by A.F. James MacArthur, Managing Editor, with T.R. Mencken Editor In Chief(EARLY DRAFT -- be part of the process, email suggestions or corrections, or use the comments link below article)
At 17, A.F. James MacArthur enlisted in the U.S. Marines. A qualified expert rifleman able to drop human sized targets 1000 yards out!
NOTE: Ordinarily I would never preface any piece with a disclaimer.
Anthony Guglielmi's job is to speak for the department, to guide and advise the commissioner and to set his public agenda. But more than that, Guglielmi has a responsibility to the public to be honest, open, up front and to warn his boss when policies contradict the mayor's mission to restore trust in the department. If not, then Mayor Sheila Dixon needs to step in and order her commissioner to reverse a policy that flies in the face of what she's trying to accomplish. You can't ask the unarmed citizens of the city to stand up to criminals when the armed protectors want to hide.
A HISTORY OF FAILED POLICING
Baltimore is a tough city, whose streets are ruled by tough thugs. Peter Hermann's article quoted above lays it out and sums it up better than any I've seen. Even going into the thousands of false arrests made by Baltimore Police over the years. Excellent piece, but I need to add. The Baltimore Police made over 700,000 arrests, and it was under Martin O'Malley as Mayor. According to Stephen Janis, formerly of The Baltimore Examiner, now the head man at Investigative Voice, Baltimore had the highest rate of arrests of any American city. And YES, this was from the directions and orders of Martin O'Malley. No wonder no one trusts the police.
MOST MURDERS IN BALTIMORE ARE NEVER SOLVED
This would have been great if there was a noticeable benefit to the public. Sadly, crime in Baltimore continued to escalate out of control. The only true result of this failed policy is a public that has even more distrust of the police than ever before. This has led to the "Stop Snitching" culture and is responsible for the remarkably low and dismal closure rate the Baltimore police have with murders.
At this point, the only logical thing to happen next is for Mayor Sheila Dixon to firmly order the Baltimore Police Department to immediately cease and desist this futile policy. The policy came out of no where. So suddenly did it emerge that the City Council had to hold a hearing with the Police Commissioner Bealefeld in order to learn of it. This happened weeks after the policy was already introduced. No tell me, what kind of ass backwards affair is this.
If it came about suddenly, it should be ended suddenly.
Mayor Dixon, please, for the sake of justice and liberty, of abiding by the law, and for the people of Baltimore, END THIS UNNEEDED POLICY NOW! IT IS BAD FOR BALTIMORE.
