Free Republic

Another brazen assault, and another mother left in awe. It’s a story that is only being shared with WJZ. “These attacks, these assaults, someone is going to get killed,” said Kia Martin, whose daughter was attacked at the Inner Harbor on Halloween. For the third time in just days, a group of teens strike yet again at the Inner Harbor.

It’s the heart of Baltimore’s tourism industry, but the Inner Harbor turned into a nightmare for a visiting family of 10 earlier this month. Out of nowhere, they were swarmed and beaten by a large number of teenagers. While the family that was attacked does not want to be identified, they do want their story to be heard. They told their story to WJZ off-camera. “They swarmed us,” said Stacey. “They hit my husband in the head. They knocked him out… and then it was just complete bedlam.” It happened on the day of the Baltimore Marathon, Oct. 21. The...

Latonya Bryant can still see Ernest Barnes Jr, her 24-year-old son, smiling and calling out to her in the sunshine that June 2014 afternoon, his words like an echo that keeps getting louder. “He’s waving to me in the back yard of our house and saying, ‘Ma, I love you,’ and I say, ‘Baby, I love you, too,’” Bryant remembers. By turns, the memory makes her cry, and makes her smile. And for a long time, those memories were proving almost impossible for her to live with. She pulled through, but barely. Bryant also keeps playing a video in her...

A Baltimore police officer involved in arresting a black man who later suffered a fatal injury during a police van ride testified at the driver’s disciplinary hearing Tuesday that the man did not show any signs he needed medical care when he was first put into the van. Officer Edward Nero testified at the hearing for Officer Caesar Goodson, the van driver who could be fired for violating department policies in the case. “He was not showing any signs of a medical emergency,” Nero, a certified emergency medical technician, said of 25-year-old Freddie Gray, who died about a week after...

Former Baltimore police detective Momodu Gondo is detailing how he and other members of an elite “Gun Trace Task Force” (GTTF) robbed city residents while on the job. The robberies he described included home invasions and taking citizens’ property while executing search warrants. According to WBAL, Gondo confessed to stealing “probably $100,000” in drugs, cash, and firearms. He is one of eight members of the GTTF facing federal charges for the alleged robberies and invasions and theft of overtime as well. He agreed to testify against the other members in hopes of receiving a reduced sentence. He testified that his...

. . . Hospital staff told police that Jones and Yancey had been arguing while waiting for their 14-year-old son to get a procedure. Shortly after, Jones came out of the room and said Yancey had cut himself. Staff went into the room and found Yancey with lacerations to the upper body. Yancey was pronounced dead a short time later. Jones left the hospital before officers arrived on scene. . . .

Last Thursday, Maryland Governor Larry Hogan unveiled a $9 billion project to widen three of the state’s most heavily trafficked highways: I-270, I-495—also known as the Capital Beltway—and MD-295, the Baltimore-Washington Parkway. What the governor’s office dubbed the Traffic Relief Plan involves constructing two express toll lanes each way—or four total toll lanes—to all three highways. Widening the Capital Beltway and the section of I-270 connecting the growing commuter-city of Frederick to Washington, D.C., would cost an estimated $7.6 billion, which the state expects to be financed via public-private partnerships: Private companies would build and maintain the new toll lanes,...

RUSH: The NFL circumstance. What happened in Baltimore yesterday is not just what happened in Baltimore is what is fascinating, but the way the media — it’s classic how they don’t understand the average, ordinary American. It’s classic! And we’ll get to it eventually. I’m gonna tell you what happened. Well, the players kneeled, and then they stood for the anthem, and the PA announcer had some — the fans booed the PA announcer and the media doesn’t understand why. hey think the fans of Baltimore are reprobates for what they did. They haven’t the slightest idea why the fans...

The Ravens faced a bit more scrutiny for their national anthem protest on Sunday in Baltimore. Last week, some Ravens took a knee and locked arms with while the anthem was played in London before a game against the Jacksonville Jaguars. Today, the team decided to go the Dallas Cowboys route a la "Monday Night Football." The team came out before the anthem and took a knee to a chorus of boos from fans at M&T Bank Stadium. Then the team stood for the playing of the "Star Spangled Banner."

The Maryland Stadium Authority has increased security around the Ray Lewis statue outside M&T Bank Stadium after the former All-Pro linebacker joined Ravens players in kneeling during the national anthem, which spurred an on-line petition to remove the 3-year-old landmark. The petition on change.org has received more than 50,000 signatures as of Thursday morning.

Having an honest and frank discussion about race in America is not only long overdue, but it has proven over and over to also be nearly impossible. Once the conversation focuses on the fact that many of the problems facing the black community are self-inflicted, the name calling and the denial begins. Accusations of racism quickly follow any discussion about what the black community needs to do to repair itself from within. And Americans certainly can’t expect politicians to lead such a conversation since they are the worst offenders of the subtle racism of non-accountability. Whichever side of the aisle...

Baltimore prosecutors say nearly 300 cases have been dropped due to four allegations of police misconduct, including three body camera videos appearing to show officers planting evidence or re-enacting searches, and a federal indictment of eight officers on racketeering and fraud charges. Deputy State’s Attorney Janice Bledsoe said Wednesday that a total of 278 cases have so far been dismissed, including 109 in response to the indictment, and another 169 related to officers involved in the three videos. The indictment accuses eight officers of racketeering in a scheme that included illegally detaining and robbing Baltimore residents and fraudulently filing for...

*****ANTHEM APPRECIATION DAY!**** GO TO FT. MCHENRY SUNDAY! SING THE NATIONAL ANTHEM THERE AT 1:00! ...INSTEAD OF AT THE STADIUM FOR KICK-OFF!

BALTIMORE (WJZ) — Ravens fans recorded themselves burning their team gear Sunday after Baltimore players were among the first in the league to take a knee during the national anthem following President Donald Trump’s harsh criticism of the practice. At a Friday rally, the president said that NFL owners should, when dealing with a player kneeling during the anthem, “get that son of a b**** off the field.” The president doubled down on his initial remarks over the course of the weekend, calling on NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell to tell players to stand, and saying those who don’t should be...

Virtually all of the teachers only spoke to reporters on condition of anonymity. One reason for that is that Maryland has a law prohibiting anyone (including staff) from bringing a firearm onto school property. At least one teacher admitted that she already does it anyway, keeping a 9 mm. with her at her desk. From the sound of the support that this training program is drawing, she’s not alone.

OWINGS MILLS, Md. (AP) — The Baltimore Ravens posted, then quickly removed, a post on Twitter and Instagram depicting the Queen Elizabeth II wearing face paint of the team logo. Baltimore is playing its first game in London on Sunday, so the team marked the occasion with the post on Tuesday that showed the Queen peering through a Raven-like mask. The posts were quickly removed, probably because royalty and the NFL don’t often mix well together. But coach John Harbaugh volunteered this on Wednesday: “I think it’s important to remember that ravens do guard the Tower of London.”

Baltimore’s nascent bike-share program will shut down for about a month while company officials work to improve the security for its cycle fleet, The Baltimore Sun reported Wednesday. Baltimore Bike Share’s (BBS) service suspension will begin Sunday and last until Oct. 15. The move comes after a rash of brazen bicycle thefts that have perplexed officials at Canada’s Bewegen Technologies, which provides Charm City’s rental bikes. “We don’t have this issue anywhere else, not at this level,” Bewegen CEO Alain Ayotte said, The Sun reported. “Our locking system is recognized [as] very, very up to industry standard, but due to...

A statue to Francis Scott Key, the writer of the Star Spangled Banner, was defaced overnight in downtown Baltimore, with someone painting “Racist Anthem” on the side of the Bolton Hill monument. Baltimore Police received a report of the vandalism at 6:30 a.m. Wednesday. They are investigating, but have no suspects.

University of Baltimore president Kurt Schmoke defended his decision to invite U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos to speak at the school’s fall commencement, even as dozens of students protested against the invitation Monday and hundreds more signed a petition demanding he change his mind. Schmoke, a former mayor of Baltimore, said students should reserve judgment on the controversial member of President Donald Trump’s cabinet. Hosting DeVos, he said, is “in the best tradition of the university.” Dozens of students participated in a “class walk out” demonstration Monday afternoon, the first of two protests planned for today. UB junior Tracy...

Ray Lewis has added an interesting new twist to the ongoing question of why Colin Kaepernick isn’t playing for the Baltimore Ravens right now. In Lewis’s words, Kaepernick’s girlfriend is the problem. Speaking on Showtime’s “Inside the NFL,” Lewis discussed conversations he and Ravens owner Steve Bisciotti had regarding Kaepernick. “We were talking about giving this kid an opportunity to get back in the National Football League,” Lewis said. “I have been fighting for this kid behind the table like nobody has … I’ve never been against Colin Kaepernick. But I am against the way he’s done it.” Bisciotti said...