An anonymous fax sent to the Baltimore City Council says the Rev. Charles Neal, who was arrested last weekend while driving to church, “is not squeaky clean.”
The document, which was faxed days after The Examiner broke the story of Neal?s arrest for driving with an expired license, calls Neal a “repeat criminal” and a “disgrace before God.”
The document, headlined “Stop Promoting Criminals,” was faxed to City Council President Sheila Dixon and several council members, as well as to The Examiner. The detailed fax accuses Neal of, among other things, not paying “parking or any other tickets” and being “a complete fake and disgrace to the clergy.”
The fax is not signed, and the number of origin is blocked out.
Neal, who said the allegations are false, is not surprised.
“It?s just retaliation because of my stand against injustice,” he told The Examiner. “My wife told me, ?Sweetie, now that you?ve taken a stand they?re going to come after you.? ”
Neal was arrested May 28 while driving to church. Pulled over for not having a front license plate, Neal was arrested after the officer said his license was expired, a charge Neal said his MVA records prove is false. His car was impounded and his wife was left standing on Franklin Street without a ride.
Police spokesman Matt Jablow recently told The Examiner that the officer who arrested Neal “believes it was the right thing to do.”
And while Dixon declined to comment on the fax, other council members are outraged.
“Why are they doing that? Why are they trying to do a smear campaign?” asked Council Member Bernard “Jack” Young, D-District 12. “It has nothing to do with it,” he said.
Council Member Kenneth Harris, D-District 4, who has taken the lead in questioning Police Department arrest policies, said the fax was irrelevant.
“We?re going to deal with facts that took place on May 28 and not be distracted,” he said. “We need to be asking if we followed proper procedures during the arrest, not what happened in his past.”
Neal said the controversy will not deter him from speaking up in the future.
“People can make their accusations,” Neal said. “But I serve a higher law.”
