New Blog Alert

The Baltimore Scofflaws, fighting parking ticket fine insanity!
Writes the founder,

Last week, we the current and former citizens of Baltimore were informed the city will be extorting us to fill its dwindling coffers. Their weapon of choice comes in the form of excessive late fees associated with a variety of parking tickets, in some cases, many years old. According to NBC, 80,000 of us have been contacted concerning 183,000 citations totaling $132 million dollars. Some of us have now been individually saddled with THOUSANDS of dollars in fines to ease City Hall's debt ... we are furious the city views our bank accounts as their personal ATMs, for which THEY write the rules for withdrawal.

Fatal Police Shooting #5

"A Baltimore City man was shot and killed by police Saturday morning after he barricaded a 4-year-old inside his home with a machete, police say."
and guess what? the BPD identified the officer involved in the shooting as Garfield O'Toole.

Ew du jour: a Goucher prof was fired after admitting to having <600 child porn pix on his PC.

Delegates: Help us, Rod!

"Calling an uptick in police shootings troubling, two state delegates and the head of the local NAACP called on the federal government today to investigate a recent fatal shooting by a Baltimore police officer who has shot three people since June 2007."

41

14-year-old shot in the SW!

The stabbing death of 17-year-old Shawn Green (#14) has been ruled self-defense, he's being removed from official murder rolls.

Hermann: The Baltimore Police Department wants to be your Facebook friend

And the Sunpapers invite you (yes, you!) to sit in on the daily front-page meeting!

Parking Fine Insanity!

Baltimore's ballooning parking fines may be the highest in the country, and now the city is threatening to sue scofflaws for an average sum of $1,625 per violation. (Even, presumably, violators whose license plates were stolen by MVA employees!)
City spokesman: "we have a budget deficit."

Baltimore encourages surrender

"To ease warrant backlog, Baltimore encourages surrender" (by fugitives).

Use in a sentence: "particular heterosexual contribution"

Asking for Trouble

Police are ISO a man wanted for shooting two people.
And WBAL asked someone to come and steal two laptops. Da!

Hermann has lots to say about naming police who shoot citizens.

At a City Council hearing [Tuesday March 10] ... members were angry at the department's explanations. They should have also been angry at themselves for the childish way they acted at a previous hearing when they blew their chance to ask Commissioner Frederick H. Bealefeld III tough questions about this policy. Instead, they bought the department's line to the point where they fawned over the top cop and abdicated their roles as public watchdogs.

The police now say they will review the policy. And the feud between Jack Young and FHBIII heats up! You know you're in trouble when dad's "disappointed"

Do you really want to relive the horror of the Palczynski hostage situation, nine years ago this month? If so, check out WBAL's special, "A Legacy of Pain"

Big damage$ in the Jacksonville leaky Exxon case.

Gansler will be testifying in A-town in favor of HB 1055, aka the Religious Freedom and Civil Marriage Protection Act.

Sixth 'Bounty Hunter' Arrested

A sixth suspect arrested in the "Bounty Hunter" killing, in which Petro Taylor was set on fire while he was still alive. Two guys, Terrell Greg and Anthony O. Williams, are already in custody, as are three teenage girls, (left to right) Sierra Pyles, 19; Tenisha Lawson, 18; and Grechauna Rogers, 16.
More from Justin Fenton

So today and tomorrow the legislature is holding hearings on the Religious Freedom and Civil Marriage Protection Act. Oddly, there doesn't seem to be a word on this in the Sunpapers.

The Heroes Who Shall Remain Nameless

Irony alert: police officers "receive highest honor for actions under fire," but 1/4 of the recipients would not be name-able under the department's new policy.
(And doesn't this WMAR story read like it was translated from a Chinese newspaper?)

"Two men were shot Tuesday night while standing at an intersection in the Ellwood Park-Monument neighborhood in East Baltimore."

This week's four murders in the Ink.
The words "African-American" take up a lot of space.

Man who lied about the murder of his son gets 5 years

Outrage of the day: of course energy bills are going up, BGE has a lot of political contributions to make!

Trial Date Set for Mayor

Sept. 8. Lipscomb and Holton got dates too.

Pant Fires in the BPD

Accusations of police lying about evidence, parts I and II.

42

Shawn Cannady, shot by an unnamed officer on Friday, has died of his injuries, the fourth fatal police-involved shooting this year.
Meanwhile,
Heavy hitters took to the Marc Steiner show this evening to discuss the new Baltimore Police non-disclosure policy: Anthony Guglielmi, Director of Public Affairs for the Baltimore Police Department; Robert Cherry, President of the Baltimore Fraternal Order of Police and a former homicide detective; David Rocah, staff attorney for the Maryland ACLU; and David Simon (read the essay).
If you're short on time, skip to the last half.
Are the police going to live up to the promise to volunteer all info journalists deem pertinent other than a name? And if they don't, then what? It's not really a negotiation, is it?
More thoughts on this issue from Buz

Non-intentional non-justified homicide #42 was Roger Dennis, shot at age 13 in 1997 in the 300 block of W. North Avenue, who died last August from his injuries.

Because of the definitions of criminal homicide as per the FBI, Dennis is on 2009's homicide tally, Cannady is not.

Feds Subpoena Flex Squad Records

"A federal grand jury has subpoenaed run sheets, log books, and personnel files of at least five members of the Baltimore Police Department's disbanded Southwest 'Flex Squad' ..."

Murder of 17-year-old Herbert Carsten Jr. (39) may have been gang-related

Your tax $ at work: "Suit reveals millions in city pension giveaways"

County
"Baltimore County Police are asking for the public’s help in identifying a vehicle and two men wanted for the assault on a Baltimore County police officer that occurred on March 1 at approximately 2:16 a.m. in Precinct 9/White Marsh."

Have you seen this short, pudgy (alleged) perv with circumflex brows?

41

A man shot to death in the 3300 block of E. Baltimore St. last night

A man arrested for setting his 85-year-old grandmother on fire

A man shot at a thrift store on W. North Avenue

A man shot in the face at Park Heights & Reisterstown Rds.

Jury selection has begun for trial of the man accused of ordering the murder of Carl Lackl from jail

"Maryland police databases have rich harvest of names"

Stolen cars and robberies in the Blotter

Maryland Title Co. of Baltimore loses license over allegations of stealing <$700k

Orthodox law firm takes Shabbat seriously

Homicide victim #39 was Id'd as Herbert Carsten Jr., age 17, a life apparently not worth more comment than the insomnia its end inflicted.

40-- oh shiz!!

A fight on the dance floor led to murder in the street after closing at Coconuts, and the gunwoman is at large!

39

A quadruple shooting has one fatality so far in the Southeast

Another police-involved shooting, and the third in four years for the unnamed 28-year-old officer. What's his/her deal? A training issue? An itchy trigger finger? Bad luck?
And why would the police department under FBIII divulge this officer's brow-raising track record?

A personal e-mail plea from Delegate Craig Rice set the tone for the preservation of MD's death penalty

What the?! The vice president of Baltimore's NAACP chapter arrested for heroin, bupe & mj possession

Jury Convicts Man for Murder of Byron Dickey

The SA's office reports that a Baltimore City jury today convicted Donnell Johnson, 35, of the 700 block of E. 21st St. of first-degree murder and use of a handgun in the commission of a crime of violence. The jury deliberated approximately three hours after hearing three days of testimony before rendering its verdict. Johnson faces a maximum possible sentence of life in prison without possibility of parole. Judge John C. Themelis scheduled sentencing for May 7, 2009. Details:

On August 12, 2007 at or around the 2100 block of Barclay Street Johnson became involved in a fight with the victim, Byron Dickey. During the fight Johnson brandished a .32 caliber handgun at which time Dickey began to run. Johnson chased Dickey, firing the handgun repeatedly at him as they ran. Dickey was struck three times and eventually collapsed due to his injuries. Police arrived on scene and secured the area and medics transported Johnson to John Hopkins Hospital, where he was pronounced dead. Lead detective Donald Bradshaw pulled footage from police pole cameras on both Barclay and Greenmount Streets and video footage did capture a portion of the incident where an individual generally matching the description of the defendant was running down Barclay Street with their right hand extended in a manner consistent with possessing a handgun. Further investigation revealed witnesses who were able to positively identify Johnson as the individual who shot and killed Dickey.

A most unusual trial for MD: an anonymous jury and the feds seeking the death penalty in the case of Patrick Byers Jr., accused of ordering the murder of Carl Lackl from jail.

Only in Baltimore: the twisted tale of attorney Kim Y. Johnson's apparent conflicts of interest between the police department and her own clients.

Should police still be investigating-- and should Hermann still be writing-- about the death of Annie McCann?

3rd time's a charm

Gunman charged in third murder