investigativevoice.com

POLICE SAY FORMER CITY MIDDLE-SCHOOL TEACHER INTERFERED WITH INVESTIGATION

By Stephen Janis

Union Square Community Association President Chris Taylor pays more than $40,000 a year in property taxes on the 14 properties he has refurbished in Baltimore. This past summer he was given an award by Mayor Sheila Dixon for his work on revitalizing the South Baltimore neighborhood he has called home for five years. Recently he worked with fellow residents to raise $4,200 to purchase bulletproof vests for undercover officers in the Southern District when commanders in the district said the city could not afford them.

So when Taylor found himself sitting in the back of a city police car in handcuffs last Wednesday after coming to the aid of two neighborhood girls who said they had been sexually assaulted, the former city middle-school teacher was initially at a loss for words.

“It was unbelievable, it was surreal," Taylor recalled. "Honestly, I was stunned."

But now after Taylor has joined the ranks of the Baltimore residents ensnared in a controversial arrest, he said he has decided to share his story of his encounter with city police. A step he said he takes reluctantly, but feels is necessary to call attention to a side of the department he had only heard rumors about, but never experienced firsthand until now.

“I was a teacher in this city. I know how difficult it is; it’s a tough thankless job. I’m not out to vilify police officers,” he said in an interview Sunday.

“But to think that someone could just come to your home, and take you like that and do whatever they want to you is pretty mind-blowing, it kind of shatters your sense of security.”

The events that led to Taylor’s encounter with police started Wednesday, when Taylor assumed the role that has made him a vital part of the recovery of the South Baltimore neighborhood, according to fellow residents: getting involved.

“I’m always working in the community," he said.

Two neighborhood girls who said they were sexually assaulted sought help from one of Taylor’s employees.

GROPED BY AN ASSAILANT

“There are two young girls looking for help,” he recalls being told. “One was hysterically crying.”

The girls said they had been groped by an assailant on the way home from school just three blocks up the street. Taylor said he calmed the girls down and called police. After a 20-minute wait, two officers showed up.

“When they pulled up, one of the cops bee-lined to the girls,” he recalled.

“I exchanged some words with the sergeant very briefly,” he said.

After the sergeant left, the officer who was questioning the girls appeared ready to leave.

“So I asked him what was going to be done about this,” Taylor recalled. “He immediately said, 'Mind your own business and back up.'”

The officer’s tone of voice was somewhat surprising, said Taylor, who had a close relationship with Southern District Major Scott Bloodsworth, as well as many undercover officers with whom he shared information about neighborhood drug dealers.

“He treated us like we didn’t deserve any respect.”

“The reality is I think a lot of [officers], particularly some in patrol, think this neighborhood deserves what it gets.”

Still, Taylor said he wasn’t looking for trouble, just answers. But when the officer ordered Taylor to go inside the house or else face arrest, Taylor said he was stunned.

“I said, 'This threat of arresting me is unjustified,'” he recalls. “Sir, I’m not going to go inside my house and not ask a simple question."

When Taylor said he would call Major Bloodsworth, the situation escalated.

'NO ONE TO ADVOCATE'

“He really became incensed.”

The officer told him to step back and Taylor complied. But when the officer again ordered Taylor to go inside his house, he refused.

“I didn’t want to abandon these two girls, I felt like I had an obligation to make sure something was done,” he said. “A lot of these kids have no one to advocate for them,” he said, adding:

“It’s not wrong to ask a question of a police officer.”

But then things took a turn for the worse.

“The moment I said I wasn’t going to go inside because I hadn’t done anything wrong he radioed 10-36: belligerent white male.”

“It took about two minutes for three cop cars to pull up to my house.”

In the meantime, the officer had handcuffed Taylor, who was now standing next to his home, wondering what would happen next.

“He grabs at my pockets, and then he ran his hand up my pant leg and grabbed my genitals hard."

“It was excessive; I said, 'You don’t need to do that.'”

Then the officer performed the same search of Taylor’s buttocks.

“A that point, I was very upset. I asked him if he was [gay] and told him he had made big mistake.”

After Taylor was searched, the officer placed him in a police car. Later he was taken to the Southern District headquarters, where the same officer questioned him. During the grilling, Taylor asked the officer what he thought was an innocent question.

“I wanted to know what was going to happen,” he recounted.

“He became belligerent for no reason. 'You’re going down for this; you’re going to spend the night in Central Booking.'

“At that point I just shut up.”

Transported to the city’s Central Booking facility, Taylor said he went from concerned to scared.

“I asked the officer, 'When are you culpable?'” he recalled. “What if I get tossed in the cell with someone I helped lock up and they stab me?” he asked, noting that he often assists police with tips.

DETAINEES WERE SUPPORTIVE

“It was really emotional for me. I work closely with the undercover police and try to help them.”

But to his surprise, fellow detainees at the state-run facility were supportive.

“A lot of the guys were really nice. When they heard my story they said, 'I’m not surprised,'” Taylor said.

“They were really sympathetic. They said, 'Don’t stop doing what you’re doing. We’re proud of you.'”

But before Taylor could be processed, a guard came looking for him. Taken out of Central Booking, Taylor was forced to sit in Southern District headquarters before being released after receiving a criminal citation for disturbing "the public peace."

But that has not been the end of the ordeal for Taylor.

“What was actually shocking to me is the response after the fact,” he said.

For example, while he sat in custody, an officer went to his home and questioned his employee, telling him that in order for Taylor to be released, he would have to say he was at fault," Taylor said.

Later, a meeting with Major Bloodsworth netted little.

“He told me nothing good would come out of this.”

And recently an email response from police Commissioner Frederick Bealefeld, the result of a community email campaign, also failed to calm Taylor’s concerns.

“I have the utmost confidence in the leadership of Major Bloodsworth,” he said. “I know that he was personally involved in this incident. His efforts to resolve this case have been extraordinary. It is that level of involvement that should direct our perspective.”

“Finally, beyond declarations, and dissension, there is the work. We will continue our efforts to provide the very best service to the community possible,” Bealefeld wrote.

“It was boiler-plate stuff, " Taylor said.

'WHERE IS THE LEADERSHIP?'

Other officials have yet to respond to Taylor's pleas for help.

“ I have not received a response from the mayor’s office, or the office of [City Council President] Stephanie Rawlings-Blake. Where is the leadership in this city? Who holds people accountable?” he asked.

“Why hasn’t anybody stood up and said this is wrong?”

An email to Scott Peterson, spokesman for Mayor Sheila Dixon, was not returned. Police Department spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said that Taylor interfered with the officer’s investigation and that the arrest was justified.

“All in all, the Baltimore Police Department works for the people of Baltimore and we are incredibly grateful for their support and cooperation,” Guglielmi wrote in an email.

“But whether you're an elected official, the CEO of a major corporation or even another law enforcement officer, you need to respect the investigative process and allow a police officer to conduct a thorough investigation free of influence or pressure. In this case, we stand behind the actions of the officer.”

Still, residents of the tight-knit community said they were disturbed by Taylor’s treatment.

“It’s ridiculous what they did to him,” said fellow Union Square Community Association board member Dave Cochran.

“When I saw all the police cars out in front of his house I was worried something had happened to Chris,” Cochran recalled in a phone interview Sunday evening.

“Then I saw Chris in the back of the police car, and I said to one of the officers, ‘Is that Chris Taylor?' and they wouldn’t talk to me.”

“He does nothing but work hard for this community. He’s the reason I got involved.”

Fellow community member Brian Carmen agreed that Taylor’s arrest was unwarranted.

“It’s surprising,” Carmen, 32, said as he walked his dog Sunday afternoon. “Most of the cops in the neighborhood are pretty decent people.”

“But I have no reason not to believe Chris’s story.”

ARREST WAS UNJUSTIFIED

Since his arrest, Taylor said he has heard from other officers who say the arrest was unjustified.

“One guy used to be a Marine and said he thought he’d joined the BPD to make a difference, but he said a lot the time it’s not happening.

“He said they’re arresting people for no reason; the young officers don’t know anything better but just to arrest.”

Still, despite the arrest Taylor said he remains optimistic, hoping that he will eventually be able to mend his relationship with the department. Recently he even attended an officer appreciation day in Southern district, donating money to pay for food served at the event.

“It was awkward, though not as awkward as I thought it would be,” he said.

“You know, I used to drive my kids around when I was a middle-school teacher and they would see a cop car and freak out; they were scared.

“And I said, 'Why are you freaking out? We didn’t do anything wrong.'

“Now I kind of get it.”  
 

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Recent controversial arrests by the Baltimore City Police Department

August 23rd, 2009:

Baltimore City police arrested former Baltimore Ravens player Tony Fein at the Inner Harbor after a security guard mistook a cell phone for a gun. Although Fein was not armed, police charged him with assaulting a police officer. Prosecutors later dropped the charges, citing lack of evidence.
Later Fein died of an accidental overdose of morphine at a friend’s home in Washington State.

June 29th 2009:

A Calvert Hall student who became lost while en route to a charity event in East Baltimore was charged with first degree assault after police alleged he struck a police officer during an arrest. Later prosecutors dropped the charges citing lack of evidence.

A group of filmmakers working on a project in East Baltimore were arrested when police believed the crew members were actual drug dealers. Four members of the cast, including the director were arrested but never charged.