring gangs, saying that the prison-based Black Guerrilla Family was extorting other gangs, leading to a turf war between the BGF and the Bloods. But it was unclear how many shootings were gang-related — police often say publicly that they know of no motive for the attacks — and most remain unsolved. The Police Department made arrests in several high-profile cases in 2012. Those included the disappearance of Phylicia Barnes, whose sister's ex-boyfriend was charged with murder in the North Carolina teen's death; the killing of 12-year-old Sean Johnson in 2011; and charges in a series of retaliatory shootings in East Baltimore, an investigation coordinated by a new major crimes unit in the state's attorney's office. But city homicide investigators continue to struggle to close cases. And in some instances, police and prosecutors continue to clash behind the scenes, with prosecutors exerting greater oversight over when charges can be brought. Among the year's unsolved cases is the stabbing death of 84-year-old Mary Hines, whose East Baltimore home was set on fire with her body inside. Col. Garnell Green, who has led the homicide unit for the past year and will be moving to oversee the patrol division, said Hines' death was "deeply troubling to us all." "Detectives have solved many of [2012's] murders and continue to make good progress," Green said. "However, in the case of Mary Hines, we are continuing to ask for the public's help. Someone out there knows what happened. ... We have some good leads, but we still need the public's help." Other unsolved cases include those of Alonzo Gladden, 24, a sailor visiting family in South Baltimore while on leave from the Navy; Peter Marvit, a researcher for the National Institutes of Health shot in front of his Northeast Baltimore home; and 22-year-old Larelle Amos, who was killed outside a Northeast Baltimore party by a stray bullet. Police ask anyone with information on these or other killings to call 410-396-2100. Batts announced last week a major reshuffling of igence-gathering. He has emphasized foot patrols, and the agency has started a partnership with state troopers in high-crime areas on weekends. O'Malley said federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies are working together more and have never been better aligned. "It would be nice if there were steady and mathematically predictable progress all the time, but sometimes that's not the way the real world works," O'Malley said of Baltimore year's in crime. "I'm hopeful that the new commissioner, after this long period of transition, will be able to restore the focus to violent crime reduction." Baltimore Sun reporter Luke Broadwater contributed to this article

Demographics of 2012 Baltimore Homicides

The Department's Leadership Positions —
Moves Designed to Focus on Community Outreach and Intell
By Justin Fenton, The Baltimore Sun
12:58 PM EST, January 1, 2013
[This data has been updated] Each year, the Baltimore Police homicide section compiles statistics on city killings. Here's how some of the data break down: Murders: 217 Clearance rate (cases closed by arrest or administratively): 47.4 percent Victims injured in prior years who died this year: 7 Cases from prior years closed this year (which counts toward this year's clearance rate, per FBI guidelines): 28 Cause: Arson: 1 Blunt force: 7 (3.6%) Handgun: 181 (83.4%) Knife/sharp object: 20 (9.2%) Shotgun/rifle: 2 Strangle/suffocation: 2 Vehicle: 1 Other: 3 Gender: Male: 196 (90.3%) Female: 21 (9.7%) Race: Asian: 1 Black: 204 (94.4%) Hispanic: 1 White: 10 (4.6%) Age groups: Juvenile: 11 (5%) Adult: 206 (95%) 35 and over: 72 (33.2%) 25-34: 68 (31.3%) 24 and under: 77 (35.5%) Motives: Argument: 14 Arson: 1 Child abuse: 6 Dispute over money: 2 Domestic: 3 Drugs: 3 Neighborhood (dispute?): 1 Retaliation: 3 Robbery: 10 Other: 10 Unknown: 163 District: Central: 15 Southeastern: 11 Eastern: 36 Northeastern: 27 Northern: 24 Northwestern: 28 Western: 30 Southwestern: 32 Southern: 14 (Known) suspects with criminal records: 79.1 percent Suspects with drug arrests: 61.6 percent Suspects on parole and probation at time of killing: 23.3 percent Suspects arrested for prior gun crimes: 45.3 percent Victims with criminal records: 82.3 percent Victims with drug arrests: 68.4 percent Victims on parole and probation at time of death: 24.2 percent Victims arrested for prior gun crimes: 37.7 percent Copyright © 2012, The Baltimore Sun

Place Your Bets on... O'Malley's political fortunes: Is he primed for a presidential run in 2016?
Originally Published in the Baltimore Business Journal Government Transparency
by Sarah Gantz MPPI IN THE NEWS

December 30, 2012
Gov. Martin O'Malley has danced on the national political stage before. As chairman of the Democratic Governors Association, he's made stops in political hot spots like New Hampshire. The Democratic National Committee gave him a coveted prime time spot for his address at this year's Democratic National Convention. He's nearly a regular on the Sunday morning talk shows. Political analysts seem to agree that a gig in national politics is of interest to O'Malley. But the move from state politics to national politics is a significant leap -- one that will take careful planning to keep his political career blemish-free until race time, a plan for appealing to a more diverse group of people and money. Lots of money. "It's a reach of almost galactic portion to go from a medium-size state to the national scene," said Herbert C. Smith, a professor at McDaniel College and coauthor of the book "Maryland Politics and Government: Democratic Dominance. It's a tremendous jump." O'Malley brings with him a solid track record of getting things done and has already made progress in introducing himself to voters in other states, both key to creating a positive image for a national office run, said Don Kettl, dean of the School of Public Policy at the University of Maryland, College Park. O'Malley's administration bet big on health reform, pushing Maryland as a trailblazer in implementing the federal Affordable Care Act while other states waited to see whether the Supreme Court would deem the law unconstitutional or whether a new Republican administration would de-fang the legislation. The approval this November of three controversial ballot initiatives -- tuition for immigrant children, same-sex marriage and expanded gambling -- was also seen as a major win for O'Malley, who had pushed hard for all three. "It's very clear the American public hungers for someone who can step in and solve the big problems," Kettl said. "Governors actually get to do things -- not just cut ribbons, but implement programs that affect a lot of people." The fact that O'Malley has succeeded in getting his ideas passed in Maryland may have gained him some recognition. But how and why he has succeeded may not appeal to more moderate voters, said Christopher Summers, president of the Maryland Public Policy Institute. "Maryland is very progressive -- the rest of the country is just not like that," Summers said. Summers said the fact that Maryland is so liberal means O'Malley's compromising and negotiation skills may not be up to snuff for national office. Another big change, should O'Malley shoot for a national office, is the amount of money it takes to fuel a successful campaign. O'Malley raised more than $12 million for his 2010 race against Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. But that's a drop in the bucket compared to presidential races. The campaigns and parties of Mitt Romney and President Obama spent about $1 billion each.

Man wounded, dog killed in separate police-involved shootings Shooting of dog Tuesday angers owner; man wounded Wednesday expected to survive
By Justin George, The Baltimore Sun

7:16 PM EST, January 2, 2013
A Baltimore police officer shot a man during a foot chase Wednesday, marking the second time in two days that a Northeast district officer fired a gun while in pursuit of a suspect. Just one person was injured in the separate shootings — the man shot Wednesday was struck in the hand. He was being treated at Johns Hopkins Hospital. A foot chase Tuesday in the Frankford and Cedonia neighborhoods ended with an officer shooting and killing a dog. In Wednesday's shooting, police said a man flashed a gun while being chased. Officers found no weapon after several officers and a police dog scoured the shooting scene. The incident began with a routine traffic stop at about 2 p.m. in the Belair-Edison neighborhood, police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said. Uniformed officers had stopped a car on the 3200 block of Cliftmont Ave. when a man jumped out and began running. Two officers followed the man, who crossed Edison Highway and ducked into an alley behind Cliftmont Avenue. The man turned toward the officers and "engaged" them, Guglielmi said. One officer reported seeing a gun and his partner fired at least one round, striking the suspect in the hand, Guglielmi said. Police did not know whether the officer who fired his gun saw a weapon or whether he fired on the word of his partner, whom he told investigators he was protecting. Homicide detectives, who customarily investigate all police-involved shootings, were looking into the incident. "How he turned, what [officers] saw, those are the questions being investigated," Guglielmi said. Police would not release the name of the officers involved Wednesday, saying the names would be released after 48 hours, as is department policy. They didn't release the name of the man shot. Guglielmi didn't know the grounds for the traffic stop. In the Frankford chase a day earlier, police went around 11 a.m. to a home in the 5800 block of Arizona Ave. for a report of a domestic dispute. Tavon Green, 31, who lives on the 1700 block of Latrobe Ave., told police that his former girlfriend was "disrespecting him" and had told him to leave the home, according to a police report. After verbal spats with police, a detective told Green he was under arrest, prompting him to jump a backyard chain-link fence of a home in the 5500 block of Bucknell Road. Police followed and found him hiding on a home's rear basement steps. An officer drew his gun. At that time, a dog came out of the home and charged at the police officer, the report said. Police shot and killed the dog, then took Green into custody after a brief struggle. Police said the shooting was justified. "If the dog was aggressive towards the officers or threatened the officers or anyone else," Guglielmi said, "we have the legal right to protect the officer or anyone else and make the situation as safe as possible." But the dog's owner, Stacy Fields, disputed the police account and said the officer used unneeded force. She said the dog only barked at the officer and didn't charge. Fields' stepfather, who followed the dog out of the home, was about to grab the dog's harness when she said the officer fired six shots, hitting the dog three times — twice in the head and once in the body. "He very well could have shot my stepfather," she said. The dog had just turned three, Fields said. Named Kincaid, he was a white pitbull mix with brown around his eyes and ears and white stripe running up his snout and forehead. Fields has called on police to apologize but said she hasn't received any response to her inquiries. As of Wednesday evening, a Facebook page called "Kincaid. Killed by Baltimore City Police" that featured a bloody profile picture of the slain dog had received 3,437 likes. "It wasn't a stray dog down the street," she said. "It was our yard."

Teen who alleged police kidnapping in trouble with law
By Justin Fenton, The Baltimore Sun

4:35 PM EST, January 2, 2013
A 19-year-old Baltimore man, who three years ago accused three city police officers of abducting him and leaving him in a Howard County park, was cleared of an attempted murder charge Wednesday and given a suspended sentence on drug charges. In May 2009, when he was 15 years old, Michael B. Johnson Jr. was picked up by the officers and left in the rain without shoes or a cell phone at Patapsco Valley State Park. The officers were charged a year later with kidnapping and related charges. Two of the officers fought the charges but were convicted of misconduct in June 2011, while a third was cleared, in a case that was personally tried by State's Attorney Gregg Bernstein. Seven months later, prosecutors charged Johnson and another man, 25-year-old David Ames, with shooting a man on North Avenue. Johnson was also charged with drug possession. Johnson's attorney, A. Dwight Pettit, confirmed that the attempted-murder charges were placed on the inactive docket by prosecutors, and Johnson pleaded guilty to the drug charge. He was given a 10-year sentence, with all but one year suspended. Pettit said Johnson was incarcerated for a year, and the sentence amounts to time served. He said Ames pleaded guilty to the shooting and that prosecutors "never had any evidence" on Johnson. "He's had a lot of trouble with police since the civil case was brought, whether its coincidental or what," Pettit said. "He has no criminal record, and the court indicated that if he can stay out of trouble, the court will give him probation before judgment." Johnson's civil lawsuit against the city is scheduled to go to court later this month. Last year, Pettit said the two sides had struck a $150,000 settlement, but the city has refused to pay the settlement.
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. Copyright © 2012,

The Baltimore Sun   A year of challenges for city residents   
Mayor says city is making progress on resolving problems

12:58 p.m. EST, December 29, 2012  
A year ago, Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake gave an inaugural address that was both lofty in vision and grounded in reality — the poetry of growing Baltimore by 10,000 residents in the next decade tempered by the prose of how to get there.    "We must focus on the fundamentals and do them well," the newly elected mayor said, "or face the prospect of trying to do everything — most of it poorly."   But as Rawlings-Blake concludes her first year as elected mayor, having previously served the final two years of her predecessor's term, her administration has faltered on some of the most basic fundamentals.   Water bills arrived in some mailboxes with erroneously exorbitant sums. Property tax bills similarly were miscalculated — state errors the city never caught — with Homestead and other credits going to owners who didn't qualify for them. And most recently, a Baltimore Sun investigation found that drivers received tickets from speed cameras while traveling below the posted limit or even stopped at a light.   Along with a series of massive, traffic-snarling water main breaks, and an expensive dispute over upgrading the municipal phone system, the year 2012 was plagued by what political observer Matthew Crenson called "internal goof-ups."   "When you don't correct things immediately, it changes people's perspective on government," said Crenson, emeritus professor of political science at the Johns Hopkins University. "They become less satisfied with the service they're getting. In some senses, city government becomes less legitimate. It's important not just to respond, but to respond fast."   In an interview, Rawlings-Blake acknowledged that the missteps have taken a toll on the public's confidence in City Hall. She said fixes are under way, but it will take time to resolve problems that in some cases were years in the making.   "It frustrates me when we get it wrong," the mayor said. "So whether it's a water bill or it's speed cameras or anything, when we fall short it motivates me to make sure that we get it right. And the frustrating part for me as well is sometimes it takes a long time or longer than I'd like to untangle problems that have lingered."   She called the focus of her administration "reform," and cited examples of efforts to rein in spending and address existing problems in a city that has lost a third of its population since World War II.   "The things we've identified as broken that need to be fixed, we're checking them off," Rawlings-Blake said. "Whether it's working with the school system to right-size the school system and create a funding stream for new construction or whether it's dealing with the fire and police pension — an issue that's been kicked down the road for years — or a plan to reinvigorate rec centers. ... All the things we know need to be fixed, we continued to make progress on those things."   But as the cost of living in the city seems ever on the rise, some residents have grown impatient, if not outright angry. When the water rate goes up by 9 percent every year, for example, shouldn't the charges at least be accurate, they say.   "They were crying poverty, shutting down rec centers and starting the bottle tax," said Patterson Park resident Matt Gonter, a self-described gadfly who has tracked property tax credits that were granted erroneously. "Why don't you start collecting the money owed in the first place?"   Some join the mayor in counseling patience.   "Admittedly, much went wrong this year from the perspective of people who live or work in the city," said Anirban Basu an economist who runs the Baltimore-based consulting firm, Sage Policy Group. "They were charged excessively for water. They received erroneous tickets, and city infrastructure crumbled.   "However, many of these problems were inherited or, at a minimum, were things that the city could do little about," Basu said. "Many of these issues were not generated this year."   Error-ridden water bills   For years, residents have complained about erratic water bills. But the issue grabbed widespread attention in 2012 when the city's auditor found the Department of Public Works overcharged thousands of customers by at least $9 million. A Sun investigation also uncovered numerous problems, including a $100,000 overbilling of Cockeysville Middle School and a Randallstown woman who'd been receiving her neighbor's bills for seven years.   The errors compounded, tripling sewage bills for customers of the city system who live in Baltimore County, and the city admitted that some workers fictionalized bills. At the same time, The Sun reported, a dozen area businesses, nonprofits and federal government organizations owed the city more than $10.5 million for water bills that were past due by at least six months.   The administration pledged a series of reforms, including increasing the number of meter readers, inspectors and customer service representatives. Public works officials say the average waiting time to speak to a customer service representative has been reduced to two minutes from a peak of 24 minutes in February.   The city also placed meter readers on permanent routes to ensure consistency in reading, began locating thousands of "hard to find" meters to reduce reliance on estimated bills, and started replacing about 14,000 meters inside buildings with curbside meters that can transmit readings with a wireless system. Meter readers now estimate about 225 readings per day, down from 1,100 two years ago, officials said.    We didn't get into this situation overnight, and I don't think any reasonable person would think that we could fix it overnight," Rawlings-Blake said. "But that doesn't stop the frustration from me and push from me to make sure we're getting it right."   City Auditor Robert L. McCarty says he's continuing to monitor the city's progress in issuing accurate water bills. Activist Linda Stewart, known around Baltimore as "Water Bill Woman," said there's still much work to be done to improve the system.   "I still see the same thing happening," she said. "People are still paying water bills for empty lots. They're still not getting their credits. I still have people writing to me about their bills. I feel helpless. What can I tell them but keep pestering the city?"   Water, water everywhere   Exorbitant bills were especially infuriating in a year when decades-old water lines cracked underground with alarming regularity, sending gallons of water streaming down streets while disrupting traffic and sometimes gas and electric services.   In July, a main broke in the heart of downtown, under Light Street near Lombard, closing off the area for weeks as the city repaired it and replaced nearby lines and valves. In November, a 60-inch main under Charles and 20th streets burst, creating a rushing river down the thoroughfare.   In December, two blocks of East Monument Street finally reopened, five months after a 120-year-old storm drain broke and caused the street to collapse. The damage extended beyond the pavement, with businesses in the area losing customers and laying off staff.   There were other breaks as well, smaller perhaps but creating havoc of their own, prompting Rawlings-Blake to accelerate the pace at which aging mains are replaced. The city had been replacing about five miles of pipes a year and hopes to increase that to 40 miles a year. To help pay for the work, the city again increased water rates by 9 percent.   In February, the mayor testified before a U.S. Senate subcommittee, arguing that cities need federal dollars to update aging water systems and relieve ratepayers of some of the burden.   In an interview, Rawlings-Blake said the crumbling infrastructure ultimately adds to the cost of providing water to the some 1.8 million customers in the region.   "Even if we get the water bills right we are, through an aging infrastructure ... wasting our resources," she said. "Because even if the bills are 100 percent accurate 100 percent of the time, at the end of the day, all of the customers are paying for the fact that we have an aging infrastructure."   Property tax fiasco   Already paying the highest property tax rate in the state, many city residents were more than a little outraged by a Sun investigation that found fraud and errors in how real estate is assessed and taxed.   Million-dollar-plus condos had property tax bills of barely a thousand dollars. Owners of boarded-up houses were getting Homestead tax credits that are supposed to go only to properties they actually live in. And some owners managed to double-dip, getting Homestead  credits on their residences plus other properties.   Since then, Rawlings-Blake tripled the staff and funding for a program to root out such disparities, and it's already showing results, according to William Voorhees, the Finance Department's director of revenue and tax analysis.   "The tax system is becoming fairer," Voorhees said. "We are catching people."   Voorhees said the billing integrity program has found cases of mistakenly authorized property tax credits totaling about $4 million for fiscal 2012. It forwarded that information to the state, which will try to recover the money from owners who should not have received homestead and other credits. That figure may grow, he said, if some of those homeowners erroneously received the credits for previous years as well.   The finance department also is working on a way to track major property improvements, to prevent cases in which owners were still being assessed on their homes' original values, Voorhees said.   "We still have a ways to go," said Gonter, the Patterson Park resident who has been looking at improperly granted homestead credits for several years. But while he still finds mistakes in the system, Gonter said he is pleased at advances such as a new state law that adds a fine of 25 percent for a fraudulently received credit.   Voorhees said the city hopes to start developing mechanisms to determine whether there are problems in the collection of other taxes, such as those on hotels, parking and beverage containers. In the end, he said, it comes down to a question of fairness.   "We don't want people paying more taxes than they should legally be paying," he said. "But we don't want them to be paying less."   Feud over phones   Competing efforts by two city offices to overhaul the city's aging telephone system sparked a controversy that grabbed headlines throughout the year and continues today as a court battle.   Comptroller Joan M. Pratt filed a lawsuit seeking to stop the administration from installing a new phone system using a vendor that Pratt says should have been subjected to a new bidding process. Pratt's office had supervised a request for bids that led to a proposed contract with IBM. Baltimore's Board of Estimates, which is controlled by Rawlings-Blake, rejected that contract in July.   The city's inspector general investigated the administration's purchase of nearly $675,000 in phone and computer equipment — which Rawlings-Blake's top aides had categorized as a small pilot program — and found possible conflicts of interest and missed opportunities for "significant cost savings." Inspector General David N. McClintock also found that former members of the mayor's administration withheld information from other city officials about the project and even lied to the City Council president.   The administration later proposed a memorandum of understanding between the two feuding offices that would create a new commission — controlled by the mayor's staff — to oversee the phone system. Pratt has said she believes the deal is one-sided.   The matter remains unresolved, with Pratt accusing the administration of wasting $400,000 a month while refusing for political reasons to replace the phone system. Rawlings-Blake's technology officer has said he wants to see a reduction of about 15 to 20 percent of the cost of the IBM contract, which called for an estimated $320,000 in travel and relocation costs for IBM workers and tax breaks for out-of-state workers whose home states have lower tax rates.   Rawlings-Blake said recently she believes the parties will be able to put aside their differences and upgrade the system. "I'm certain we'll be able to move forward in partnership with the comptroller's office," the mayor said.   Speed ticket mistakes   As the year came to a close, The Sun published the results of another investigation, this time into the city's speed camera system. The newspaper found inaccuracies with seven of the city's 83 automated speed cameras, issuing tickets to vehicles traveling less than 20 miles per hour and to one stopped at a red light.   And speed camera contractors in the city, Baltimore County and elsewhere were being paid based on the number of citations issued or paid — a so-called "bounty system" approach that Gov. Martin O'Malley said was illegal.   Rawlings-Blake has appointed a task force to study the issue and recommend steps to prevent errors. At the panel's latest meeting, Baltimore's speed camera contractor disclosed that several of the city's automated cameras have an error rate of more than 5 percent.   The panel is expected to conclude its meetings in February and issue a report soon after.   Ron Ely, the editor of Stop Big Brother Maryland, an anti-speed camera blog, said city officials are "starting to grasp the depth of their problem and are now making a genuine effort to come clean" by investigating the speed cameras. But, he added, he still has concerns about the city's system, including what he said was an obvious lack of oversight.   The mayor points to the progress. "Even some of the harshest critics of the camera system in general have said we're moving in the right direction," Rawlings-Blake said.   As with other matters, she said, "the concern I expressed with my departments is that we get it right."  

Baltimore Police announce major reshuffling of command staff  

7:24 PM EST, December 27, 2012  

Baltimore Police Commissioner Anthony W. Batts announced Thursday a broad reshuffling of the agency's command staff, with new leadership for four patrol districts and the homicide unit, as well as the creation of units focused on community relations and gangs.   The moves are the most significant yet under Batts, who took over in the fall and asked all commanders to reapply for their jobs. The changes will make the agency “effective, bold, and fast-moving,” while focusing on greater community involvement and intelligence-gathering, which can go hand-in-hand, he said in an interview.   “We are putting the people and systems in place to help improve our crime fight and that includes better management of our resources, community engagement, and a continued and targeted focus on guns and gangs — that small group of criminals who wreak havoc on our communities,” Batts said in a statement that accompanied the announcement.   The changes include the promotion of Maj. Melvin Russell, commander of the Eastern District, to lieutenant colonel to oversee a new “community policing division” in which he will work with churches, businesses and former inmates re-entering society.   “Leadership is only effective through partnership,” Russell said.   City Councilman Brandon Scott, vice chair of the council’s public safety committee, applauded Batts’ moves. “Overall, I think it’s great that we’re seeing people move up through the ranks,” he said.   Robert F. Cherry, president of the Fraternal Order of Police, the city police union, said the agency was “due” for personnel changes, but said additional operational adjustments are needed for the city to make progress.   “Although the promotions are garnering the attention now, the key to policing our city is [that] the overall strategy … needs tweaking from [former Commissioner Frederick] Bealefeld’s strategy,” Cherry said in an email. “The FOP is pushing for greater emphasis and resources in patrol and in all neighborhoods of the city, not just the violent neighborhoods.”   Taking Russell’s place in the Eastern, the city district with the most homicides and shootings, is Keith Matthews, a 30-year veteran who has worked in the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission office and internal affairs. Batts said Matthews has a “rich history” with the agency and called him a “stabilizing force.”   Taking over the Central District — one of the most challenging districts because it includes the downtown and Inner Harbor area but also high-crime areas such as Pennsylvania Avenue — is Maj. Melissa Hyatt, who was previously second-in-command in the Southeastern District and is considered a rising star in the agency. Hyatt, a 15-year veteran of the department, is the first female commander of the district, officials said.   The homicide division will get new leadership with Capt. Stanley Brandford, a 22-year veteran of the agency. Col. Garnell Green, who has overseen the unit for the past year, will move to lead the patrol division, with Col. Dean Palmere taking control of criminal investigations.   Some of the leadership changes were necessitated by the recent retirement of two high-ranking commanders.   Missing from the department's new organizational chart is the Violent Crimes Impact Section, which the previous administration promoted as the force behind the city's recent declines in gun violence. The group has come under criticism from City Council members, who say the plainclothes officers — who work areas that historically have the highest crime rates — are the source of the most citizen complaints.   The unit appears to have been largely rebranded — the latest of several different incarnations over the years — and will now be known as the “Special Enforcement” section. It will fall under the patrol division.   VCIS units are now deployed in hot spots in East, West, Northwest and Northeast Baltimore. Batts said the zones will be “tightened up” but that the charge of the unit would not change.   “The process works well,” he said. “We’re not going to mess with it except have it work closer with patrol majors.”   Cherry said the VCIS unit needs more than a rebranding. He noted that police in Washington . recently shut down some of their specialized units and transferred those members back to patrol as crime patterns changed there. “We need to do the same here,” Cherry said.   Batts stressed that the agency’s focus will be on building ties with the community. In his new role, Russell hopes to replicate community-building programs that he said helped drive down crime in the Eastern District.   Russell, who is also an assistant pastor, began urging business owners who complained about robberies and burglaries to sponsor youth baseball and football teams. Soon, he said, drug dealers whose little brothers were on a team would urge their peers not to harm those businesses — because even they saw the community benefit the businesses were providing.   As for churches, Russell started asking some of the 120 congregations in his district to reach out to the “drug house” or the home marked by repeated violence on their blocks.   Pastors began to buy in and started “prayer walks” through the neighborhoods. Slowly, perceptions about churches changed, and Russell began deploying prayer walks in some of the city’s most crime-ridden areas.   “What you began to see was a transformation in the community,” he said.   Russell said Batts wants him to start the same initiatives citywide, as well as focus on working with released or paroled prisoners returning to the community. Russell said Batts wants police to “serve” the community.   Four of the nine patrol districts will have new leadership. District commanders are the community's go-to source for everything going on in neighborhoods.   The Northeast District will be commanded by Maj. Richard Worley, with Darryl DeSousa becoming an area commander for the east side of the city. In a previously announced move, the Western District will be led by Maj. Robert Smith — who in 2008 received a six-figure settlement and public apology from the department after being wrongly charged administratively with a sex offense.   Scott, the City Council member, said he was happy to see DeSousa and Russell move up. “In particular, Lt. Col. DeSousa and Lt. Col. Russell are two great moves — commanders that are not only well-respected in law enforcement but in the community.”   He also called Hyatt’s promotion a “perfect fit.”   In other moves, the former Central District commander, Dennis Smith, is being moved to the Criminal Investigations Division, where he will be in charge of district detectives, who investigate nonfatal shootings, stabbings and other serious crimes. Maj. Dan Lioi will assume control of the intelligence unit.   Baltimore Sun reporter Justin George contributed to this article.  

Troubling Rise in Homicides  
Our view: With Killings in Baltimore increasing for the first time in years,
Officials must make restoring progress a priority

 
4:26 PM EST, December 27, 2012
After five years of progress in reducing or holding virtually  stable the number of homicides committed in Baltimore City, 2012 saw a  disturbing rise in killings over the previous year. City officials need  to ask themselves whether this is merely a statistical blip in an  otherwise generally positive trend, or whether it indicates more serious problems  ahead.   As of today, 215 people have been killed in the  city, a 10 percent increase over this time last year. In 2011, the first year since the 1970s with fewer than 200 homicides, officials pointed  to the drop as a major victory against crime and a sign that Baltimore  was finally on a path to shed its image as one of America's most  dangerous cities. Now that homicides appear to be rising again, the city should be looking hard at ways to preserve the gains it has made in  recent years.   No one knows for certain why homicides rise in some  years and fall in others. Baltimore's jump in homicides occurred during a year when statistics show that overall violent crime rates (including  aggravated assaults and armed robberies) and property crimes were both  on the wane.   Why killings should increase when other types of  crime are falling remains something of a mystery, though there is a  school of thought that suggests crime rates, like markets, rise and fall periodically in response to social forces that are difficult to  quantify and often impossible to predict. Some social scientists think  the state of the economy affects the crime rate, with poverty and lack  of education being among the leading causes. That view is far from  universal, however, and history provides little evidence of a direct  relationship between rates of poverty and crime.   Other researchers point to demographics. Since most crimes are committed by young men,  they argue, when the proportion of such individuals in a population goes up, crime rates will follow. Still other experts believe the propensity to commit crimes springs from complex patterns of social and familial  interactions experienced early in life that exert a lasting influence.   Such people will offend throughout their careers regardless of economic  conditions or opportunities to engage in legitimate alternatives.   Police and prosecutors have little influence or control over such factors.  What they can do is aggressively go after those suspected of the most  violent offenses in order to protect future victims. Police Commissioner Anthony Batts says that many of the killings this year were driven by  disputes over turf between rival drug gangs, and that in such cases it  is difficult to find witnesses willing to testify in court. But others  have suggested that changes in the procedures prosecutors and police use to charge suspects may have allowed many of them to avoid arrest and  imprisonment, leaving them free to remain on the streets and commit more crimes.   Earlier this month, The Sun's Justin Fenton reported that Baltimore State's Attorney Gregg Bernstein, who  campaigned on a pledge to aggressively prosecute violent crime, has  charged far fewer homicide cases than his predecessor, Patricia Jessamy, and that police detectives are increasingly frustrated by their  inability lock up people they suspect have committed serious offenses.   Mr. Fenton detailed one case in which prosecutors originally declined to  bring charges against a man accused of a 2011 fatal shooting in Bolton  Hill because they felt there wasn't enough evidence to win a conviction. Prosecutors only changed their minds after he was linked to a second  shooting this November  that left two men dead and a woman critically  injured.   Had the suspect been charged earlier, sources told Mr.  Fenton, witnesses might have come forward once he was behind bars to  strengthen the state's case without fear of retribution. Taking such  suspects off the streets keeps them from intimidating and threatening  people in the community and also denies them opportunities to commit  additional crimes.   Certainly prosecutors should proceed cautiously until they are confident any case they bring is strong enough to win in court, and they must also protect the right of  people who may have  been falsely accused not to spend weeks or months in jail while their  cases work their way through the system. But investigators often can't  begin to turn up all the evidence needed to support a murder charge  until after the suspect has been arrested.   Police and prosecutors  say cooperation between their  agencies has never been better, and it is encouraging that Mr. Bernstein recently agreed to charge five cases  brought to him by Mr. Batts that detectives considered especially  urgent. Keeping the most dangerous offenders off the streets should be  the top priority for maintaining Baltimore's progress against homicides  because lives are saved when suspected murderers are arrested and jailed before they kill again. But that can't happen unless they are charged.  

City speed camera 'nightmare' among the year's lows,
AAA says Driver group says problems call program's integrity into question  

4:59 PM EST, December 27, 2012  
AAA Mid-Atlantic says Baltimore's speed camera "nightmare" was  one of the transportation lows of 2012, though the driver advocacy group credited a similar program run by the State Highway Administration with helping to improve safety in construction zones.   "The troubles with Baltimore's speed camera system have raised the  eyebrows of motorists, legislators and traffic safety advocates and have truly called the integrity of the City's entire program into question," AAA spokeswoman Ragina Averella said in a news release Thursday.   The city has stopped issuing tickets at 10 of its 83 cameras, because of either erroneous radar readings or questions about the  appropriateness of their locations.   At the same time, AAA said a highlight of 2012 was a continuing  decline in crashes, injuries and deaths in Maryland highway work zones,  which have had speed cameras for three years. The state reports a big  drop in speeding violations and is on track to issue fewer automated  tickets than in 2011.   Asked about AAA's critique, city Department of Transportation  spokeswoman Adrienne Barnes said the city takes camera accuracy  seriously and will refund 350 tickets that a recent review found were  wrong. She pointed out that AAA has a seat on a task force formed by  Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake to review the city's red light and speed  camera programs. Averella is on the task force.   "The truth is that hundreds of thousands of motorists are speeding in school zones throughout the city, it's dangerous, and the camera  program has [been] shown to reduce speeding," Barnes said.   Baltimore's lucrative network of radar-equipped cameras was the  subject of a Baltimore Sun investigation that found some tickets are  incorrect and that District Court judges routinely throw out the $40  citations for a variety of deficiencies.   Several state lawmakers plan to introduce reform legislation in the  coming General Assembly session. AAA predicted legislators would be busy addressing "the failures and lack of accountability for a program that  was supposedly intended as a traffic safety tool, which is now perceived as nothing more than a money grab by many motorists."   The Sun has documented that seven of the city's speed cameras have  clocked vehicles going faster than they were actually traveling, even  ticketing one car while it was stopped at a red light.   Officials with the city's speed camera contractor, Xerox State and  Local Solutions, recently told the task force that five cameras had been idled after a review found that 5 percent of the tickets they issued  had radar-related errors that Xerox staff didn't catch before the  citations were issued.   Those five cameras have generated at least 15,000 tickets, city  records show, translating to $600,000 in potential fines for motorists.  City transportation officials say a fraction of the total, 350 tickets,  will be refunded based on the company's internal audit.   The city previously acknowledged issuing nearly 6,000 citations that  were later deemed erroneous because cameras were programmed with the  incorrect speed limit or location address, or because the equipment  malfunctioned, resulting in several hundred thousand dollars in refunds  and forgiven fines.   In August, the city shut down five other speed cameras after AAA  questioned whether their placement near colleges, hospitals and  preschools met state guidelines specifying that they be located only  near schools serving kindergarten through 12th grade.   Xerox and the city maintain that the vast majority of citations are  accurate. Xerox, which is also the state's contractor, says it has  bolstered internal reviews to keep the city from mailing out bad  citations. Under state law, tickets can be issued to vehicles recorded  going at least 12 mph over the speed limit.   Next month the city will switch contractors, with Brekford Corp.  taking the place of Xerox. Since the speed camera program began in late  2009, the city has issued more than 1.6 million tickets and collected  more than $48 million in fines from motorists.   Joining the city's speed camera problems on AAA's list of 2012  transportation lows were an increase in highway deaths nationwide, high  gas prices and a greater reliance on tolls to pay for road work.   Along with improved highway work zone safety, AAA said the year's  highlights include a road construction boom in the region and a change  in state law requiring children younger than 8 to ride in booster seats  until they reach a height of 4 feet 9 inches, regardless of their  weight.  

State Troopers helping City Police patrol high-crime areas
Move represents new cooperation for agencies that have
previously disagreed about presence in city  

December 27, 2012  
Baltimore police have enlisted state troopers to help with  patrols as the city confronts a spike in crime, a move that puts to an  end years of disagreement between the two agencies over the state  force's role in local law enforcement.   With the Maryland State  Police now led by a former Baltimore police commander, the agencies  began talking about the new arrangement over the summer, and new  Baltimore Police Commissioner Anthony W. Batts has pushed it forward as  part of his plans to get more officers on foot deployments.   The  program, which began in September, pairs troopers with city officers on  Friday and Saturday nights. Though troopers have had a presence in  Baltimore for decades as part of various task forces, under state law  they can only police the city when invited by the Baltimore police.   In Baltimore, political leaders have expressed concern in the past about  bringing in an unfamiliar force with its own agenda. The current  initiative, both agencies stress, is entirely directed by the city.   While political tangles have hampered past efforts at more cooperation, the  current effort faces critics who worry about resources being pulled away from rural areas.   Many Maryland counties depend on state police,  who are the primary law enforcement agency in some jurisdictions, and  they work alongside local officers in others. Troopers patrol highways  throughout the state.   State Sen. David R. Brinkley, a Carroll  County Republican, questioned whether the state should be reimbursed for the Baltimore patrols. His county uses a resident trooper program that  pays state police to patrol the county, and which state police say they  plan to scale back.   "The state police have been struggling with a  lack of resources, and in many rural communities, they are the primary  force," Brinkley said. "We all have an interest in Baltimore being safe, but in areas where resources are being taken away, where they don't  have a city force, that could be problematic."   House Republican  leader Anthony J. O'Donnell, who represents Calvert and St. Mary's  counties, applauded the move. He said he has long thought the state  should use "every asset possible" to fight crime in Baltimore.   Technically, state police are working in Baltimore as part of an initiative to  utilize the state force's license-plate reader technology. But they end  up getting involved in many kinds of patrol work and have even been  walking foot beats.   "We pick a geographic area and we try to  target it to areas experiencing some violence, and look for ways that we can use their tag-reader technology," said Baltimore's deputy police  commissioner, John Skinner. "They've been in Northeast Baltimore, on  Greenmount Avenue, in the Southeast District for robberies. We'll be  using them downtown also."   State police Lt. Col. J.A. McAndrew,  who began his career as a city officer, pointed to state police  deployments for major events or work on a regional task force that  serves warrants as examples of earlier cooperation. But he acknowledged  that troopers from barracks around the state walking foot beats in  Baltimore neighborhoods is a first.   "The state police aren't just  wandering around Baltimore," McAndrew said. "We're teamed up, riding  with Baltimore City police officers on an organized detail plan, to work on specific days on specific times."   He said the agency sends the officers to Baltimore as part of their normal work duties and the state does not seek reimbursement from the city.   Officials say the initiative is evidence of broader improved cooperation between state and local authorities.   "From the first days of this administration, we have understood that reducing violent crime in our state, including Baltimore City, is a fundamental  mission of state government," Gov. Martin O'Malley, the former mayor,  said in an interview. "Only the Baltimore Police Department can enforce  the law in Baltimore City, but we can play and are playing an important  supporting role."   Edward T. Norris, who led both the city and  state police, said he faced resistance when trying to get troopers  involved in meaningful ways. They balked at his invitation when he was  city commissioner, Norris said, and the city rebuffed his interest as  state superintendent to expand the agency's authority into Baltimore.   "It was all political," he said.   Some trace the resistance to a high-profile 1994 raid by state troopers on  The Block, in which charges against some defendants were dropped because of questionable police practices. An audit of the operation in  Baltimore's strip club district showed that officers spent $98,000 on  liquor and "amusements."   That raid was carried out only after  state police received permission to investigate The Block from the  city's acting commissioner.   O'Malley cited that raid — "that was  not a positive experience in the cause of greater cooperation," he said — as one of the reasons why troopers weren't more involved in the city  during his tenure.   In 2003, Norris wrote to city police offering  "immediate help" from state police but asking that troopers be granted  full police authority in Baltimore. "The police presence in the city  would immediately increase by 5 percent, due to the number of troopers  who live there," he wrote.   Baltimore police didn't want troopers  there without supervision, and troopers didn't want to come in with  limited power, according to a report in the Baltimore Examiner during  the 2006 gubernatorial campaign.   The issue became a subject of  debate during the campaign, in which O'Malley was challenging incumbent  Republican Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr.   "We would have welcomed the  help, provided it was given in a supportive role that is being given  today — under the guidance of local law enforcement," O'Malley said.   On a recent Friday night, McAndrew said he rode around the city with Maj.  Dennis Smith, the commander of the Baltimore Police Department's Central District. They responded to a shooting scene in the 1900 block of Park  Ave., and made a drug arrest later in the evening, he said.   The  following night, there was a major police presence around Pennsylvania  Avenue, where there has been recent violence. A state police car, with a city officer seated in the passenger seat, idled in the parking lot  next to the Avenue Market. Not far away, a Maryland Transportation  Authority car sat near a subway station and city officers had cars  pulled over up and down Pennsylvania Avenue.   The state police  complement is not large, only about eight to 10 officers. They've  assisted city police with 90 calls for service and 20 arrests, made 74  traffic stops and conducted 23 field interviews on two recent weekends,  records show. They have also recovered three stolen vehicles.   Norris said troopers "get a great education working in Baltimore. What they  learn in a year takes 20 years to get somewhere else."   McAndrew  said the partnership is a natural fit. "One of the main duties of the  state police is to cooperate and coordinate with other law enforcement  agencies. We go where the crime fight is needed most," he said.   Del. Keiffer Mitchell, a Baltimore Democrat, said he supports the  partnership. "Anything we can do to reduce crime," Mitchell said. "As  long as the city is calling the shots."   In 2002, a bill permitting state troopers to work in the city without an agreement with local  police passed the House of Delegates but died in the Senate. An analysis of that bill noted a similar measure had failed in committee in 1996.   More recently, in 2007, with the murder rate rising, then-Mayor Sheila Dixon and Commissioner Leonard Hamm announced that Maryland Transportation  Authority police would help with traffic patrols in the city, such as  the portion of Interstate 295 that is in Baltimore.   But state  police weren't a part of that initiative. "If it's really serious, then  their people should jump into cars with our people, then we could always have two-officer police cars," Paul Blair, then the city police union  president, said at the time.   That's what's taking place now, and  McAndrew says there are no plans to end the deployment. "As long as  Commissioner Batts wants us down there, we're going to be helping," he  said. "I can tell you that in the particular zones where we've been  working, there's been no violent crime."  

Activists call for charges in man's police custody death
Anthony Anderson died more than two months ago during a drug arrest  

6:34 PM EST, December 17, 2012      
Activists gathered in front of a downtown Baltimore courthouse  Monday, calling for State's Attorney Gregg L. Bernstein to bring charges against officers being investigated in the death of an East Baltimore  man during an arrest.   It has been more than a month since prosecutors were handed the  police investigation into the death of 46-year-old Anthony Anderson, who was thrown to the ground during a drug arrest on Sept. 21. Police  initially said it was believed Anderson died after ingesting or choking  on drugs, but an autopsy ruled that the death was a homicide caused by  blunt force trauma. His family said they saw him thrown to the ground.   Prosecutors must determine whether to bring criminal charges against  the officers, Todd A. Strohman, Gregg Boyd and Michael Vodarick. Lawyers for the men have said they did nothing improper.   Those who spoke focused much of their frustration on what they called a "double standard" when police are investigated for crimes. "If it  were me, it'd be open and shut," said the Rev. C.D. "Cortly"  Witherspoon, who has been speaking out alongside Anderson's family.  "They'd charge first and ask questions later."   Anderson's mother and son appeared at the rally, where protesters  held signs that said "Indict Killer Police." "This is not fair to us, at all," said Edith Fletcher, speaking into a bullhorn with sheriff's  deputies wearing bulletproof vests lined up in front of the courthouse.  "I watched them kill my son. I saw the whole thing. … Something should  be done now."   A spokesman for the state's attorney's office said the case remains  under investigation. "Our office has been moving forward diligently with these investigations in an effort to be as complete and thorough as  possible," said spokesman Mark Cheshire. "Because every investigation is different, every investigation varies in the amount of time needed to  reach a determination."   Decisions in such cases often take months. Bernstein's office took  eight months to decide not to bring charges in the Select Lounge  police-involved shooting, while his predecessor took almost a year to  the day to bring charges against officers who were accused of kidnapping a teenage boy and leaving him in a state park in Howard County.   Two officers were convicted of misconduct in that case, and another was acquitted.   But every day that passes without a decision in the Anderson case  raises questions, activists said Monday. They also complained about  other police-involved shootings in which prosecutors have not decided  whether to bring charges.   "People are angry in this neighborhood," she said, referring to  Anderson's, where activists have been canvassing for petition  signatures. She said organizers may plan an "occupation" of the state's  attorney's office if charges aren't filed.  

Defense claims man saw Phylicia Barnes alive in Cecil Co.
In motion, attorneys also attack lead detective in the case  

11:02 AM EST, December 19, 2012  
Defense attorneys for the man accused of murdering Phylicia  Barnes have filed motions claiming to have a witness who saw the teen  alive in Cecil County and attacking the credibility of the lead police  detective who investigated the case.   In a motion filed in Baltimore Circuit Court, defense attorneys for  Michael Maurice Johnson say they intend to call an "alibi witness" named Robert Hickman Fields when the case comes to trial in January. Johnson  was charged with murder April 25 in the high-profile disappearance of  the North Carolina teen.   Asked to clarify the filing, defense attorneys Ivan Bates and Russell Neverdon said that Fields saw the 16-year-old Barnes — and not Johnson — in Cecil County in the days after she was reported missing. Fields  could not be reached for comment.   The attorneys are also asking the court to compel the Baltimore  Police Department to turn over internal affairs records related to  Daniel T. Nicholson IV, the lead detective in the case. The day before  Johnson was charged with murder, Nicholson was suspended by the agency.   At the time, law enforcement sources said Nicholson had led a rogue  hunt for his own missing teenage daughter. On Tuesday, city prosecutors  said the case remained under investigation.   The records may "clarify the possible connection between the  detective's suspension and Mr. Johnson's hasty indictment," a court  filing says, adding that the search for his daughter and the tactics  used to investigate Barnes' disappearance could "show the pattern of  misconduct Detective Nicholson uses in cases such as these."   Through an attorney, Nicholson has denied wrongdoing, and the city  police union has supported him, saying he did what any concerned father  would have done. His attorney, Matthew Fraling, said Nicholson did  nothing inappropriate and called the accusations contained in the  defense motion "absolutely ludicrous."   In the Barnes case, prosecutors allege that Johnson asphyxiated  Barnes, then moved her body by placing it inside a 35-gallon plastic  tub. A neighbor, they said in court this summer, saw Johnson sweating  and struggling to move a tub out of the apartment of Barnes' older  half-sister.   In court papers, his attorneys say Johnson — the last person known to have seen Barnes alive — was interviewed by detectives on Jan. 3, 2011, after being taken in involuntarily. Johnson, his brother Glenton and  cousin Kevin Johnson were put in "flex cuffs" and taken by van to the police station, where  they were put in separate rooms for interviews and not read their  Miranda rights or allowed to call a lawyer, the filings say.   Johnson was held for 17 hours, from 6 p.m. Jan. 3 until 11 a.m. the next day, his attorneys say.   "Mr. Johnson was kept in handcuffs and chained to the bench he was  sitting on," according to court documents. "The detectives grilled him  about the victim and accused him of 'having a thing for her.' … There is no recording or transcript of the interview as well as no officer's  notes that were provided in discovery by the state."   In a letter to Johnson's attorneys, prosecutors confirmed that he was at the homicide offices on Jan. 3. Officials did not respond to a  request for comment on the case.   The attorneys also claim that Nicholson at one point took Johnson's  vehicle without permission and without a warrant, and eventually  returned it to him. "This interaction was only the beginning of  Detective Nicholson's constant and consistent menacing and intimidating  behavior towards the [sic] Mr. Johnson."   They say that Nicholson "made numerous phone calls to Mr. Johnson's  work, showed up [at] his job and repeatedly attempted to contact him."   On April 20, 2011, Barnes' body was found floating in the Susquehanna River. On Sept. 22, 2011, Nicholson was charged in Baltimore County on  allegations that he struck his daughter with a coaxial cable, a case  that was dropped on condition that the family attend counseling.   Attorneys claim that in October and November, prosecutors in Harford  County — where Barnes' body was found — took the case before a grand  jury but did not file charges.   On April 20, 2012, Nicholson's daughter ran away from home, and  police were investigating whether he improperly used department  resources to search for her. Occupants of a Northeast Baltimore home  reported to police that several men entered their apartment, and  Nicholson was picked out of photo lineups. Police said they took a 911  call for assault at the home.   The day after Nicholson was suspended, charges were filed against  Johnson. Internal affairs records, the defense attorneys say, "will  assist the jury in determining the credibility" of Nicholson and other  officers involved in the case.   Several motions have been filed since Johnson was charged, including  at least two by prosecutors seeking GPS data from two cell phones  between Jan. 1, 2010, and July 29, 2010.  

Two top Baltimore Police commanders signal intent to retire

3:49 PM EST, December 13, 2012  
Two of the Baltimore Police Department's top commanders have  notified the department that they intend to retire, moves that come as  Police Commissioner Anthony W. Batts prepares to reshape the agency in  coming weeks.   The commanders are Col. Jesse Oden, the chief of criminal  investigations, and Maj. John Hess, who lead the Violent Crimes Impact  Section.   One of the commanders is Col. Jesse Oden, the chief of criminal  investigations, who filed retirement paperwork around the time Batts  took over, then was talked into staying. He told superiors this week that he will retire after all, ending a 33-year career.   The other is Maj. John Hess, who leads the Violent Crimes Impact  Section, which came under criticism from city council members during  Batts' confirmation hearing. Batts stripped away and redeployed some of  its resources last month.   But the unit was a signiture part of the previous administration's  crime-fighting strategy and officials have pointed to big crime declines in areas where they were deployed. For example, crime was spiking last  year in the Coldstream-Homestead-Montebello neighborhood last year, but  has declined sharply since a VCIS zone was created there.   Batts has alluded to coming changes in his command staff, though  sources said the departures of Oden and Hess were voluntary. Earlier  this year, Deputy Commissioner Anthony Barksdale, who was vying for the  top job, left on medical leave.  

Signs that U.S. gun violence on rise don't bear out in Baltimore  

   
11:07 AM EST, December 12, 2012

The Wall Street Journal over the weekend used  Baltimore and the world-renowned Maryland Shock Trauma Center as the  setting for a story saying hospital statistics show gun violence nationwide was “soaring,” and that a continuing national decline in homicides in spite of this trend was improved trauma care.   The article doesn't go into city-specific data. But at  least in Baltimore, those findings go against most every measure of  crime available, and indeed Shock Trauma’s own statistics.   Citing medical data and other surveys in the U.S., the  article said that gun violence is climbing and points to a rising number of serious injuries from assaults with guns and knives. For example,  the estimated number of people wounded seriously enough by gunshots to  require a hospital stay, rather than treatment and release, rose 47  percent from 20,844 in 2001 to 30,759 in 2011, according to data from  the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.   “More people in the U.S. are getting shot, but doctors have gotten better at patching them up,” the newspaper reported.   Shootings are not counted by police on a national level, largely because they are not required to by the FBI's Uniform Crime  Reporting program, and are instead counted among overall aggravated  assaults. But because of its historically staggering gun violence  problem, Baltimore police began breaking out shootings as an internal  data subset.   In 2000, police say there were 725 non-fatal shooting  victims, a number that fell to 381 in 2011. That's a decline of 47  percent, or a 94 percent difference compared to what the CDC estimates  show is taking place at trauma centers across the country.   Dr. Thomas Scalea, the physician-in-chief at Shock  Trauma, allowed the Journal access to the unit, where 24 people were  admitted before the sun rose, including five people shot or stabbed. “Violence down?” Scalea told a reporter. “I don't think so.”   This is not the first time Scalea has been on record  questioning whether violence is down. “The violence is getting worse, in my opinion; it's not getting substantially better,” Scalea said during  an appearance on the television show “Square Off.” “The guns on the  street are more deadly, and it's every day for us.”   In a short e-mail to a Sun reporter, Scalea said “our  numbers … are unchanged." He was not immediately available for  additional comment.   But Shock Trauma’s own data don’t appear to support that statement.   In fiscal year 2009, which is how the trauma center  collects data, there were 414 people from the region treated there for  gunshot wounds that were the result of assaults, according to internal  demographics reports. That declined to 347 in 2009-2010, and 306 in  2011-2012. That’s a drop of 26 percent.   In comparison, during the 2008 to 2011 calendar years,  police statistics show total shootings declined 29 percent — within the  margin of error of Shock Trauma’s data.   The Wall Street Journal also said that the national  percentage of people who died after being shot has declined two  percentage points since 2007 to 2010, to 13.96 percent. Scalea told the  Journal that the mortality rate for gunshot wounds at Shock Trauma is  about 4 percent, including the patients who are dead on arrival.   In Baltimore, where trauma victims are likely to be  taken to Shock Trauma or Johns Hopkins Hospital, police statistics show  that of the total number of people shot in 2000, 203 died — about 21  percent. In 2011, 149 homicide victims had been shot, representing 28  percent of all shooting victims. It is important to note that not all  shooting victims are taken to the hospital, but the data nevertheless  shows an increase.   The article's conclusions that gun violence is up, not  down, would especially resonate in Baltimore where residents are deeply  distrustful of the sentiment that gun violence is on the decline, often  looking to other reasons to explain a decline in homicides, including  improvements in trauma care. It was a great frustration of former Police Commissioner Frederick H. Bealefeld III, who would jokingly say that  critics would attribute crime declines to lunar tables and the tides  before crediting police.   Dr. Adil H. Haider, co-director of the Howard  University-Johns Hopkins University Surgical Outcomes Research Center  that performed research for the Journal, said he did not have  state-by-state data to analyze trends in Maryland or Baltimore trauma  care in comparison to the national data.   But as a surgeon at Johns Hopkins Hospital's trauma  unit, Haider agreed that trauma center activity is “certainly down” over the past six years in Baltimore.   “The story is based on a national data set. I wonder if  it's possible that Baltimore may be experiencing a different phenomenon, where gunshots are down but lethal gunshots continue to be right up  there,” he said.   What explains Scalea’s observations about rising crime?  It could be that overall, trauma trends at Shock Trauma appear to show a slight increase in violence-related treatment. Overall referrals for  critical injury and illness are up 24 percent, from about 6,900 to 8,600 referrals. While shooting assaults are down, stabbings are up – from  318 in fiscal 2009 to 377 in fiscal 2012.   A possible theory that explains why the percentage of  people who are shot that die is rising could be a increase in the number of execution-style shootings in Baltimore. The Sun reported in 2010  that though shootings were down, the percentage of people shot in the  head had increased significantly, giving rise to a larger proportion of  victims with more serious injuries and who are harder to save through  medical intervention.   Statistics showed that while 35 percent of homicide  victims in 2004 had suffered gunshots to the head, that number had  increased to 37 percent in 2007, to 53 percent in 2008, and to 59  percent in 2009.   However, the trend didn't continue or hold. In 2010, the number of homicide victims shot in the head fell to 50 percent, and to  47 percent in 2011.   But removing Baltimore from the equation, the notion  that shootings are “soaring” across the country is difficult to  understand. Police statistics show aggravated assaults per capita were  down nationwide 16 percent from 2007 to 2011, according to the FBI's  UCR, and down 24 percent from 2001 to 2011.   “Did assaults with guns really soar while aggravated  assaults overall were dropping?” wrote Kent Scheidegger, the legal  director of the Sacramento-based Criminal Justice Legal Foundation. “I'll join [critics] in the leery section.”   The Bureau of Justice Statistics, which uses a survey of victims to try to account for disparities in police reporting, also  shows that aggravated assaults are down 21 percent from 2002 to 2011,  with serious violent crime involving weapons down 26 percent during that time frame and serious violent crime involving injury down 10 percent.  

Baltimore Police shuffle deck, move more officers into patrol

Each district to eventually have a K-9 unit  
3:58 PM EST, November 14, 2012  
Seeking to bolster its response to 911 calls, the Baltimore  Police Department on Wednesday announced that it is moving more than 40  officers out of specialized units and into patrol districts.   Changes had been hinted at since the arrival of Police Commissioner Anthony W.  Batts, who said he wanted to shift more resources to the patrol  division, whose officers respond to most citizen complaints.   "Commissioner Batts met with community groups, and visited [district] rolls calls  where officers literally asked for more boots on the ground," said  police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi. "Every meeting, people said they  wanted more cops in their districts."   Patrol's gain is the loss  of the Violent Crimes Impact Section, a unit of plainclothes officers  focused on guns and drugs, and the Criminal Investigation Division,  including some officers assigned to the homicide unit.   Guglielmi  said K-9 officers will be de-centralized from the special operations  section and start working out of districts and be available for most  shifts. The unit currently has 17 dogs, Guglielmi said, and the  department wants to get more.   Robert F. Cherry, the police union  president, said the union generally supports the moves and has called  for similar changes in a report it produced over the summer.   "For  the most, those who will disagree are the people being moved," Cherry  said. "We've heard for a long time that officers were going out short,  and we've talked about getting back to basics."   Some officers  could elect to challenge the transfers, he said, citing language in the  union contract that enables officers to request a hearing if they are  being transferred. But Cherry said the number of officers being moved is actually small, and that a larger realignment could be on the horizon  if police truly want to shake things up.   "It is a change, but  it's not yet the major fundamental change," Cherry said. "Shootings and  homicides have been picking up just a little bit, and I don't think  they're ready to make the wholesale moves."  

 

Gorwell acted properly, police trainer tells jury BALTIMORE CITY

August 03, 1993|By Jay Apperson | Jay Apperson,Staff Writer

A state police training officer testified yesterday that Baltimore Police Officer Edward T. Gorwell II acted appropriately when he fatally shot a 14-year-old suspected car thief in the back.

"What Officer Gorwell did that evening was outstanding," said Sgt. Timothy P. Vittetoe, testifying in Officer Gorwell's manslaughter trial in Baltimore Circuit Court. "He did the only two reasonable things he could have done. He returned fire . . . and he ran to an area of cover and concealment."

Sergeant Vittetoe said the Police Department had trained Officer Gorwell well. "Hats off to the Baltimore City police," he said.

Officer Gorwell, 24, faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison if convicted of manslaughter in the April 17 death of Simmont "Sam" Thomas, who was shot once after he and four other teen-agers bailed out of a stolen car near a densely wooded area at the edge of Gwynns Falls Park in West Baltimore.

During yesterday's testimony the focus remained, as it has throughout the weeklong trial, on Officer Gorwell's contention that he believed he was returning fire when he shot and killed the Thomas youth. Prosecution witnesses, including the four other teen-agers and three area residents who at the time of the chase were in their houses watching television, said they heard only one shot.

No weapon was found on the slain youth.

Earlier, jurors had been told the officer may have been reacting to the sound of a loose manhole cover on a nearby bridge or gunfire from an unrelated shooting nearby. Also, defense lawyer Henry L. Belsky has suggested that police should have conducted tests to see if any of the other four suspects had fired a gun.

Yesterday, the defense suggested the sound may have been a car backfiring or a tree branch snapping; or the sound made by the metal slide of a "dent puller," a tool some

times used to steal cars.

Jurors watched a videotape of lawyers questioning a witness identified as Jeffrey Walker, who said he was driving on a road near the park around the time of the shooting when he heard two sounds that were "like a car backfiring."

James Ozazewski, a former city homicide detective now working as a private investigator, then told the jury that he traced the path the fleeing teen-agers followed through the woods and discovered that the crack of branches "sounded like it could be a gunshot."

That statement drew groans from the Thomas youth's friends and relatives watching the trial.

Sergeant Vittetoe then took the stand to say that Officer Gorwell was justified in meeting a threat to his life with deadly force.

"He didn't hear a door or a garbage can. He heard a gunshot," Sergeant Vittetoe said. "To him that is reality. . . . He doesn't have time to stand and evaluate it because the next noise could be his life."

When cross-examining Sergeant Vittetoe, prosecutor Timothy J. Doory asked, "Is it fair to say that every police officer in the state is taught before he is allowed out on the street that you can't shoot down a suspected car thief for no other reason than they are fleeing?"

"If that's the only thing they had done, it would be unreasonable to shoot them," Sergeant Vittetoe answered.

Emmanuel Kapelsohn, a police training consultant and firearms expert, testified that he conducted tests at his rural Pennsylvania home that showed a 9 mm handgun -- the type fired by Officer Gorwell -- could be heard over the sound of a television when fired outside but that smaller caliber weapons could not.

Also, apparently attempting to counter the testimony of five city police officers who said Officer Gorwell never mentioned that he had been fired on when they arrived as back-ups, Mr. Kapelsohn said the stress of being shot at can leave an officer "almost comatose."

‘We Want Justice’ Says Family of Youth Killed by Cop

By JULIA STEINBERG

BALTIMORE-In April 1993, a Black teenager was shot in the back by a Baltimore city policeman. Six years later, his family is still fighting for justice.

Baltimore cop Edward Gorwell admitted shooting 14-year old Simmont “Sam” Thomas. He claimed to have heard a gunshot and assumed that he was being shot at by the teenager.

Thomas was shot while running away after he and several friends had been stopped for allegedly riding in a stolen car. No gun or bullets were ever found at the scene. Tests at the time showed no gunshot residue on Thomas’s hands.

Following extensive community protests, Gorwell was charged with manslaughter. His first trial ended in a mistrial when a juror did not return on the second day of deliberations.

Gorwell’s second trial was scheduled for Feb. 11, 1999. On that day, the prosecution announced that the charges would be dropped due to new evidence.

A police technician who would have been called to testify said that, on his own initiative, he had retested for gunshot residue on Thomas’s hand using the swab that had been taken in 1993 and a more sophisticated electron microscope unavailable in 1993.

The new test allegedly showed gunshot residue on Thomas’s hand.

Upon hearing this, the prosecutor immediately dropped the charges against Gorwell, rather than moving forward with the case and challenging the “evidence” of the new test. It is clear that the city of Baltimore was looking for any excuse to avoid condemning Gorwell.

An article in the Baltimore Sun, several days after the case was dropped, explained the inconclusive nature of the test. The Sun interviewed Lester Roane, a chief engineer at a local commercial ballistic test laboratory.

Roane explained that the microscope was so powerful it would be able to detect particles transferred during casual contact. He described an informal test in which he fired a gun and the next morning handled a file folder. A secretary who then handled the folder tested positive for gunshot residue.

The fact that the residue particles can be transferred by casual handling opens up the possibility that the residue on Thomas’s hand came from police officers handling the body.

A Baltimore Sun reporter also interviewed the young men who were with Simmont Thomas on the night of the shooting and who insist that there was no gun shot before Gorwell fired on them and no other gun involved.

The Sun article reported that one of them was given a polygraph test by the prosecution in preparation for the trial and passed four times.

A noon rally at police headquarters protested the dropping of charges. Among the speakers was Thomas’s father, Dennis Greene, who declared, “I want justice and I will fight. I’m not afraid of the system. I will not go away.”

Gorwell is still employed by the Baltimore City Police Department.

From <https://socialistaction.org/1999/04/03/we-want-justice-says-family-of-youth-killed-by-cop/>