31–40 of 222 posts
The fallout from the gun task force scandal has been substantial. Baltimore state’s attorney has dropped at least 125 criminal cases related to the task force and continues to investigate others. The public defender’s office estimates that the number of tainted cases is likely closer to 3,000.
really just incredible. how do you reform something so broken? a clean sweep? bring in the feds?
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I've tried rolling that over, some smaller corrupt police departments the town will close the department and lay everyone off and contract with the county sheriffs or a neighboring city.
In the 19th century, the state of New York had to do something like that with New York City. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_York_City_Police_riot
The fallout from the gun task force scandal has been substantial. Baltimore state’s attorney has dropped at least 125 criminal cases related to the task force and continues to investigate others. The public defender’s office estimates that the number of tainted cases is likely closer to 3,000.
really just incredible. how do you reform something so broken? a clean sweep? bring in the feds?
The population distribution of Baltimore is based on a practice of redlining, where banks, real estate owners, and others conspired to literally confine black people to certain areas and restrict access to services. Though the original practice is now abolished, neighborhood boundaries and lack of access have not changed, and there are new forms of redlining (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Redlining#Current_issues). This is one of the many reasons that there continues to be a quasi-segregation, endemic racism, and poverty in the city.
To me, the answer is quite clear: the government needs to break up the city. They need to force banks to give loans to people to provide businesses and services to African Americans. They need to break up neighborhoods so that there is a more even distribution of rich, middle class and poor, and less ethnic separation (Sandtown-Winchester, the neighborhood Freddie Gray was from, is 99% black). They need to provide better access to transportation throughout the city so people can get to jobs, schools, and social services without additional incumbents. They need to redirect the giant tax breaks going to local giants like Under Armor and use it to fund school lunches, increased teaching facilities/teachers, job education programs, and after school activities. There's a lot of shit that needs to be done to reduce the level of poverty, drugs, and violent crime.
Once that is done, and with increased wages, hopefully the police won't feel the need to take advantage of a broken society and vulnerable population.
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There is a vast gulf between 'plainclothes detectives' and 'secret police'.
Ummm...I don't know if 'vast' is what I would use there, but there's a difference.
Plainclothes detectives are simply police that are not in uniform ('undercover'), they are still part of the regular police force.
Hard to believe actions like that were taking place in the U.S. Sounds like something straight out of a Narcos episode.
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Yes it basically is based on true stories. I live in Baltimore, I should say just lived, because I just moved out. The city is every bit as corrupt, dangerous, and malicious as it's made out to be. Don't want anything further to do with this city. And the folks here were delirious thinking that Amazon was going to set up HQ2.
I've always liked Baltimore, but I never lived there. I used to visit every year when I lived up North, but since moving to Richmond, I haven't been up at all. I kind of miss the weird grittiness it has.
So I guess "The Wire" was basically a documentary?
Yes it basically is based on true stories. I live in Baltimore, I should say just lived, because I just moved out. The city is every bit as corrupt, dangerous, and malicious as it's made out to be. Don't want anything further to do with this city. And the folks here were delirious thinking that Amazon was going to set up HQ2.
Baltimore police were stealing drugs from Baltimore dealers and selling the stolen drugs to dealers in Philadelphia. Hard to believe actions like that were taking place in the U.S. Sounds like something straight out of a Narcos episode.
0: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rampart_scandal 1: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allen_v._City_of_Oakland
Why is there not more transparency? It makes zero sense. What is going to stop something like this occuring again? Officers going to jail?
Police unions are the only strong unions left in the country. The conservatives will come for them at some point too...until then you have places like Philly that, at least used to, have complaints against police be heard by the union before they are passed on to internal affairs. Bmore takes the cake, though...just wtf all over and back again.
Baltimore police were stealing drugs from Baltimore dealers and selling the stolen drugs to dealers in Philadelphia. Hard to believe actions like that were taking place in the U.S. Sounds like something straight out of a Narcos episode.