FOP, Police Department believe Jessamy on the offensive
The bad blood between the city state's attorney's office and the Baltimore Police Department is well-documented, but in recent years there's been a calculated effort to present a public united front even as much of the frustration continued behind the scenes. The gloves may be close to coming off again. In the past week, prosecutors decided to take the unusual step of issuing a warrant for an officer who had failed to appear in court, which resulted in her having to spend the night in Central Booking. Before that, word broke that Jessamy's office was looking into placing a veteran homicide detective on the dreaded "Do Not Call" list of untrustworthy cops - a distinction that is a career-ender because they can no longer testify - based on a 19-year-old incident that police say has been no secret to prosecutors.
The Fraternal Order of Police tweeted this ominous message last night in response to the recent developments: "Message to the State's Attorney's Office: "A city that makes war against its police had better learn to make friends with its criminals."
Observers are tracing this supposed offensive by the prosecutors office to an incident that occurred last week in Annapolis, when State's Attorney Patricia Jessamy was in town to testify on gun legislation. Former federal prosecutor Steve Levin, who was there to give his own testimony, blogged about the incident, saying Jessamy left in a huff and without giving her prepared testimony. Others who were there claim Jessamy was frustrated that Mayor Stephanie C. Rawlings-Blake did not give her office enough credit for its work on pursuing repeat gun offenders.
Jessamy's office denied this account when I asked about it last week. Spokeswoman Margaret Burns said there were several meetings on their agenda and that they had to leave for an appointment in the House of Delegates building.
I asked Burns to elaborate this morning, and she said the belief that Jessamy was angry may stem from a comment Burns herself made to James Green, a former prosecutor who works on special projects for the police department. Burns said Green wrote Rawlings-Blake's remarks and made a mistake when discussing penalties for gun offenders, and acknowledges she was "incredulous" about it.
But she was adamant that it had nothing to do with Jessamy and Co. leaving the hearing, and insists that there's no motivation in throwing the officer in jail other than preserving justice.
"It is a known fact by everyone in the system that when a police officer fails to appear, the state's case suffers and can be irrevocably compromised," Burns said. "It was essential that the officer testify at the suppression hearing. If we lost the gun, we lost the case."
Police and City Hall officials told The Sun's Tricia Bishop yesterday that more could have been done before deciding to seek a warrant for the officer, and today they disputed that the officer was material to the suppression motion. Burns said instances of police failing to appear is a longstanding problem and the prosecutors went to "extraordinary lengths" to find the officer. She said the decision to seek a warrant came down to the prosecutor working the case, who she said "has no political agenda. He's trying to do his job." Burns later called back and said the officer in question has missed court 17 times since 2006.
"We're trying to prosecute criminals, and do a lot of things in the city of Baltimore in the interest of public safety," Burns said. "If we didn't get that conviction, two weeks from now people will be asking this off why the state dropped the case, why prosecutors weren't able to get a conviction. We took an extraordinary effort, but it had to be done."
The Police Department has tried to walk a fine line with Jessamy and her prosecutors, often frustrated but learning from past regimes that a public fight is a fight they can't win. Jessamy, meanwhile, says the fact is that most of the cases her office is criticized for dropping stem from issues with police. Along the way, the FOP has been quietly trying to urge Jessamy to back off from the "Do Not Call" list, and City Hall and the Police Department have been deliberate in making their concerns about the court system as vague and common-sense as possible, to avoid any direct hits at Jessamy. But one wonders, with budget woes stretching resources and fraying nerves, if this moment may serve as a turning point of sorts.
Rawlings-Blake's spokesman sent this statement this afternoon in response to this blog post: "Mayor Rawlings-Blake respects and admires the State's Attorney Jessamy for her tireless efforts to strengthen state gun laws. Reducing gun violence by strengthening state gun laws is an issue that both the Mayor and State's Attorney care deeply about. Mayor Rawlings-Blake looks forward to continuing a strong partnership with all of the City's law enforcement partners, regardless of what is said on blogs, chatrooms and Twitter."
Categories: Courts and the justice system, Top brass
Comments
I wonder how Baltimore City's police officers feel about the City's plan to sell the FOP Lodge at a tax sale -- apparently for an overdue water bill...that the City said was an error.
Posted by: Baltimore Slumlord Watch | March 18, 2010 12:06 PM
"Nobody's right when everybody's wrong" -Buffalo Springfield.
How is it that two organizations so utterly critical to our city can't seem to find common ground? I'm no great fan of Jessamy, but I believe that the line prosecutors are trying to do the best they can. I really think the two sides need to sit down, at a high level -Jessamy and Bealefield level- sit long and often, and sort out how best to attack the problems. The city deserves better.
Posted by: Alex | March 18, 2010 12:39 PM
This is nonsense.
There is no excuse for a police officer to miss court.
There is no excuse for a police officer to be served with a body attachment, forcing him/her to spend a night in Central Booking, either away from their family or job.
Patricia Jessamy needs to realize -- plain as day -- that when I call 911, I expect the police to show up, and certainly not her.
Failure to appear in court as scheduled is an internal disciplinary matter, and the Police Commissioner needs to realize he is responsible for the conduct of his officers.
I hope they both start acting like responsible adults.
Posted by: Dave Robinette | March 18, 2010 4:20 PM
Time for Jessamy to go.
Posted by: Tomato Head | March 18, 2010 5:35 PM
It is long past time for Jessamy to go. She & her toady have undermined every police commissioner for many years, and blamed all the failures of her office on everyone else, including, in one particularly egregious instance, the murder victim.
Posted by: City Redux | March 18, 2010 6:41 PM
Jessamy is clearly not thinking with a clear head. Whatever the reason we need to move on to some more important things. This is wasted energy on nonsense.....
Posted by: skeets539 | March 18, 2010 9:54 PM
Like the son of a preacher man...Dusty Springfield
Posted by: Pirate1001 | March 19, 2010 7:24 AM
It is very simple. Jessamy is starting early to create a campaign issue. Remember, folks, she's up for re-election this year. Next time she picks an issue with the police, their response should simple be: Oh, well, it's campaign season.
Posted by: Frank | March 19, 2010 7:49 AM
Actually, judges issue body attachments more often than you think for officers who are too lazy to come to court or actively avoid it. They just aren't served that often because usually when word gets out that one was issued, they come to court and the judge quashes it after yelling at them for not coming to court when they are under summons to be there. Judges also issue body attachments for civilian witnesses who don't show up. Why should police be above that?
Prosecutors cannot prosecute cases without witnesses. And given all the whining that is done by the media and the public when the State's Attorney's Office drops cases, it is a little silly that now people whine that they went above and beyond to prosecute a dangerous gun offender. Guess they can't win.
Posted by: Esther | March 19, 2010 8:28 AM
"A city that makes war against its police had better learn to make friends with its criminals."
"Police who believe they are above the law are no better than criminals."
Posted by: Rocket88 | March 19, 2010 8:42 AM
I don’t have a problem with Jessamy’s office issuing a warrant for the officer. She’s a cop so she knows how important it is to appear, and somehow this cop has failed to appear in court 17 times in the last four years. That’s unacceptable, and if BPD was on top of their business, this wouldn’t have become an issue.
I know there’s long been bad blood between the police and Jessamy’s office for a long time, but how can you successfully prosecute cases with bad evidence. How do you establish credibility with non-credible witnesses (whether police or not, even an average defense attorney could use that to ruin the State’s case)? Maybe the FOP should stop coddling this officer and re-educate her on the importance of showing up for court. And maybe they should stop making statements like "A city that makes war against its police had better learn to make friends with its criminals." That sounds like a bully’s statement and nobody likes a bully.
Posted by: Ealan | March 19, 2010 11:17 AM
Jessamy is a clown - plain and simple. She has no leadership skills and almost no redeeming qualities. Tell me what she has accomplished in her reign? The record for the amount of nolle pros? O'Malley did the right thing by raising her salary to $250K. Someone is going to challenge her for that kind of money.
Posted by: Frogger1 | March 19, 2010 5:08 PM
Having been a State's Attorney in the past, I know about what I speak. If you are an ASA, a large chunk of your time is spent tracking down officers. Don't get me wrong, there are some great officers out there. Ones who get their summons and either stop by to check on the case or who call in to let you know they are working on the street if you need them, or to ask to be put on call. Some of them even let you know if they will not be available on the trial date so you can reschedule the case in advance. But the rest of them...no. In spite of the fact that they get summonsed to court, you end up being the one to find them. You spend time that you should be doing substantive work on your cases calling and leaving messages. Often, your messages go unreturned. Or the officer has changed their phone number, so you have to track that down. Then you have to call their sergeant, their lieutenant, their major, the district, and then the admin lieutenant at the district. And you may still not find them. Or they will call you back with forty three reasons why they can't come in, ranging from "I don't feel like it" to "it's not really that big of a case, can't you just get rid of it" to "I'm not wearing court attire". And then you go to court and you have to ask the judge to postpone your case, and the judge will put you on the spot and quiz you about the flimsy excuses that you have been asked to make on the officer's part. And then your postponement request will be denied. And then you have to decide whether you should just drop the case or whether you should ask for a body attachment on the officer. Either way, you will appear in the Baltimore Sun and the citizens of Baltimore will tear you apart for either being soft on crime/lazy/afraid to try a case or for being too hard on the police department.
Being an ASA sucks. You make thirty percent of what your law school classmates make, you are overworked (it may be a government job, but there is a lot of weekend work, especially if you are in an advanced unit), and then you get to come home and read ignorant people criticizing the work you do because they have no idea what it is like to go in every day and deal with apathetic cops, juries who won't convict, and a media who takes delight in tearing you down because they don't like your boss. And yet I know most of them love what they do because they are trying to make a difference. They'd have to, to deal with that. I got tired and left. If you keep it up, I imagine that a lot of the talent in that office will leave, because it is just not worth it. Who will stand between you and the criminals then?
Appreciate your perspective as an ASA. -Justin
Posted by: Nermal | March 19, 2010 6:33 PM
If Jessamy pursued charges against criminal thugs half as enthusiastically as she is persecutes police officers there would be no crime in Baltimore.
Posted by: lalamus | March 23, 2010 5:19 AM
Couldn't have said it better myself Frogger1. I hope people remember that perspective next time they jump to complain about ASAs.
Posted by: Wowza | March 23, 2010 9:25 PM
The ASA's comments above are well taken. As I said earlier, failure to appear in court when scheduled or under summons is an internal disciplinary matter. If Police Commissioner Bealefeld cannot exercise enough command over the Baltimore Police Department to make sure his officers show up for court, what reason is there to believe he can use the resources of the agency to reduce violent crime?
This is such a fundamental example of lack of control that it is inexcusable.
Posted by: Dave Robinette | March 27, 2010 11:56 AM