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4 Harlem Park Residents Sue BPD, Davis Over Lockdown After Suiter Shooting
Monday, November 25, 2019
Backed by the American Civil Liberties Union of Maryland, four West Baltimore residents are suing the Baltimore Police Department and its former commissioner over the Harlem Park lockdown that followed the shooting of Detective Sean Suiter in 2017.
The federal lawsuit against the department and former Police Commissioner Kevin Davis charges that police violated residents' state and federal constitutional rights during the six-day lockdown.
"There must be justice for families that live in Harlem Park. We all know that what happened in Harlem Park, a predominantly black neighborhood, would not have happened in Roland Park, a predominantly white neighborhood in our city," said Dana Vickers Shelley, executive director of the ACLU of Maryland.
Phil Yacuboski
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@WBALPhil
The #ACLU of #Maryland is suing #Baltimore over what they say was an unfair ‘lockdown’ of the Harlem Park neighborhood following the death of Det. Sean Suiter - say it would have never happened in a white neighborhood - say residents felt like ‘prisoners’ in homes @wbalradio
In the days after Suiter was found shot, police cordoned off the community and asked residents for identification.
"That was the worst day of my life that day.," Juaqueta Bullock said. "Me and my daughter, my youngest daughter, was coming home not expecting anything but to go home that day, but unfortunately it didn't work out."
She said they waited hours before they were able to go home.
"The worst thing as a parent, you can deal with a lot, but you can't deal with seeing your child cry and say 'Momma, I want to do this, and 'I want to do that,'" Bullock said.
Former Mayor Catherine Pugh later apologized to residents of Harlem Park.
An independent review of the Suiter case criticized the actions of police in Harlem Park.
ACLU Senior Staff Attorney David Rocah said residents were essentially treated like suspects, with heavy police activity throughout the predominantly African American neighborhood. He said it would be "inconceivable" to imagine such a practice happening in a neighborhood populated with fewer minorities.
"For those within the cordon, normal life was disrupted, and they lived in a state where the area was heavily patrolled and everyone was identified, and that's hugely intimidating," Rocah said.
The lawsuit seeks a declaration that the residents' rights were violated, a prohibition from police ever establishing a similar lockdown again and a court order requiring police to destroy personal information illegally obtained from residents. The lawsuit also seeks compensation for the violation of residents' civil rights.
City Solicitor Andre Davis said he had no specific comment on the suit, but said he will represent the client.
Jayne Miller
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@jemillerwbal
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This is the e-mail that the ACLU of Maryland sent out:
In November 2017, the Baltimore Police Department (BPD) imposed an unprecedented virtual police state on the city’s Harlem Park residents, following the death of Detective Sean Suiter. Today, Lauren Holmes, Nicole Lee, Luella Lawson, and Juaqueta Bullock filed a federal court lawsuit against the BPD and former Police Commissioner Kevin Davis, charging that their state and federal constitutional rights were violated during a six-day, multi-block police lockdown of their neighborhood.
That’s why 4 residents of Harlem Park, a Black neighborhood in Baltimore City, are determined to get justice for their community.
"What happened to 'Officer Friendly?' What happened to serve and protect? You're not protecting us. It felt like martial law. Everyone on my block works. We look out for each other. We are all good neighbors to each other. You wouldn't do this in other neighborhoods. It's a violation. I know that I shouldn't have to show my ID. But if I didn't, I couldn't get home." – Lauren Holmes, Harlem Park resident
For 6 days, during the lockdown, residents of Harlem Park:
Had to carry ID with them at all times;
Had to show identification at checkpoints, and often at their own front doors;
Had their names run through law enforcement databases;
Couldn't leave their homes without being accosted by police officers at their doorstep or at the nearest checkpoint;
Couldn't have friends and family come over without police questioning and permission;
Couldn't come home from work without reporting to a police officer;
Couldn't bring their children to and from school without being stopped and questioned by police in front of their children; and
Couldn't step outside for any reason without being under surveillance and recorded.
Stop and ask yourself, how would you feel if this happened to you, to your family, and in your community?
Baltimore Police broke the Fourth Amendment rights of these residents. The police cannot violate a community's rights for almost a week and get away with it. What was maintained in Harlem Park was a police state, not a crime scene. And the decision to impose and maintain it came from the highest levels of leadership.
Join us in thanking these residents of Harlem Park for their bravery in stepping forward to challenge this injustice, especially given the history of corruption within the Baltimore Police Department, and police departments across the state. #Justice4HarlemPark
America has imported more warlord theocracy from Afghanistan than it has exported democracy.
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