Good Luck Colonel

August 20, 2010
Baltimore police commander off to Athens for marathon
The Baltimore Police Department's chief of patrol, Col. John Skinner (left), has been selected to represent Baltimore in the 2010 Athens marathon in Greece. This years race marks the 2,500th anniversary of the Greek Battle of Marathan.
The Oct. 31 race "commemorates the legendary journey of Greek messenger Pheidippides in 490 BC from the Marathon Battlefield to the city of Athens, Greece," according to a statement from the city. Piraeus is the Port of Athens and Baltimore’s Sister City in Greece.
You can follow Colonel Skinner’s journey to Athens on the Baltimore-Piraeus blog at http://johnskinnerbaltimore.blogspot.com/. Upon his return, Colonel Skinner will speak at a school and other organizations about his experience in Greece.
Here is the rest of the statement from Baltimore City Hall:
“During the interview process, we were very impressed with John’s desire to be an example to every day Baltimoreans. He spoke about how this would be his first marathon. The Baltimore-Piraeus Sister City Committee is excited to sponsor a runner in this historic event and link Baltimore and Greece. There are not many 2,500 year old events that are celebrated and still relevant in today's global culture like marathons,” said Baltimore-Piraeus Sister City Committee Chair, Diane Homberg. Skinner was selected from a pool of applicants because of his longtime dedication to public safety and commitment to community service. He is a 17 year veteran of the Baltimore Police Department and has served in a variety of operational and supervisory capacities.
Currently he commands the agency’s Patrol Division and oversees all uniformed men and women of the Police Department. Over the last three years, Skinner has been credited with fostering better relations between police and the community through his dedication to transparency and developing cohesive partnerships with community groups.
“It’s a huge honor for me to represent the city of Baltimore in this historic race,” Skinner said after being selected to compete. His trip takes place from October 27 to November 3.
During the past few months, Skinner has also organized approximately 60 City police officers to take part in the 2010 Baltimore marathon.
“I want to thank the Baltimore-Piraeus Sister City Committee for their commitment to support fostering better relations between Baltimore and Greece,” said Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake. “I know Col. Skinner will represent both the city and the police department well.”
“Colonel Skinner’s ascension through the ranks of the Baltimore Police Department is a testament to his intelligence, dedication and commitment to service,” said Baltimore Police Commissioner Frederick H. Bealefeld. “Most recently, he has embraced competitive running as not only a wellness tool, but also a way to build camaraderie and morale among the people he commands. The men and women of the Baltimore Police Department are very fortunate to have Colonel Skinner represent us and the city in this significant international running challenge.”
While in Greece, Colonel Skinner will have an opportunity to meet the Mayor of Piraeus and shadow a Piraeus, Greece police officer for the day.
About Baltimore Piraeus Sister City Committee:Founded in 1982, the Baltimore-Piraeus Sister City Committee motivates and empowers private citizens, municipal officials and business leaders to build long-term global interactions.
Posted by Peter Hermann

Baltimore Police Officers Respond to Criticism

I'm trying not to get to fired up over this new round of Baltimore city politicians blaming police officers over spikes in crime. But the fact still remains Bealefeld, that officers are over worked, under paid and have two much pressure on them to begin with.

So why don't you grow a pair. Try telling your friend the mayor and the city council to do something substantial like hiring another 150 officers and increasing the pay by 15% across the board. Then maybe the good, experienced officers you have now won't be making a lateral in two years.

And let's combine that with pressure on the prosecutors to stop cutting deals left & right; filing and following through with charges on the parents of minors out after curfew; more lock-up time for these kids involved with gangs; fines & reparations for parents whose children commit these crimes.

Let's try backing up our Police Officers as opposed to blaming them for what the public is guilty of.

Tom Greywolf

Reporting by Adam May BALTIMORE (WJZ) ―

Baltimore police officers fire back, outraged over recent criticism by Police Commissioner Fred Bealefeld.

Will A More Aggressive Approach To Crime Fighting Lead To A Safer Baltimore City?

Baltimore police officers fire back, outraged over recent criticism by Police Commissioner Fred Bealefeld. At issue is how to stop an alarming spike in violence, some aimed at innocent residents.Adam May has more on this growing controversy.A number of officers spoke off-camera Tuesday, critical of leadership at the police department and at City Hall. They say, don't blame them for weekend crimes.Baltimore City's reduction in murders and shootings over the last two years is now threatened by spikes of violence almost every weekend this summer. One reason, according to Bealefeld, is the performance of some patrol officers."We gotta make sure everybody is operating with the same degree of urgency and I'm just not convinced of that right now," Bealefeld said."Morale is at a tough point right now," said Bob Cherry, Fraternal Order of Police.The Baltimore Police Union is firing back. They recently put up a billboard critical of city leaders and are claiming that officers are underpaid and overworked."You can beat down these officers so much because you can only expect that many hours or that many arrests and efforts before you say enough is enough," Cherry said.Last weekend alone, three people were killed and 13 hurt in 10 separate shootings. And it's not all drug violence. Teenage gang members are suspected in a string of beatings and robberies in Fells Point."We can change how this community is acting right now. We can change the results of so much crime happening. The kids don't have a sense of a partnership, ownership, someone to talk to. We have to change that," said Larry Bell.Bell, who runs a program for at-risk youth, believes government leaders are missing the big picture."With the decrease of the PALS programs and the closing of parks, pools and rec centers, this is a high priority right now because these young people are really crying out for help right now and they need as much as they can get," Bell said.The police union agrees."We expect more from the current mayor and commissioner in terms of making sure it's not just the police you blame, it's everyone else," Cherry said.The police department has more than 100 vacancies right now. Most officers who quit the department just leave for higher paying jobs in other jurisdictions.The commissioner plans to add more foot patrols, improve gang intelligence and use more video surveillance to crack down on the violence.

Great Instincts Demonstrated By Anne Arundal County Officer!

Arundel Digest
Published 07/15/09

Officer shoots unruly husband in home

ARNOLD - A county police officer shot and wounded a man Sunday night after he allegedly threatened to strike another officer with a chair.
It was the fourth time this year officers have fired their weapons in the line of duty.
On Sunday, two officers arrived about 9 p.m. at a home in the 1000 block of Deep Creek Avenue at the request of Anne Arundel Medical Center. The man's wife left the emergency room without being treated for unspecified injuries earlier in the day.
The woman's husband told officer to leave. They tried to subdue the 51-year-old man with pepper spray and a Taser.
He then picked up a chair and raised it toward one of the officers, prompting Officer Dwayne Raiford, a four-year veteran, to shoot the man once, police said.
Michael Anthony Housley was taken to the Maryland Shock Trauma Center in Baltimore with serious but not life-threatening injuries. Both officers were treated at AAMC for minor injuries.
Housley was charged with second-degree assault, failing to obey a lawful order and resisting arrest.
Since April, police have shot and killed an armed man in a hostage situation in Hanover, wounded a 16-year-old boy who repeatedly backed an SUV into an officer's car near Maryland City and killed an man who pointed a rifle at police during a standoff.

BOUNTY HUNTED II - Police make 8th arrest in Bounty Hunters murder case

Another Excellent Job By Baltimore Homicide!


By Stephen Janis

Baltimore Police on Monday night arrested the eighth suspect in connection with the December 2008 slaying of a member of the powerful Bounty Hunters gang.

Dominique Boone, 18, was arrested near his home on the 1200 block of Northview Drive in northeast Baltimore and charged with first-degree murder. Police allege Boone was one of three members of the gang who beat Petro Taylor unconscious in room 312 of the Red Carpet Inn at 5810 Reisterstown Rd.

The arrest of Boone marks the end of an extensive investigation of the brutal slaying of Taylor, 20, who was allegedly lured to the motel room by other members of the Bounty Hunters – a powerful city gang with ties to the Bloods – after he failed to place money into a commissary account for another gang member incarcerated in Baltimore County.

Police allege that after the beating, the unconscious Taylor was placed in the trunk of a car and driven to a secluded area of Leakin Park, where he was stabbed more than 30 times, then doused with gasoline and set on fire.

The Medical Examiner’s office determined Taylor was alive when he was set on fire; leaves were found in his throat.

Last week police arrested Lawrence Walker, and charged him with first-degree murder.

Prior to Walker’s arrest, police charged Grechauna Rogers 16, Tanisha Lawson, 18, and Sierra Pyle, 19, for their alleged roles in Taylor's death. Police also charged Anthony Williams, Terrell Greg, and Devin Melton, an 18-year-old Edmondson High School student. All the suspects have been charged with first-degree murder.

sjanis@investigativevoice.com

Another Great Idea!

Considering All the water based activities in Maryland, This is a good Idea.

Police recruits learning swimming, rescue skills

By LISA BEISEL, Staff Writer

Published 03/23/09

Courtesy photo County police recruits need to learn water-rescue techniques because of the vast network of waterways in the area. Brian Arnold helps pretend victim Casey Hall get to the poolside safely.

They stood in two straight lines by the side of the pool. Then, one by one, they jumped in and tried to remember the instructor's directions.

But these students at the Arundel Olympic Swim Center on Riva Road weren't guppies, minnows or sharks. They were 27 police recruits training with the county Police Department.

In addition to other training, police recruits go through a 10-week course in water safety and rescue. Each Wednesday they spend about 2 1/2 hours in the Annapolis pool.

Sgt. Todd Powell, one of the supervisors at the training academy, said the swimming instruction has been part of recruit training for the past 18 years.

The county has 540 miles of tidal shoreline, more than most counties in the entire country, Powell said.

"At some point in their career, almost every officer has some involvement" with the water, he explained, whether bytaking part in a rescue or while in pursuit of someone who has jumped into a river or creek in an attempt to evade arrest.

It's important to get the recruits comfortable in the water and with their own swimming abilities, he said.

Last week, the students, four of whom are training to join the Bowie Police Department, practiced different towing techniques. On one side of the pool a "victim" jumped in, and a recruit rescuer jumped in on the other side. The rescuer swam the width of the pool, got the victim and guided him or her back to safety.

By the end of one rotation, the rescuers were clearly tired from swimming with the extra weight. Instructors would yell tips and advice to them as they completed their laps.

Standing by the side of the pool, Carl Doby cheered some recruits on and practiced techniques with others.

Doby, a recruit from Washington, D.C., is an experienced swimmer. He has been swimming since he was 7 and has coached others.

For him, the swimming lessons are fun; he enjoys learning the new techniques, and he likes helping the other recruits when he can.

"Everyone helps everyone. We're one family here, we're one team," he said.

While the county Fire Department handles most water-rescue calls, the police are often the first to get to the scene. When time is of the essence, officers must act fast.

"A lot of times (the officers) don't have the time to wait for the Fire Department to get there," Powell said. "They need to take some kind of action."

The Maryland Training Commission requires that officers know some water rescue techniques, including those for swift-moving water rescues and ones involving ice. But the county training goes above and beyond those requirements, Powell said.

Besides learning basic swimming skills and towing techniques, recruits also learn how to use flotation devices, and how to safely use watercraft such as canoes and rowboats.

"It helps them help themselves, and potentially help someone else," Powell said.

But "there's only so much we can teach, because every situation is different and dynamic," Powell said.

Getting recruits to be confident in the water is one of the most important things, because it gets them over any initial fear they may have.

The future officers come into the water training with varying levels of experience. Some are marginal swimmers.

"Some of them are very scared in the beginning," he said.

For Erick Gonzalez, swimming was a foreign concept. Before he hit the pool with his classmates two weeks ago, it had been years since he'd dipped a toe in the water.

"It's new. I've never had formal swimming lessons before," the 23-year-old Lanham resident said. He dreaded the weekly classes in the beginning, but now feels a bit more comfortable in the water.

"You never know when you actually might need it," he said, noting that water rescue techniques could come in handy at home or on the job.

How Stupid Do You Have To Be!?

This guy has got to be the dumbest yet. Did he honestly think that he wouldn't get caught. Kudos to the Montgomery County officer who caught this moron.

Man Held In Slippery Roadway SabotagePaint, Oil Linked To Rockville Crashes
By Aaron C. DavisWashington Post Staff WriterSunday, March 15, 2009

Be careful driving toward the Maryland State Police barracks in Rockville. If the radar gun doesn't get you, the oil slick might.
State police said yesterday that a Rockville man's apparent vendetta against law enforcement might have caused several accidents in Montgomery County, including two involving police cruisers. An officer spotted the man Friday -- for the second time -- dumping oil on a hairpin highway exit ramp off Interstate 270, less than a mile from the barracks, police said.
In recent months, accidents have followed sudden appearances of oil and paint on the loop-shaped offramp from northbound I-270 toward westbound Montrose Road, police said. The ramp leads to the state police barracks, a county police station and the county's jail.
State police said they suspect that behind it all was Jonathan Crane, 34, a Rockville information technology consultant and former mechanic who found himself on the receiving end of a series of traffic tickets and a drunken driving charge last year.
"This, well, it's strange," said Lt. Clifford Hughes, commander of the Rockville state police barracks. "He's way above retaliation."
In October, after Crane had been ticketed six times in the preceding six months, he was charged with spreading oil on the ramp -- the exact spot where he received a $130 ticket in August for failing to control his speed.
At about 12:40 a.m. Friday, he was walking along the ramp with a container of chain oil when a Montgomery County officer drove by.
According to state police, the officer found a second container of chain oil farther down the ramp. Officers found Crane's 1989 Mercedes parked in the bushes. On the bumper, they said, was a splash of green paint that resembled a concrete sealer recently found on the ramp.
Samples were sent to the state police forensics lab, and Crane was charged with assault, reckless endangerment and dumping a hazardous substance on a highway.
Yesterday, he remained in the county jail awaiting a bond hearing tomorrow.
Crane's attorney, David Grover, declined to comment on the latest round of charges, saying he had not spoken with his client. Grover described Crane as a "very intelligent person." Of the repeat charge of dumping oil on a highway, Grover said, "it's different."
Crane, who owns a $400,000 condominium in the 600 block of Ivy League Lane, accepted a deal last month to settle charges stemming from the Oct. 1 incident. He pleaded guilty to reckless endangerment and was placed on probation for two years. Prosecutors dropped charges of dumping a hazardous material that could endanger others and maliciously destroying property.
According to state police, the dumping contributed to several accidents, one of which involved a Montgomery police cruiser.
More than a month after that crash, a state police cruiser crashed in the same spot, and investigators found an oily substance on the road, Hughes said. After that incident, state police sent a memo to all law enforcement agencies in the area warning them that oil had been appearing on the ramp, he said.
Crane's October arrest on the ramp came less than a month after he was charged with driving while impaired and driving under the influence after a single-vehicle accident early Sept. 6. He was acquitted at trial.
Crane was fined $100 in April for having an expired registration; $90 in May for failing to obey a traffic control device; and $130 on Aug. 29 for failing to control vehicle speed to avoid a collision on the westbound Montrose exit ramp.
"Obviously, he likes that ramp," Hughes said.
Staff researcher Magda Jean-Louis contributed to this report.

Thanks for Finally saying it Peter Hermann!

Cops in Baltimore having been buying their supplies for years. Supplies that should have been paid for by the city. It's only gotten worse since Sheila Dixon became Mayor.

Hats Off to All of you Dedicated BCPD Officers going that extra mile,

Thank You!

www.baltimoresun.com/news/local/balmd.hermann12dec12,0,419700.columnbaltimoresun.com

To get job done, police dig into their own pockets

Peter Hermann - Baltimore Crime Beat

December 12, 2008

The cops got a 3 percent raise.The mayor got a 2 1/2 percent raise.Seems fair.I don't mind an extra $3,700 in Sheila Dixon's pocket, or the raises for the comptroller, the City Council president and other lawmakers. And I won't even discuss how they hid their vote using arcane job classification codes.

What is astounding is that they gave themselves raises while ordering millions of dollars in budget cuts from the Police Department, including slashing overtime, even as a spate of killings made November the deadliest month of the year. Yesterday, in a public relations epiphany, and only after her slightly more astute colleagues had already done so, the mayor jumped on the bandwagon and agreed to donate her raise to charity.

As Dixon tries to recover from her act of political malpractice, city police officers in the robbery unit are digging into their own pockets to pay for an Internet site to showcase suspects wanted in holdups. The cops spend $115 a year to license the site and put up video clips from surveillance cameras to help track down armed thugs and close some of the roughly 3,500 armed robberies in the city each year.And that's just the beginning.Some detectives bring their own color computer printers to work so they can have mug shots for lineups. Many use their own laptops and cell phones.

The department provides uniforms, but officers have to clean them. And simply throwing them into the washing machine won't do unless you want to stand out at inspection."Try to wash your pants and they end up looking really nasty," said Officer Nicole Monroe, a police spokeswoman who did her time on the street. "For some reason, the stripe that goes down the side shrinks but the pants don't. So they don't hang right and they start to fade and they don't have that sharp look to them. It's best that you send them to the dry cleaner."

And writing reports in a car is nearly impossible without a clipboard, another item that isn't standard issue."It's unprofessional of me to hand you something that's all crumpled up," said Monroe, who read off a list of items she bought from Staples, including index-card-size spiral notebooks, when she was in patrol.

You can argue that all these items are not absolutely necessary and that tax dollars for clipboards can be better spent elsewhere. Workers at nearly every job spend their own money on things to make their days a little easier and a little more comfortable, be it a favorite pen or a spiffy briefcase. Teachers routinely buy supplies that their cash-strapped schools can't afford.

Sam Walters, a retired officer who runs the Cop Shop, a police supply store in Baltimore, said most extras that officers buy are items that "no agency is going to fund" and that his customers understand the city has no money to buy extra pairs of pants and shoes.

Yes, the mayor is right when, in initially defending her raise, said she works hard, supports a family, has a daughter in college and sacrifices a lot for this city. But so have other civil servants, such as the cops who care enough to buy their own clipboards to make their reports presentable, pay for their own dry cleaning so their pants don't wrinkle, and fund their own Web site so armed robbers can be caught.

Copyright © 2008, The Baltimore Sun

BEST COMISSIONER IN THE HISTORY OF THE BALTIMORE POLICE DEPT.

Edward Norris