Citing a crisis on city streets, Baltimore City Councilman Robert Curran wants to give the mayor emergency powers to take control of neighborhoods deemed overrun with crime.
“I want to stop the murders and mortality on city streets,” said Curran, D-District 3.
The Public Safety Act, which Curran plans to introduce at Monday?s City Council meeting, would allow the mayor to declare a Public Safety Zone anywhere in the city due to “imminent danger” or a “riot.” The mayor then would authorize police to limit public gatherings, do stop-and-frisks and limit access to outsiders. The law also would allow police to shut down bars or taverns in the affected area.
However, Dave Rocah, attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union of Maryland, said the bill as worded may not accomplish Curran?s goal.
“Some of these things might be appropriate in [a] narrow set of circumstance[s] where there was truly a riot, but suggesting they could be done in response to crime, even the truly serious crime problem is fantastic,” Rocah said.
Political support for Curran?s idea was tepid.
“I think it will complement some of the programs we already have,” Mayor Sheila Dixon said at a news conference.
City Councilman Keiffer Mitchell, a mayoral candidate, also said he had concerns.
“It?s an interesting proposal that thinks outside the box. My concerns are civil liberties; I come from a family that fought for civil rights, so I need to study it,” said Mitchell, D-District 11.
Curran said he borrowed the idea from Michael Nutter, the winner of the Democratic mayoral primary in Philadelphia on Tuesday. Nutter campaigned on the concept, Curran said.
“The murder rate imperils the health, safety and welfare of the people of the city,” Curran said. “These are drastic measures for drastic times.”
“We cannot live with malaise while murders are happening day in and day out.”
