Went to Baltimore City last night

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So I went up to MD last night to play some golf at Bulle Rock with my father and g/f's dad. Had a great time, weather was awesome.

Later on, we met up with my cousin and his wife, we all were going to head out for her birthday. They wanted to go to Power Plant Live for drinking and music, ok I'll go.

As we are pulling up to Power Plant (if you have never been, it is basically a collection of bars with a court yard where the young crowd goes to hang out. typically a good few cops out there), there are about 8 cops cars with the lights on responding to something, so already i am thinking "great."

So we go to park in the parking garage and my g/f starts figiting around with stuff in the car after we park. Putting away her GPS, moving things around, wanting me to kiss her, ect. I am getting stressed and want her to hurry the hell up because the last thing I want to be is in a car, in a parking deck in one of the deadliest cities in America. So after we get out of the car and walk briskly to the other people for the elevator ride down I calm her down and explain to her the safety worries and she understands.

We sit in a loud bar for 2 hours where you can't hear other people talk. Fun!

As we are leaving, we see the normal drunking 20 somethings stumbling around. I have her get out her car keys, money for the parking, and parking ticket before we get out of the secured area so she isn't digging for it when we get into the parking deck. We briskly walk to the parking deck which is a block away. Pass two bums accosting people for money and as we pass to get into the parking deck we walk pass three young guys wearing "thuggish" attire and the radar goes off that it just isn't right. So I keep a watchful eye and pay the machine for our parking.

Get in the elevator and make it back to our car. get in, back out and am out.

As we are pulling away from the Power Plant Live area. I hear a gunshot.

I hate Baltimore and being at the mercy of street trash that preys upon the young and drunk.

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It'd be interesting to see if there were any news or police reports about the incident. Is it possible to see if there were any "shots fired" calls made at that time?

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For the longest time now, I've told family and friends if they make plans to go into Maryland, and especialy DC, they should not expect me to attend. I flat out refuse to pay any money for recreation and entertainment to a city/state or any business within that will seek to disarm me.

Over the years both MD and DC have lost thousands of dollars of business revenue to my not frequenting their business.

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Neplusultra wrote:

It'd be interesting to see if there were any news or police reports about the incident. Is it possible to see if there were any "shots fired" calls made at that time?

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Knowing how stats were manipulated in MD to lower their murder rate, I wouldn't trust the police to file the reports even if there was.

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ChinChin wrote:

For the longest time now, I've told family and friends if they make plans to go into Maryland, and especialy DC, they should not expect me to attend. I flat out refuse to pay any money for recreation and entertainment to a city/state or any business within that will seek to disarm me.

Over the years both MD and DC have lost thousands of dollars of business revenue to my not frequenting their business.

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I am starting to feel that way about Baltimore. My family owns a farm up in Harford County where it is pretty safe. I love going and visiting, but I hate the fact I am at the mercy of evil. Even in DC I will only go to the region around the capital and white house due to the presence of armed gentleman. I won't wonder outside of that region for anything.

MD is such a dump. Sad it is controlled by the city and 2 counties.

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I used to live in Baltimore City and suburbs as a college student in the 1970's and early 80's. Survived all manner of crime:

Two home invasion burglaries. One left quietly with a pillow case full of loot when a roommate got up and used the bathroom. The second one woke me up one night and refused to leave until I told him I had a shotgun. Police never caught up with either.

Armed robbery attempt at knifepoint. Guy with the knife wanted money, told him I had spent my last dime drying my clothes in the laundramat. Bantered with him a little bit hoping to defuse the situation. He finally said, "You're pretty cool for a white guy", put the knife away and walked me to the laundromat, "so nobody else will #$*& with you..." Assailant to bodyguard. Not sure I believe it myself. Police couldn't do much with my "young black man with a knife" description.

Elderly neighbor was beaten and robbed in the courtyard under my first floor window. I wasn't home.

In nearby Pikesville, a cold burglary one Thursday afternoon ended with police shooting one of two burglars on my doorstep while I was at work. Both had criminal records as long as the proverbial arm. This is the only one of nearly a dozen personal crime events I have survived that had an arrest and prosecution.

Returned to Baltimore in 1998 late one night for an early morning meeting the following morning. Two hoodlums tried to stop and hijack my car. I got away and called police. Since they hadn't hurt me and didn't get the car, police didn't think any crime had been committed. Wouldn't even send a car to the intersection or take my name.

My sister and brother-in-law live in Woodlawn, a Baltimore suburb, inside their beltway. One night they came home to find over 100 bullet holes in their house. Seems that a neighbor is involved in gang and drug stuff. Some rivals tried to send a message or something, but shot up the wrong house.

I avoid the place whenever possible. Don't even like driving through on the way to someplace else.

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hsmith wrote:

ChinChin wrote:

For the longest time now, I've told family and friends if they make plans to go into Maryland, and especialy DC, they should not expect me to attend. I flat out refuse to pay any money for recreation and entertainment to a city/state or any business within that will seek to disarm me.

Over the years both MD and DC have lost thousands of dollars of business revenue to my not frequenting their business.

Click to expand...

I am starting to feel that way about Baltimore. My family owns a farm up in Harford County where it is pretty safe. I love going and visiting, but I hate the fact I am at the mercy of evil. Even in DC I will only go to the region around the capital and white house due to the presence of armed gentleman. I won't wonder outside of that region for anything.

MD is such a dump. Sad it is controlled by the city and 2 counties.

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Heller! Heller! Heller! What a man of steel balls!!!! Someone is going to raise a monument to him one day. Let's hope the Wise UVA incident doesn't influence Scalia in any way. If this case goes the way I sincerely hope it does it won't be long before MD is doing some revisions of their gun laws.

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hsmith wrote:

Neplusultra wrote:

It'd be interesting to see if there were any news or police reports about the incident. Is it possible to see if there were any "shots fired" calls made at that time?

Click to expand...

Knowing how stats were manipulated in MD to lower their murder rate, I wouldn't trust the police to file the reports even if there was.

Click to expand...

Cite?

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Mark, tell your sister to move ASAP. I grew up in Woodlawn it has gotten pretty bad there over the last 2 decades.

I would be surprised if that was a gunshot heard at the Power Plant. Not much violent crime happens in the Inner Harbor area. Certainly possible but generally not an area you need to be overly concerned about your safety. Mostly drunk 20 somethings.

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nitrovic wrote:

hsmith wrote:

Neplusultra wrote:

It'd be interesting to see if there were any news or police reports about the incident. Is it possible to see if there were any "shots fired" calls made at that time?

Click to expand...

Knowing how stats were manipulated in MD to lower their murder rate, I wouldn't trust the police to file the reports even if there was.

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Actually that was O'malley, not the police. The normal street officer has nothing to do wtih crime rates and could frankly care less.

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It was mostly O'Malley

http://www.publicbroadcasting.net/wypr/news.newsmain?action=article&ARTICLE_ID=989269&sectionID=1

The top down pushed the police to arrest people for small things, such as being on their own stoop's at night. The whole "drag net" approach of arrest anyone and everyone. I don't think underreporting is that far of a stretch. It isn't the cop on the beats fault, it is the administration and the upper level police answering to the mayor's office. The "Suit" LEO's were the ones pushing the street officers. It was hardly the fault of the cop on the beat.

This isn't anti-LEO, the entire city of Baltimore is trash - it doesn't help the LEO on the beat much when every other department in the city is garbage. Everything there is horribly run and the people of the city keep electing the same garbage to run the city.
Sad all around.

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VAopencarry wrote:

Mark, tell your sister to move ASAP. I grew up in Woodlawn it has gotten pretty bad there over the last 2 decades.

I would be surprised if that was a gunshot heard at the Power Plant. Not much violent crime happens in the Inner Harbor area. Certainly possible but generally not an area you need to be overly concerned about your safety. Mostly drunk 20 somethings.

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The only other thing it could have been was a piece of steel falling quite a way, it was a distinctive sound.

But Baltimore is pretty "safe" as long as you stay out of the dangerous areas. You cut out the murders from drug deals and I bet you'd see at most 30 people murdered a year. But yeah, i'd GTFO of that area!

Pretty sad how drugs has destroyed an entire city of people.

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ChinChin wrote:

For the longest time now, I've told family and friends if they make plans to go into Maryland, and especialy DC, they should not expect me to attend. I flat out refuse to pay any money for recreation and entertainment to a city/state or any business within that will seek to disarm me.

Over the years both MD and DC have lost thousands of dollars of business revenue to my not frequenting their business.

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I have to admit to the same thing. My sorority sisters got frustrated because after we left the sorority house at GWU one night, I wouldn't stop for coffee until we got back to Virginia.

When I have to drive to Massachusetts (yes, I know, but I still have family there) I make certain I have fuel enough to get past MD before I have to spend money again.

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In 1993 I heard gunshots every night just about, living in Bolton Hill. One weekend I was gone as usual ( didn't spend any more time than needed to go to classes and have a place to sleep between), and on monday my 1 housemate told me during the weekend some guy was chased through the little park out back by some guy shooting at him. Nice to know, huh? I was actually considering buying a kevlar vest when I lived there, but they were about 500.00 then for a level 3a, not on a college student's budget for sure. Plus they may have already banned non LEO's from having them in the city at that point. Yeah that's right, so you can't carry, and you can't wear body armor either, unless you are a cop or some elistist rich prick.

Don't be fooled by the pro Baltimore tourism people either, the place IS a shitehole, esp at night of course. People ( the good ones) living there are almost oblivious and make excuses. Try living away from there in a rural area for a while and the attitude will change! I know a guy who works odd jobs at times down there, and used to snow plow in the bad areas. He has lived in a rural area of Baltimore county for some years, and is going to buy an XD40 soon ( I showed him mine, let him test fire it, and he says that's what he wants to get- so much for window shopping at gun stores LOL). It will be his first handgun to own and told me its for home defense, as he realizes long guns aren't the best for that.He hates the city and thinks gun control is the stupidest thing since the problem in the city is NOT guns, but a social problem.He says he agrees with any concealed or open carry and we have talked about it alot and how stupid MD is about it.

When he plowed the bad areas he always had a shotgun in the truck and always had another guy with him, never go alone! He carried the shotgun illegally, but do you think he cared? He is not a "gun person" either, just a concerned citizen who knows that like any other animal, we have a right to defend ourselves against predators. He says he would rather just never go into Baltimore again, but sometimes he has to make money, being self employed and doing masonry work mainly. Shame he has a g-friend already, he and I have ALOT in common and he seems a gentle non controlling sort of guy.

He has been pushing me to braintan some deer hides with him, and we will do so soon. Like me he is into the "old ways".

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Why do they come here?

A few months ago my wife and I had finished eating at the Cracker Barrel and were on the porch. A car with Mary Land plates pulled up and a nasty little woman got out. She saw my gun and kinda sidestepped over to my wife.

She told her in : (It's hard to do a Yankee accent)

Weeer from Baulti mouer and want to see Chuurh Hill. Nobody will give us derections.

I walked over and told her that unless they were armed, not to go there at that time of night.

She said: (I'll skip the accent)
I took a self defense class and don't need a gun.:shock:

I felt ashamed for being a coward, so I said,
You go down Mechanicsville pike, cross the highway and turn right at the sign that says Whitcomb Court. Your in the Church Hill area.:lol::lol::lol::lol:

I hope she followed my directions.

Joe's Crab shack has a sign that says:
If it's tourist season....why can't I shoot them?

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Ugh... I have to go up to Columbia sometime in the next few weeks disarmed and vulnerable. Not looking forward to that.

On the plus side, I'll also at some point have to drive through Maryland for some training up in King of Prussia, which fortunately is somewhere I can carry with my VA CCW. Just have to "lock 'em up" when I drive through the peoples' republik.

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72Malibu wrote:

Ugh... I have to go up to Columbia sometime in the next few weeks disarmed and vulnerable. Not looking forward to that.

On the plus side, I'll also at some point have to drive through Maryland for some training up in King of Prussia, which fortunately is somewhere I can carry with my VA CCW. Just have to "lock 'em up" when I drive through the peoples' republik.

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Heller! Heller! Heller!!

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nitrovic wrote:

roscoe13 wrote:

hsmith wrote:

Neplusultra wrote:

It'd be interesting to see if there were any news or police reports about the incident. Is it possible to see if there were any "shots fired" calls made at that time?

Click to expand...

Knowing how stats were manipulated in MD to lower their murder rate, I wouldn't trust the police to file the reports even if there was.

Click to expand...

Cite?

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:lol:, you're not going to get that. We don't need facts to back up our random accusations of misconduct involving police, don't be silly.

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Damn! Spot on!

Some people have unrealistic expectations.

To think there is a document that says. "This police arededicated to posting only honest numbers and shall never fudge what is reported."

The department is so dedicated at making the state look good... that we will strive to hide all crimes reportedto generate revenue and bring in more cars that we can stop for traffic infractions.

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LEO 229 wrote:

Damn! Spot on!

Some people have unrealistic expectations.

To think there is a document that says. "This police arededicated to posting only honest numbers and shall never fudge what is reported."

The department is so dedicated at making the state look good... that we will strive to hide all crimes reportedto generate revenue and bring in more cars that we can stop for traffic infractions.

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With all due respect (isn't that a back handed comment ), Baltimore City is a different ball game entirely. I am sure the LEO's in the city are fine people, the problem is the way the city is run and how they are forced to make arrests or "reclassify" crime


http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4183/is_20060616/ai_n16495428

Noting that 15 percent of all arrests that did not result in prosecutions last year were for quality-of-life crimes, such as loitering and trespassing, Rocah said the police department should not arrest people for violations officers know will not result in prosecutions.

There is just something wrong. The mayor pushed the orders down and it is felt by the men on the beat. Doesn't make the guys on the street bad people, it makes those in city hall bad people.

Just look at the incident last week where the teacher was assaulted in class, it was recorded and the student was simply suspended. The schools even have incentive to under report crime! The student should be sitting in jail right now.

Link to incident: http://wjz.com/local/jolita.berry.2.699527.html