A collection of youth activist groups called Youth Mobilize for Common Cause rallied outside Baltimore Police Department headquarters Wednesday, calling for a change in police policy following a sex offense allegation against a 40-year-old officer.
“The police department doesn?t have a grasp on the concerns of young people,” Hassan Allen-Giordano, of Youth Mobilize, said in an interview with The Examiner after the rally, which drew about 25 people.
The group is demanding changes to police operations, including a written policy to ensure that male officers are accompanied by female officers when interviewing a female witness; video cameras used in all interrogation rooms at all times; regular meetings with youth leaders; and a review of police arrests of residents under the age of 30.
The group also wants a public apology from and the resignation of Fraternal Order of Police President Paul Blair, who they said downplayed the alleged sex offense in public statements.
The rally was a response to the police department?s announcement on July 18 that Police Commissioner Leonard Hamm had suspended Detective William Darryl Welch, 40, an 11-year veteran of the force, while the department investigates allegations that he engaged in sexual acts with a 16-year-old suspect during an interview.
But Allen-Giordano said the group?s concerns were not just limited to that incident. He and his allies also are concerned about the “illegal arrests” and killings of young people, which he said have become a regular occurrence in the city.
Ezekiel Jackson, a member of Baltimore?s Youth Empowerment Movement, said in a statement that young people in Baltimore are frustrated with the police department.
“The culmination of frustration and rage, by youth trying to improve their lives but being continuously hassled by these officers is what led us to this point,” he said.
The Rev. C.D. Witherspoon, of the Community Pulpit Foundation, who was at the rally, told The Examiner that youth in Baltimore want to meet directly with Hamm to express their concerns.
“What we want is a meeting with the police commissioner,” he said. “The former commissioner met with us, but we cannot get a meeting with the incumbent commissioner. He appears to be unmoved. We need youth representation on the Civilian Review Board.”
State Del. Jill Carter, a District 41 Democrat who attended the rally, said the actions of the group were encouraging.
“To see the young people coming out to demand some answers and responses is exciting,” she said. “Young people need to be engaged.”
Neither Baltimore City police spokesman Matt Jablow nor Blair could be immediately reached for comment.
