Former Baltimore City Councilman Kenneth Harris will be buried today. The 45-year-old two-term member, who represented the Fourth District, created the “Bridge to Manhood,” a program that uses successful African-American businessmen and women as mentors to students. During the past two years, The Examiner talked many times to the outspoken leader, who devoted himself to weeding out corruption and to improving the lives of all Baltimoreans. Here are excerpts from those interviews.
June 5, 2006
As the city continued to make thousands of arrests, Harris introduced legislation calling for Police Commissioner Leonard Hamm to admit the city was forcing officers to make arrests by using quotas.
Harris: “A lot of citizens have no arrest records and have had no trouble with the law before, and it makes me wonder what‘s happened to hardened criminals.”
June 6, 2006
Deputy Police Commissioner Marcus Brown responded to Harris’ investigation into arrest quotas by threatening to remove officers from his district. Harris’ reaction.
Harris: “One, he didn‘t answers my questions. Two, I‘m insulted.”
Aug. 4, 2006
Harris’ reaction to the number of juvenile homicides that surpassed the previous year‘s total.
Harris: “This is a tragedy for the city. Anytime we lose a youngster it hurts. We as city leaders have to look for ways to create a safe haven for kids. We need to solve this problem as a community by working with parents and reaching out to youth.”
Aug. 25, 2006
Harris’ reaction to a racially charged e-mail circulating through the police department?
Harris: “Demonizing people on paper makes it easier to dehumanize them on the street, and it also gives the appearance of unfair treatment of African-American citizens who are being arrested. I have zero tolerance for this type of behavior.”
Oct. 17, 2007
Harris’ feelings about parking revenue being used to fund city programs in light of the number of bogus tickets issued to motorists who were never parked in the city.
Harris: “The city should not be operating and forecasting revenue based on people failing to feed a meter. We should not be using parking tickets to fund city services.”
July 19, 2007
When Police Commissioner Leonard Hamm was forced to resign by Mayor Sheila Dixon in July 2007, Harris was the only outspoken public official to link Hamm’s firing to a flap over a 20-year pension granted to former Deputy Commissioner Marcus Brown, who had served 17 years. The controversial deal rankled police union officials and rank-and-file officers who said it smacked of cronyism and was unfair to other officers.
Harris: “I think there was an error in judgment by Hamm in terms of Marcus Brown‘s pension. We‘re at a point where we need fresh leadership.”
May 15, 2007
Harris’ reaction to city spending $30 million over budget on police overtime.
Harris: “We owe the citizens of Baltimore an explanation. Based on the crime statistics, I do not think the return matched the investment.”
Celebration of Life for Ken Harris
• When: Today
• Where: Morgan State University’s Murphy Fine Arts Center (2201 Argonne Drive in Baltimore)
• Times: 10 a.m. Family Hour; 11:00 a.m. Funeral Service
• Contributions: Ken Harris Memorial Fund, c/o The Harbor Bank of Maryland, 3240 Belair Rd., Baltimore, MD 21213
