December 6, 1999, was my official D.O.E. in the Baltimore Police Department (even though I was already two-months into an academy class). Had I stayed on the job, I would now have ten years on, with ten more to go.
Tag: Baltimore
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In Memory of Marcellus Ward
Ward was killed 25 years ago. His assassination and last dying breaths were caught on tape and haunted the memory of many Baltimore police officers, some of whom I worked with. At a memorial, held where Ward was killed, Commissioner Bealefeld said that it is “not for us to judge the results of his sacrifice.” And certainly a memorial to a slain officer is notthe time and place for that.
But at some point we needto ask. Why are we risking our lives? What are we getting in return? If we don’t ask these questions, more good men and women will die.
The block Ward give his life to protect has long since died. Like too much of Baltimore, it’s vacant, boarded up, and abandoned. Here’s the 1800 block of Frederick, odd side. Ward was killed upstairs in the Formstone house in the center with the potential window display:
By risking his life to protect others, Ward died a hero. That I do not doubt or forget. But it’s hard to imagine that Baltimore or Frederick Avenue would be any worse off today if Ward had simply called in sick that day. And the world would certainly be a better place if Ward and other officers killed in the drug war were still with us. I’ve said this before (to the consternation of some). I don’t want to see any other officers killed for a war we are not winning and cannot win.When I put my life on the line every night for the men and women of the Eastern, I would often think about the fallen officers pictured on the walls. Ward always stood out for some reason. (I’m not making it up that his picture hangs in the Eastern, am I?) From what I heard he was a good guy. And from his picture, he just seemed more human than most other cops pictured.
Police Commissioner Bealefeld is a good man and the best commissioner Baltimore City has seen in a long while, certainly better than the previous five commissioners (I’ll only vouch for worse commissioners as far back to and including Frazier). Maybe Bealefeld even gets it when he talks about the war on drugs and the “seemingly impossible task” of winning it? Who knows. But the war isn’t his to call off.
Here is Peter Hermann’s takeand his story in the Sun with the sad headline: “At memorial, a new vow to wage war on drugs.”
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Mayor Dixon Convicted of One Misdemeanor
She was acquitted of more serious charges. The jury deliberated 7 days.
A bunch of stories in the Sun.
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Holiday (Criminal) Spirit
The Christmas crime season is the US begins. This storyfrom the NY Daily News. [November 30 Update] And the Chicago Sun Times. Street crime really does up before Christmas. Keep that in mind.
I’m in a pub in York, UK, right now. Leeds, where I’m staying, and where David Simon said he might have set The Wire if he set it in the UK, has maybe 3 or 4 homicides a year (or so I was told). Population 440,000. Baltimore, population 630,000 has more than 200.
In answer to one burning question here in the UK: Are parts of the cities becoming “like The Wire”?
No.
Baltimore (and most American cities) have more killings than the entire United Kingdom. Amazing how they manage to fend off all the anti-social drunks here without firearms. Somehow they manage.
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Did officers mishandle this call?
No.
And Peter Hermaan, a very good reporter, should really learn his 10-codes.
Here’s the story.
The dispatch said she was notifying the Eastern, where the car was headed. The Southeast cannot drive around and look for a car at a location long since gone.
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Baltimore Mayor Dixon’s trial starts
The story in the New York Times.
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A Tale of Two Cities
The Sun is starting a nice little feature where a reporter from London and Baltimore switch places.
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Why Police Officers Hate the Department
People often fail to understand just how dysfunctional a big-city police department can be (and some have told me small town PDs are worse).
Justin “H.L.” Fenton reports in the Sun:
Sgt. Carrie Everett… spoke to a reporter after she was administratively charged in connection with an incident in which a murder suspect committed suicide by jumping from a top-floor window while under police supervision at Mercy Medical Center. Everett said the department’s policies governing patients in medical custody were flawed and put officers and the suspects at risk.
The department charged her internally with “conduct unbecoming a member of the Baltimore Police Department and speaking with the media without permission.”
Nothing like blaming the messenger.
Police officers below the rank of commander are prohibited from speaking to members of the media. A spokesman said officers are trained to be police officers, not to talk to reporters, and said officers only have a “ground level” view of the department.
I was never “trained” to talk to reporters. And yet I seem to manage OK. Plus, I don’t buy the the department can constitutionally limit free speech in such a manner. And sometimes, dare I say so myself, a “ground-level” view of the department can be most instructive. But let’s get back to this incident.
When I had hospital detail (one of the least favorite details for police and all too frequent if you happened to have 324 post), I made sure a prisoner was chained to his or her bed. Then I sat outside the room. And you sit there. If you’re lucky someone will come by and bring you coffee or food. Luckily, unlike a lot of police, I like reading.
Now let’s say I’m sitting there reading the the paper or my book and a murder suspect quietly gets out of his cuffs and jumps out the window, killing himself. That’s not good. But my second thought would probably be joy that he went out the window rather than out the door.
Did I do my job? No. Should I get in trouble? Yes. But does it say in the General Orders that I need to be in the room at all time? I don’t think so. But I was responsible. So blame me, not my sergeant.
There’s something strange about holding a supervisor responsible for officers working alone without direct supervision. Especially when the rules aren’t clear. If you want to blame the sergeant, why not go higher and blame the command staff? Oh. yeah. It’s never theirfault.
Meanwhile the department will continue its practice of making “supervisors ‘fall guys’ for failures of procedure.”
And the best part? This sergeant, for being right, gets rewarded with reassignment to… guess where. Yes, the lovely Eastern District. Officers in the jackpot often get reassigned to the Eastern or Western, depending on which would make a longer commute. Such is the nature of the jackpot (and one of the silver linings of already working in the Eastern or Western). So now, through no fault of their own, all the officers of the Eastern get punished with a disgruntled sergeant working over them. When shit does indeed roll downhill, why does it always seems to end up in the Eastern?
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Baltimore Police Quarry
Anybody in Baltimore know why the major from the Southeast was suspended? An old buddy of mine from Eastern was asking if I knew why. Sheee-it… like I know anything. I didn’t even know he was the major. But we both remember him a good guy.
If you know, I’d appreciate it if you could send me an email directly rather than spread rumors via the comments. Of course I will hold the source (and the substance, if you wish) of any emails in the strictest confidence.