investigativevoice.com

By Stephen Janis 

What began with a controversial arrest of a community leader two weeks ago, ended at a packed community meeting Wednesday evening with a promise for change in the way Baltimore police do their job in South Baltimore by one of the department’s top commanders.

For nearly two hours residents of South Baltimore and the top brass of the Baltimore Police Department sat in the same room, and talked.

And when the meeting ended, the head of the city’s patrol unit, Colonel John Skinner, promised to present a plan to the community in January that would work towards preventing questionable arrests of residents like Chris Taylor, an arrest that prompted nearly 75 of his neighbors to assemble above Immeasurable Chicken and Waffles on the 1700 block of West Pratt Street Wednesday night and share their criticisms of heavy handed policing with nearly half a dozen police supervisors.

But unlike the streets of this diverse and evolving community, where an entrenched culture of crime, the realities of inner-city policing, and the burgeoning of new communities with heightened expectations of police civility often collide in a cloud of ambiguities and mistrust, the discussion was remarkable for its candor and frankness.

Taylor, the outspoken Union Square Community Association president whose controversial arrest caused outcry in the community, set the tone for the evening that began with the distribution of T-shirts reading, “21223, I live here, respect me.” Taylor was arrested Dec. 2 after questioning an officer who was investigating the reported sexual assaults of two girls, who said a stranger groped them on their way home from school.

At Wednesday's meeting, in a polite but heated exchange with Major Scott Bloodsworth, commander of the Southern District, Taylor said the key to mending ties with his community was altering the culture of a department that did not work hard enough to distinguish between criminals and law-abiding citizens.

“When you arrest a person standing on his stoop for no reason, it’s hard to rebuild that relationship.”

“I understand,” Bloodsworth replied.

“But we have to get to a point where we don’t have patrol officers running amok,” Taylor said.

“We’re never going to be perfect,” Bloodsworth shot back.

“We’re not talking perfect,” Taylor replied. “You can’t have guys out disrespecting a woman because she wants to park her car.”

“We’re here to get to the point where it doesn’t happen at all.”

Taylor was joined by other South Baltimore residents, who recounted difficult encounters with Baltimore police officers.

“We are living in an apartheid mentality,” said RasonTara, a real estate developer who said he was threatened with arrest because his car was parked in a no-parking zone.

“I know you have a job to do but this is ridiculous.”

Business owner and resident Sheila Lee recounted a time when, she said, the police were less than helpful.

“I get a threatening phone call left on my phone shortly thereafter threatening to blow up my house,and I call for support and an officer says 'Probably don’t worry about it; it's a prank call,' " said Lee, who moments earlier pounded the table with her hands to give the commanders a sensory appreciation for an errant visit by officers from the city’s Warrant Apprehension Task Force. Lee said the call came from a drug dealer after she had told police about several young men slinging drugs in her neighborhood. 

“So what I am asking is: Respect me as homeowner, respect me as citizen of the community….don’t come to my home and disrespect me; don’t disrespect my community.”

Among the most impassioned pleas of the evening was a call to action by community activist Dante Wilson, who along with criticizing police for arresting Taylor, said the time had come for real change. 

“We can’t take this anymore, it stops here. Let’s stop talking; where are the solutions?” he said.

“Let’s talk about the training…everyone is not a criminal, you can’t treat everyone like a criminal.”

Finally, after almost a dozen residents had shared stories, including the tale of Ruby Morris whose son’s front teeth were busted during an arrest the result of mistaken identity, Skinner promised to present a plan that makes officers more involved in the community.

“We will have something by January.”

This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it