Homicides in the District and in the Maryland suburbs soared in 2021 to levels not seen in more than a decade, largely driven by shootings and reflecting a troubling rise in violent crime across the country.
More people were slain in Prince George’s County than in any year since 2007.
People who live in the Curtis Bay neighborhood, where a Baltimore City police officer was ambushed early Thursday morning, tell us crime is an all too real part of their lives. They describe bullets being fired often, drug-dealing happening right outside their doors, and how they live with a constant fear of violence.
Clyde Boatwright, President of the Maryland State Fraternal Order of Police, joins C4 and Bryan Nehman on WBAL radio to discuss the Defund movement, recent statements by a Baltimore City Council Member, and the way forward for Maryland policing. Listen in for a discussion on good policing, attrition, hiring, and the current atmosphere.
A deadly three days in Baltimore have pushed the 2021 homicide count to 107, far ahead of last year’s pace as the city’s mayor and police commissioner vow to continue seeking ways to quell the violence.
Seven people have been killed since Saturday, including a woman who collapsed and died after walking into a hospital around 2:30 p.m. Monday. Police said she had been shot in the Western District and arrived at the unspecified hospital with another woman who also had been shot. Her condition is unknown, police said. Read more on The Baltimore Sun.
A federal judge overseeing the Baltimore City Police Department said Friday new police reform align with calls to defund the police.
However, he’s cautioning against defunding the department for now.
In Friday’s hearing, the topic of conversation was trust. How can officers rebuild trust within the community as well as with each other. Officers said some of the changes they’ve been implementing are aligning with nationwide calls for change.
It’s the latest federal court hearing on police reform in the city. Read more on WJZ.
About a dozen Baltimore Police officers watch a cellphone video posted to YouTube of people looting a phone store in Seattle. On the screen, two Seattle officers stop a man, take him to the ground and attempt to handcuff him.
A crowd forms, and onlookers start shouting at the officers after one puts his knee on the man’s neck. The second officer pushes his colleague’s knee off in response. Read more in the Baltimore Sun.
Gov. Lawrence J. Hogan Jr. (R) vetoed three of five bills from the General Assembly’s bicameral police reform package Friday evening — and about an hour after the public announcement, the override vote on a bill from Speaker Adrienne A. Jones (D-Baltimore County) was underway.
“These bills would undermine the goal that I believe we share of building transparent, accountable, and effective law enforcement institutions and instead further erode police morale, community relationships, and public confidence,” Hogan said in a veto letter. “They will result in great damage to police recruitment and retention, posing significant risks to public safety throughout our state.” Read more on Maryland Matters.
The Baltimore City Fraternal Order of Police (FOP) Lodge #3 has long been an advocate for reform within the Baltimore Police Department (BPD). In 2012, the FOP published a comprehensive report, the Blueprint for Improved Policing. The report called for many of the same reforms being publicly discussed now, such as increased and improved supervisor training, the end of stat-based policing, improved quality of background checks for applicants, support for officers living in the city, and the need for redistricting. In 2018, the FOP became the first police union in the state to approve civilians on officer trial boards.
Police in Prince George’s County, Maryland, said two teens shot and killed a 16-year-old boy in a vacant apartment Thursday night, and then returned to the scene and shot at an officer who was investigating the killing.
The bullet “narrowly missed” the officer, Prince George’s County police said in a statement Friday.
A proposal to remove police officers from schools in Prince George’s County, Maryland, does not seem to have support from the community, according to a survey.
Of the roughly 13,000 people who responded, 82% said that school resource officers are important or very important for maintaining a safe, positive environment in schools.
