In July, architect Armondo Horsey said he witnessed police brutality while getting a slice of pizza in Canton: five officers roughing up a handcuffed man, driving his head into the asphalt.
As Horsey attempted to take down the officers? badge numbers, he found himself under arrest.
“There was no accountability for these officers,” said Horsey, 37. “They were abusing him for about 20 minutes. It makes you definitely feel like you don?t have any rights.”
Now, Horsey and eight others have joined the American Civil Liberties Union and National Association for the Advancement of Colored People?s lawsuit against the Baltimore Police Department, which alleges the police make thousands of “illegal arrests” annually. The additions to the suit bring the number of plaintiffs to 15.
Among the other new plaintiffs is Tim Johnson, 43, a Ph.D. candidate in neurobiology and a research associate at Texas A&M University. He was arrested and released without charge on June 25, 2006, while in town for a conference.
Johnson said he was locked up ? without reason ? after he walked near a woman the police were arresting. When he asked what he did wrong, an officer told him he was “hindering,” Johnson said.
“My overall impression of Baltimore was very favorable,” the Texan said of his trip to Charm City. “My impression of your police department is less than favorable. If I sit and ponder what happened to me, it makes my blood boil.”
The ACLU and NAACP sued the city and state last year. But city lawyers counter that arrests for certain “quality of life” crimes are not categorically illegal.
Baltimore Police Department spokesman Sterling Clifford did not respond to a request for comment, but police officials have recently trumpeted their lower arrest rates.
Through Dec. 1, Baltimore police have arrested 75,297 people compared with 83,704 in 2006 ? a 10 percent decrease. Of this year?s arrests, 13,991 have not resulted in charges, 23 percent less than the 18,058 arrests without charges this time last year.
ACLU staff attorney David Rocah acknowledged the shrinking statistics but said such numbers would be considered a success “only in Baltimore.”
“It?s a shocking figure,” he said. “That?s still thousands of people.”
Another new member of the suit is Tavis Crockett, 19, who was arrested and released without charge twice in one summer last year.
“I still feel respect for certain police officers. I believe they?re here to protect and serve,” Crockett said. “But certain police officers feel they can do whatever they want. That?s not right.”
