City On Fire - The Curfew SNAFU

In the latest episode of "Who's On First", we're now learning that charges will be dropped against those who were arrested for violating Baltimore's curfew*. The reason given by the deputy city public defender is that Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake overstepped her authority by issuing the 10 pm curfew. Apparently, only the Governor could have issued the curfew. Another reason given for the dropped charges is that there is no corresponding criminal code to enter in the computer system.

Wouldn't you think that the Mayor would know the limitations of her authority? If she was unsure, perhaps she should have checked before issuing what now appears to be an unlawful curfew? And how is there not a "code" in the system for curfew violations? While the Mayor is still trying shake the egg off of her face after giving the protesters "space to destroy", this latest snafu is certainly not going to do a whole lot to rebuild her image.

So, after shutting the city down early for nearly a week, it now seems like it was all done in vain. Countless dollars were lost as businesses were forced to close up early. And various other events were cancelled and/or postponed. Even the Orioles were forced to play a home game in front of an empty Camden Yards while playing another "home" series in Florida. Think about the lost revenue there!

Aside form the lost money, we can't ignore the wasted resources that were involved in enforcing the curfew. Cops were once again set up to fail. They were the ones who were put on the front lines to enforce the curfew. Not only was it dangerous but, with the help of the news media, the cops were actually made to look like the aggressors. The already fragile reputation of Baltimore City Police Department is, yet again, recklessly compromised by impulsive and incompetent decision-making. As a result, the anti-police crowd puts another feather in their hat while the morale of the BCPD continues to sink lower than whale shit.

Upon dropping the charges against the curfew violators, the Baltimore City's State's Attorney's Office explained that the arrests were "punishment enough"**. In my opinion, this gives the impression of trying to coddle the protesters. There is already a major lack of respect for cops in the Baltimore City. This latest development will only serve to embolden this mindset. The "leadership" of Baltimore appears to have drawn a line in the sand and the cops are standing on the other side wondering what the hell is happening.......

kw

* http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/politics/bs-md-ci-mayor-curfew-authority-20150511-story.html

** http://baltimore.cbslocal.com/2015/05/11/baltimore-mayors-curfew-authority-challenged-in-court-case/