Dear Mayor Rawlings-Blake and Interim Commissioner Davis:
Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake
City of Baltimore
250 City Hall
Baltimore, MD 21202
Interim Commissioner Kevin Davis
Baltimore City Police Department
242 W. Baltimore Street
Baltimore, MD 21211
Dear Mayor Rawlings-Blake and Interim Commissioner Davis:
We are writing on behalf of grassroots organizations and community members in the city of Baltimore. We are concerned about the safety of protesters and our community and want to reach agreements with you on how law enforcement and public officials will treat the community as we call for Justice in the wake of the Freddie Gray tragedy and seek to hold elected/appointed officials accountable for their actions. Our city is grieving; our community is hurting. The killing of Freddie Gray was part of a continuum of police harassment and violence but has underscored the various inequities our communities have experienced for decades in Baltimore. Our community is standing up to be heard and to call for sweeping change. In the midst of this, we must ensure that we are all safe and that the rights of protesters are protected as well.
In the past year, we have watched as cities across the country have called upon multiple police departments for “Mutual Aid,” to deal with protests in response to police violence, invariably creating extensive safety problems and a loss of accountability. As police from other jurisdictions have converged upon Baltimore and a State of Emergency has been issued leading to the deployment of the National Guard replete with tanks and rifles, we are concerned about an escalation of tensions, increased arrests and physical danger to protesters. We need calm - not escalation. We need to protect life over property. We need to ensure that non-violent protest is permitted. To achieve this, we need agreements and accountability. Residents need to know who is making decisions and law enforcement must have one central command. Officers must also be individually accountable. During the pre-trial hearings, for example, we noticed officers without badges and name tags, undercover cops acting as protesters carrying firearms, and wrongful arrests - all practices that must be halted. We must establish accountability immediately. Without it, the already hostile relationship between citizens and police will continue to deteriorate.
"Several weeks ago Commissioner Kevin Davis publicly stated his policy on protest in Baltimore. He said on Aug. 30 2015 that he would treat "protest like protest and a riot like a riot." This statement sounds like to many activists to be a veiled threat to protest activity in Baltimore. Furthermore, during the pre-trials Commissioner Kevin Davis and the BPD blocked sidewalks, forcing protesters and supporters into the street and thereby creating the apparatus for citizens to be arrested under the charge of impeding traffic. It is clear that since Kevin Davis took office as interim Police Commissioner there has been a heightened aggression from Law Enforcement towards protesters. Now the Mayor has nominated Kevin Davis to carry the full responsibilities as Commissioner. This is most troubling to community organizations and members as we exercise our First Amendment right to hold elected and appointed officials accountable for their actions. It is for this reason that we demand that interim-Commissioner Kevin Davis adhere to the following demands in the police department's handling of protest in Baltimore."
In order to maintain community safety, the city must do the following:
1. The first priority must be preservation of human life. The protection of property is always secondary to the protection of human life.
2. Law enforcement must have one central command. Has to be made clear to the public
3. Police will wear badges and name tags at all times. They will also wear only the attire minimally required for their safety. Specialized riot gear will be avoided except as a last resort.
4. Crowd control equipment such as armored vehicles, rubber bullets, and rifles will not be used. Tear gas may only be used as a last resort to the protection of human life.
5. Police or other government authorities will not interfere with the free flow of information through tactics such as limiting cell or internet access, interception of cell or other mobile conversations or unwarranted wiretaps.
6. Every attempt will be made to pinpoint arrests so that only individual lawbreakers will be arrested. Mass arrests will not be used. As it is in the current Baltimore arrest orders, arrest must always be a last resort.
7. Safe houses shall be considered sacred ground and only entered by police when called upon or if extremely necessary. We will provide a list of places we would like to serve as safe houses. Only entrance to the safe house will be with a warrant, No sealed warrant and no no-knock warrant.
8. Media and Legal Observers shall not be considered participants in protests and shall be allowed to do their jobs freely.
9. Every attempt will be made to provide alternate routes or other means for non-involved persons to get to places of employment and meet other transportation necessities. Buffer zone (two block buffer zone)
10. Strategically, police commanders will allow protests to take and occupy larger and more disruptive spaces than would normally be tolerated, and will allow occupation of those spaces for longer periods of time than would normally be tolerated in the interest of constitutional rights.
11. Clear standards of professionalism and sound community friendly-policing will be maintained and adhered to at all times.
12. Police will be instructed to be more tolerant of minor law breaking (such as thrown water bottles) when deciding whether to escalate the use of force.
13. Police rank and file will be instructed to provide every latitude to allow for free assembly and expression, treating protesters as citizens and not “enemy combatants.”
14. Excessive force and other forms of police misconduct will not be tolerated.
15. Intimidation and harassment of protesters will not be tolerated. This includes pretextual pedestrian or traffic stops, contacting of employers or family members, pre-emptive arrests or detention of “leaders,” publishing of private information and any other means of intimidation and harassment.
16. Bond for arrestees will not be set above the levels which would be considered average over the last two years, and arrestees will not be held for periods longer than average lengths of time. Medical care will be liberally made available. Attorneys will be able to travel to and meet with clients without impediments.
17. Channels of communication will be established between community liaison and police liaisons who is a direct representative if the command chain so that situations can be de-escalated if necessary.
18. Police will provide to the public information that makes clear the chain of command, who is making what decisions and the processes for deciding when the police response will be escalated.
19. Every attempt should be made to communicate with protesters to reach “common sense” agreements based on these protocols, both ahead of time and at the scene of protests.
Due to the importance and urgency of these matters, and anticipated protests within the week, your immediate response to these concerns is requested. We may be reached through Tre Murphy (410)637-9795, [email protected].
Baltimore Algebra Project
Leaders of a Beautiful Struggle
