Dozens of Baltimore City residents assembled on the steps of the War Memorial Plaza on Monday to protest what they said was a continuation of an arrest policy that is hurting their community.
“We need to stand up, for our children, for our men and for our community, to stop these arrests,” community activist Darren Mohammed told a crowd of several dozen protesters.
The protest, organized by Mohammed, was held to coincide with the 11th anniversary of the Million Man March. Bearing signs that read “Free Commissioner Hamm” and “Stop Illegal Arrests,” the crowd heard from people who had been arrested.
“I was helping a friend in my community to get drug treatment, and they locked me up for nine hours in Central Booking and towed my car,” 48-year-old Baltimore City resident Derrick Bowden said. “Officers are being told to make arrests, and we?re seeing the results,” he said.
The number of arrests made by the Baltimore Police Department has been controversial.
In 2005, police arrested 100,000 people ? or one arrest for every six residents. The city State?s Attorney?s Office declined to charge nearly 25,000 of the people arrested in 2005, and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People and American Civil Liberties Union have sued the city on behalf of residents who say they were illegally arrested.
Police officials have argued that arrests are down nearly 8 percent in 2006, and that violent crime is down overall.
But for the protesters gathered on the steps, the effect of arrests on the community was too pervasive to ignore.
“If you or someone in your family was illegally arrested, raise your hand,” “Momma Lola” Jenkins, a community activist, said, as dozens of hands rose and people applauded.
