High court: Dawsons can?t sue Baltimore

But Maryland?s highest court ruled Thursday that relatives are not entitled to sue the city of Baltimore and the police department for failing to protect the family from the drug dealers? deadly retaliation.

“We hold that the Circuit Court for Baltimore City was correct … when it found that the state-created danger theory did not apply under the assumed circumstances of this case,” wrote Maryland Court of Appeals Judge Dale Cathell.

In 1999, Angela and Carnell Dawson, along with five of their children, moved into 1401 E. Preston St. in the East Oliver neighborhood of Baltimore City, according to the judge?s opinion.

Between Jan. 1, 2000, and Oct. 16, 2002, the Dawsons made 109 calls to 911 or 311 ? generally to report drug activity or disorderly persons. The Dawsons? relatives alleged that the police did not respond to these calls quickly and sometimes failed to respond at all.

When the police did respond, the officers would go directly to the Dawson family home, “indicating to the entire neighborhood, including the drug dealers, that it was the Dawsons who had called the police,” according to the relatives? lawsuit.

The drug dealers, made aware that the Dawsons were reporting them to the police, began to threaten and attack members of the family, the relatives say.

Early on the morning of Oct. 16, 2002, a local drug dealer “kicked down the Dawsons? front door, poured gasoline on their living room floor, and set it ablaze,” the relatives? lawsuit says.

Carnell and Angela Dawson and their five children ? all under the age of 14 ? died as a result of injuries suffered in the fire.

Relatives of the Dawson family filed suit against various governmental entities ? including the governor and the city prosecutor?s office, as well as the police department, police chief, mayor and City Council ? for failing to protect the Dawsons.

Thursday?s ruling applies to all of the defendants named in the suit.

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