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Tag: Eastern District

  • Two Down in Sector Two

    Four killed in 15 hours in Baltimore. Two, I believe, in the Sector Two of the Eastern District.

  • A little excitment on 324 Post

    Justin Fenton and Peter Hermann report:

    So many police officers are at Hopkins at this hour that the department had to call in officers from other districts and detective units to help answer other 911 calls in the Eastern District. One plainclothes officer reported being out in his personal car, and he warned his dispatcher he was patrolling “with no lights, no sirens, no nothing.”

    Needless to say, usually shootings in the Eastern don’t get such a massive response.

    Update:I just heard on the radio that the gunman was shot and killed (apparently self-inflicted). Hopefully Baker Shift will get home on time!

  • Killing Mexicans

    Seems to be the latest sport in East Baltimore. Martin Reyes, who wasn’t Mexican, is the fifth Hispanic shooting or homicide victim in the area in less than two month. All the victims are Honduran. And moved into a neighborhood that desperatelyneeds an influx of hard-working non-criminals.

    The killer (is there where I’m supposed to add, “alleged”?), African-American paroled drug dealer and schizophrenic Jermaine Holley, told police he “hated Mexicans.” No doubt this guy also addresses the Korean corner-store owner–just about only person willing to run a business in the area–as “Chinaman.”

    Reminds of the joke where the Goy is put on the freight train to the concentration camp in Nazi Germany (stop me if I’ve told this before…). The guy next to him says, “What a tragedy.” And the Goy turns to him and says, “No. For youit’s a tragedy. For me it’s a mistake!”

    The Latino victims here, known at least in the New York area as “walking ATMs” because they get paid in cash and don’t call the police, are often illegal immigrants. And them moving to Baltimore is the best thing to happen to that city since the crab cake.

    The 200 Block of North Kenwood? It seems like a well-kept up block. And one of the rare brick streets left. Homes sell for roughly $125,000, according to Zillow. But I wouldn’t live there or on any block on the East Side that start with N for north. On Kenwood, the boarded up buildings start on the 300 Block and on the 500 Block homes sell (and plenty are for sale) for $60-70,000.

    Why do immigrants move near the ghetto? It’s not because they like getting robbed and killed. It’s because it’s cheap. And desperate landlords (who keep leaving because of crime but can’t sell their homes) don’t ask too many questions. And seeing how the Eastern District has lost probably close to 75 percent of it’s population, there’s lots of room. Who else in moving tohere?

  • Perlman Place Demolition

    The Baltimore Sun has a video.

    It’s always a bit sad to see people cheer the destruction of a city block. Of course this block was already destroyed. Now it’s just a matter of tearing down empty shells of brick. Everything of value has been stripped. Now it’s just a place for trash, wild animals, and crime. As sad as it is, for residents and police, a vacant lot is much better than a vacant building.

    One-block streets in the Eastern have always been a pain in the ass. It’s like where the gangrene starts. Just mention these names to police and watch them wince. There was the 2300 block of Crystal Ave, Henneman Ave, N Register, the 2000 block of Ellsworth, the 2200 block of Prentiss Place. Some of these places aren’t even named on Google Maps. Next time you’re driving though Baltimore, just try and finding 1611 Hakesley Place. First you need to find Iron Alley.


    View Larger Map
    Oh, there it is. That’s Iron Alley (RIP Vincent Adolfo). And it’s the only way in or out of Hakesley Place. Just go up there and make a left. I dare you. God save the officer who calls a Signal 13 in the rear of 1600 Hakesley Place, odd side.

    Looking at a better map, I can even see names I don’t recognize. Maybe I’m getting old, but I guess they were already vacant when I was there. I don’t remember ever getting a call for Terrell Place, Eareckson Place, or Lancing Ave.

    And even though it wasn’t a one-block street, I’ll just throw in the 700 block of N. Port for good measure. What a pain that block was. East of N Rose things got better. But I didn’t police east of Rose.

    And the alley streets (at least that’s what I called them) weren’t much better. Here’s the 900 Block of N Duncan on a beautiful Spring day:


    View Larger Map
    And that’s the street. Then there’s the alley (pan to the right). And best of all (God bless Baltimore) the alley off the alley. My front door used to be in an alley off an alley. I had a PO Box and no chance of newspaper delivery. Hell, the 2000 census never found me. And I wasn’t exactly hiding.

    When I rummaged around vacants in the Eastern or watched the sun rise and trains go by from the 1300 Block of N Dallas (my favorite spot at dawn), I couldn’t help but think, “there used to be families here.” If you squinted really hard you could even make out ghosts of normal family life in some of the ruins: leftover broken furniture, tacky wallpaper, and console TVs (funny how those became worthless). There was almost never anything left of value. Just rubble and trash.

    Though if anybody could scavenge me a marble stoop and a Formstone plaque, I’d be much obliged (I’m not kidding about the Formstone plaque).

  • In Memory of Marcellus Ward

    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.”

  • Gunshots or Firecrackers

    Justin Fenton writes about a gunshot detection system in the Eastern. An interesting concept. Mixed results at best.

    Cops, after a little while, get pretty good at telling the difference between gunshots and firecrackers. They’re very similar, but gunshots are kind of a shorter, tighter bang. It’s kind of hard to describe. But you would think a computer could better tell the difference. They can’t yet.

  • 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?

  • Drug Violence? Gang Violence? Idiot Violence?

    This isn’t new. But it happened in the Eastern and only know did I discover (thanks to a colleague of mine) the Timearticle.

  • Shirley’s Honey Hole Turns Bloody

    Shirley’s Honey Hole Turns Bloody

    Generally, the bars in the Eastern aren’t a source of trouble. The yo-boys are too cool to drink in a bar and stay on the corner drinking bottles of malt liquor. Many of them aren’t old enough to be served in a bar, either. The bars are for those willing to pay a dollar or two for a mere twelve ounce can of beer.

    The bars, like Shirley’s Honey Hole, are where the older heads hang out, listen to old R & B, and complain about kids these days. At these places, everybody does indeed know your name; cocktails are served with a heavy pour in those small, heavy duty, short, thick, stemmed glassware; and on holidays you know there’s always a good spread to enjoy. Father’s Day is a always a great time to do business checks on bars in the Eastern.


    According to Annie Linskey in the Sun, two men “walked up to the bar on the 2300 block of E. Oliver St. from North Patterson Park Avenue and fired without warning.” Six were shot, one fatally.

  • Eastern District Commander Cleared

    Justin Fenton reportsin the Sun:

    A city police commander has been reinstated for active duty after being cleared of wrongdoing in a probe into text messages he exchanged with a community activist who was being sought on a warrant and later allegedly stabbed his wife to death.
    …
    The Police Department intends to address “procedural issues” with how the warrant was handled. It did not go through normal channels; instead of sending it to a special domestic violence unit, Eastern District officers who knew Cleaven Williams tried to serve it themselves and gave him the chance to turn himself in.

    If you have the guy’s phone number and can get him to turn himself in, isn’t that worth a try? Seems like a better way to handle a warrant than busting down a door at 5am. And no, it’s not rare for community activists to have a direct line to the district commander.