I Regret Moving To Baltimore!!!!!!!! (city hall, school, living in)

[Bmorelater]

Originally Posted by lisajoy

I regret moving to Baltimore City everyday. BEWARE!!!! Future Residents. This city is hardcore. I live in Parkville City side. Upon first glance a quiet neighborhood with old homes and LARGE yards. hA Ha . I am not sure what is worst the crime or the treatment of the law abiding citizen.

First we had a drive by shooting. My husband heard the shots and ran out to a shot 16 year old girl. Shot three times with a sawed off shotgun by three hoods in a stolen car. He held her until the police got here, where he was dragged not ASKED but DRAGGED from behind away while the girl screamed in pain. Next the upset father arrived and the police threatened to put him in jail. Next day we found shot gun casings at the scene and called the police where they asked" Why were you looking for evidence. WOW

TOnight we noticed our sons car was missing the tags. The police didn't believe us. Questioned why other tags were not taken, why screws were still in THEY WERE NOT! How we could not have noticed before today!! Told my husband when he asked for officers badge number he was going to be arrested. After having a supervisor come to the scene we were told one tag is lost, two tags gone means a theft and they don't like to report stolen crime. YOu know cooking the books is BIG in Baltimore! THATS WHAT THE OFFICER SAID.

Funny my husband works on HBO'S the WIRE and many nights the drug dealers are selling in plain site of the police officers that guard the crew. NO action taken no arrests or even moved on. But we law abiding citizens are treated like criminals for reporting a crime. AND that is why there is NO HOPE for this city.

Bad schools , unsafe streets, horrible policies. I hate this place. We have 5 more years before we can leave and I am counting the minutes.

On a recent trip to Ohio I was asked by a stranger why do you live there. Good Question. Move anywhere in Maryland spend the extra money because there is no comparison in quality of life in the burbs compared to the City. My house is valued at 300,000 dollars and I feel like I live in the ghetto.

BEWARE ALL POTENTIAL CITIZENS and please PRAY for our safety until we leave.

My heart goes out to you and the victims family. That used to be a really nice neighborhood when I was a teenager...

It's even spread to Canton. Anyone remember that poor girl that got abducted by some guys that carjacked her? They forced her to withdraw money from a bunch of ATM's and I'll leave it there what happened in the end, because it's pretty horrid. End result is the guys got a couple of years in jail.

How about the guy in Rosedale that witnessed a murder on Fayette Street? He was supposed to go to court this summer and testify. A couple of people showed up at his house and shot him in the head. He was selling a car and they set him up by pretending to be a potential buyer. Turns out the kid that did it was being initiated into the same gang that he was to testify against.

I know his cousin and went to high school with her.

Then there's the murderers they had to set free because jessamie didn't get them to court in time. This city is rotten from top to bottom.

Nowhere is safe near this city. I don't care how safe you think you are, you aren't; watch your back. Yea, there's some great neighborhoods here like Canton and Federal Hill, the criminals call them "Low hanging fruit", and unless it's a murder or drug bust, the police don't want to be bothered. They are busy handling one of the top murder rates in the country and are understaffed to boot. You can't blame them because they are doing the best they can with what they have to work with. The elected officials love to blame them for everything.

Chances are they forgot to pick up those shell casings because homicide had another murder they had to rush to.

Just remember, NEVER see anything. If you hear gunshots, duck and call the police. Don't look at the license plate or the people doing the shooting. The less you know the better. It stinks but nobody will protect you if you are a witness in a trial. You are a dead person walking. You didn't see nuthin'.

Hate to say it, but criminals own this city.

-B

[Bmorelater]

Originally Posted by gcbrowning

Hello,

My name is Geoff Browning and I am a college student in Baltimore. I read your post about your husband's "badge number" experience. On Saturday the 15th, a close friend and I were assaulted by a BCPD police officer after requesting his badge number. We were subsequently detained for 8 hours without charge, formal arrest, mirandization, or opportunity to appear before a commissioner. As a result, I missed a VERY important school event, and my college class presidency, judicial status, good standing, and credibility are now in jeopardy.

There are MANY more appalling circumstances to this situation, and five EXTREMELY credible eye witnesses. Seeing as I have great interest at stake, I am taking the issue to the mayor, the Baltimore DA, police commissioner, city council, applicable neighborhood associations, and possibly even the Baltimore Sun's editorial staff. Sheila Dixon promises to fight crime, and if our situations aren't at least addressed, this could be a PR fiasco for her.

I am looking for others who understand my grievance. Even if you don't want to play a part in my "campaign" here, PLEASE CALL ME to discuss what happened in your case. I would love to credibly know that my case isn't one of a kind.

I have sent you my cell number in a private message on this board. My e-mail is gcbrowning@loyola.edu . PLEASE CALL!!!

- Geoff

Why'd you request his badge number?

[jonjj]

There is an old expression that really fits Baltimore to a tee. If you play with fire, you are going to get burned. I have lived in the city for over 20 years now and I have never had a problem. My home was never broken into (knock on wood), my car has never had a problem, and I personally have never had a problem. But, I don't go walking around after 10 or so-I take a cab when I need to get home especially if I have had a couple of drinks. I don't hang with drug users and I don't associate with the drug folks and there are a lot of them. I understand that every now and then, an innocent is a victim to crime but I don't think leaving Baltimore will erase my chances of that. It can happen anywhere at any time. Here is an example: I had to go to a major city for business in September. I avoided the city because of its reputation (Detroit). I was in the suburbs at around 900PM filling up my car and a guy came over and pulled out a knife and asked for my money. Luckily, I had my hand on the gas hose and I took it out of the tank and started soaking him up. And then others saw what was happening and he ran away. This happened in SUBURBIA folks---that supposedly safe place that everyone runs to. Here in Baltimore, the only violent thing I ever saw were some kids who smashed a door into a woman coming out of a store around 8 at night. Guess where??? White March at the old Hechts Store. So, to me--its all fate. And with that, I will stay right in Baltimore where I know I am safe..... ( I Hope!!!)

[Streetchie]

LisaJoy, Really sorry to hear about this. I lived in Baltimore for a number of years and fell right into the kind of denial trap that you talk about. "Violent crime only happens in other neighborhoods (3 blocks away), just don't leave anything in your car and you won't have a problem, they got robbed because they were stupid to leave that 3rd floor window open, the drug dealers don't bother me" This kind of crime rationalization is just not healthy and that's why I finally left. I was tired of having to walk around the city with a weapon in order to feel safe. And to those who say that major violent crime doesn't occur in ALL Baltimore neighborhoods, stop burying your heads in the sand. ALL areas of Baltimore including Fed Hill and Canton saw their share of muggings and murders last year and will continue to in the future. ALL neighborhoods.......Scary!

[barante]

Streetchie -- Bullcrap. If the city was that unsafe, there would be nobody left. In fact, the city has stemmed its population losses.

[Streetchie]

So, you're saying that Baltimore is safe then? Wow, the most raging Baltimore boosters usually won't even say that. How much violent crime does a city need to have before you would call it unsafe? 300+ murders a year is enough for me.

[barante]

What I am saying is that some relativity and perspective would be helpful. No one has denied that all urban centers have problems. Lots of academic books and articles are published about this topic each year.
When you claim that all Baltimore neighborhoods are unsafe, that puts all of your judgments and mindset in question because that's not a factual statement. If you don't want to live in Baltimore, good riddance. But don't make sweeping generalizations that are patently untrue.

[Streetchie]

Barante, Please enlighten me then. What are the "safe" B'more neighborhoods?

[barante]

RTFF. We have discussed this ad finitum. You just don't want to recognize facts.

[Streetchie]

Well, the facts ARE that I like Baltimore and enjoyed a lot of my time there, still have many friends there. But I wouldn't call it a safe city, at all.