Entire Baltimore Neighborhood Under Lockdown: "Police Declared Martial Law"

For the last 4-5 days, the Baltimore Police Department has held siege to a neighborhood on the west side of the city following the murder of one of the detectives investigating a previous homicide.

Det. Sean Suiter, a married father of five and an 18-year veteran with the Baltimore Police, was patrolling the streets of West Baltimore around 5pm last Wednesday when he saw suspicious activity.
Suiter approached a man and was shot point blank in the head, in a summary execution. He was rushed to the hospital in critical condition where he later died of his injuries.
www.blacklistednews.com...

Absolutely disgusting. I'm sure he was slain as a message to police to stay out of this neighborhood. Well the police didn't take it so well..

In response, Baltimore Police reacted with ‘fire and fury’ turning the neighborhood where Suiter was shot into an “open-air prison”, shutting down city streets and enabling checkpoints for citizens while officers in tactical gear went door to door, according to baltimorebrew.com... Residents were prohibited from entering their own neighborhood unless they showed proper identification, these extreme measures have been in place for 4-5 days.

“They’ve been to my house three times asking, ‘Did you hear anything? Do you know anything,’” said Edward Stanley, a local resident, who had to show a yellow slip before entering the neighborhood.

So essentially, they locked down an entire neighborhood for 4-5 days, with checkpoints, door to door searches plus random pat downs of residents coming in and out. They posted fully geared police officers on corners and gave people yellow slips to be able to enter and leave.

According to the Baltimore Brew:

Police initially said they needed to cordon off the area to try to capture the shooter. Police have said Suiter was in the 900 block of Bennett Place, investigating a previous homicide, when he was shot on Wednesday. So far, no arrests have been announced in the case. This morning, homicide detective Mike Newton told The Brew that the lockdown was necessary to collect evidence.

An entire neighborhood became a crime scene that needed to be secured for 4-5 days!? I think this is more of a show of force. IMO, they pretty much deemed every resident there guilty until proven innocent.

But what of the Constitutional ramifications?

Some citizens described how their daily lives have been disrupted as West Baltimore remains under police control, as per Baltimore Brew:

Two women walking down Franklin Street to get to their cars, parked blocks away because of the lockdown, complained that they had been harassed by officers.

 “They know I live here. They’ve seen me come and go. But this one had to pat me down. He [the officer] went like this to my jacket, grabbing it,” said Shelly, 25, who asked that her last name not be used.

 “They wanted to know where I had been. Why do I have to tell him that? It’s just me in my flip-flops trying to go to my own home.”

 “We haven’t been able to get our mail for four days,” said the woman with her, Samantha, 50, who also asked not be identified. “Is the city going to pay the late fees on my bills?”

 “It’s so sad what happened to the officer and I hope they catch whoever did it,” another woman said. “But this is really overboard. I’ve never seen anything like it.”

The ACLU of Maryland released a statement yesterday, who are “troubled by reports that some persons entering or leaving the area have been subject to pat down searches, and that non-residents have been barred from entering the area”.

“While the search for a killer is, of course, a high priority for the police, the limits on lawful police behavior do not disappear even when engaged in that pursuit.  And at least one federal appellate court has said that a similar police cordon and checkpoint system was unconstitutional.

 “The residents of Baltimore, and, in particular, the residents of the affected community, deserve a clear explanation from the City as to why this unprecedented action has been taken, what rules are being enforced, and why it is lawful.  The need to secure a crime scene from contamination to preserve evidence does not, on its face, explain the wide area to which access has been restricted for days after the incident.”

On-the-ground information is scarce to those outside the cordon because access to residents, including by the media, has also been restricted. For that reason, we encourage anyone who has this kind of information to contact us at [email protected].

Crazy dynamic situation to say the least. Is it justified? The police essentially declared "martial law" on this neighborhood, not to mention they restricted the freedom of the press to report the goings on!

They pulled the same thing after the Boston Marathon "Bombing" and I guess they feel they are free to initiate whatever policy they deem necessary when it involves one of their own. When is the last time you heard of the police locking down an ENTIRE neighborhood for 4-5 days over a local citizen being shot or murdered?

Yeah....me neither.

Baltimore Brew concludes by saying the Baltimore Police will “clear the crime scene” on Monday, so in a few hours.

Perhaps in a preview of things to come, the 4-5 day siege of West Baltimore by Police has been described by one resident as ‘Martial Law’. Readers concerned about social tensions in the US are urged to monitor events in Baltimore, which better than Chicago or Detroit now demonstrates just how the United States is marching straight into a new, Orwellian era.

Believe me, my sincere condolences to his family, friends, and the department....it's truly horrendous.

That being said, we still should not allow our feelings to blur the overreaching policies of law enforcement.

Nor should we be complacent about dual standards as it pertains to police being more interested and adamant about seeking justice when it's one of their own that takes a hit.

Seems it's ok to trample on the rights of others to get their man when it's one of them and yet let it be one of us and they simply hose off the scene, ask a few people questions, write a report and off they go.

RIP Sean..
t.co...

Twitter images:
twitter.com...
t.co...
t.co...

It's starting.

Get ready.

Get used to it.

Well it is a show of force, but I'm not so sure you could call it 'Martial Law.
It does look like they have gone OTT though..I should think a little PR might a good idea..and quickly.

I get what your saying on the overreach thing, but it won't hit home to most until it directly effects their family. My cousin (pretty much little brother) was shot in the back of the head in one of these ghettos just a couple weeks ago. Guess what, nobody in the neighborhood wants to talk to the police, so my cousin gets no justice.

So on that note, I don't feel sorry for the neighborhoods that actively protect murderers. I feel sorry for the men that have to patrol those criminal havens. I guess if the citizens of that neighborhood are conducting any criminal behavior then they have something to worry about, but if not I'm unsure why getting a dangerous murderer off the streets is a big deal.

Why has this NOT been on the mainstream media for several days???

Or did I miss it?

a reply to: mymymy

Way to go...you win the dumbest comment on the internet award for the day!

To the OP...I think,as you pointed out, the double standard of how hard they try to catch the killer of the detective as opposed to how hard they try to catch the killer of a regular Joe is disgusting and has only served to lose them even more respect in many eyes.

a reply to: Middleoftheroad

That's terrible... I'm truly sorry for your loss. I'm going to just let that be my response out of respect for your family and friends.

a reply to: Middleoftheroad

Did they close down a neighborhood for a week for his murders investigation? Yea I didn't think so...which shows about how much they care. I'm sorry for your loss though and I do hope that they are able to find those responsible, just not trampling our rights to do so.

Edit: also a lot of times people who live there don't want reprisals if it is found out they talked...which does happen is such neighborhoods. I mean its not like the,police are going to really protect them later on down the road.

originally posted by: butcherguy
Why has this NOT been on the mainstream media for several days???

Or did I miss it?

Most of it was on Twitter as reporters were not allowed in the area. I put the link to the local fish wrapper in the OP.

"It's a good day to be eastside."- Proposition Joe

Appreciate it, but I know my comment is biased based on my situation. No need to take it easy on me. I brought my personal situation to the boards, so it's fair game for debate.

originally posted by: mymymy
Well, it's mostly black, so I'm sure most of the people here will be OK with it. Constitution be damned

...or gang banging thugs, which I'm perfectly okay with putting through hell as retribution for the blight they are on American society and the grief they bring innocents. And I don't care what “race” they are...a banger is a banger and reaps what they sow...

originally posted by: RickyD
a reply to: Middleoftheroad

Did they close down a neighborhood for a week for his murders investigation? Yea I didn't think so...which shows about how much they care. I'm sorry for your loss though and I do hope that they are able to find those responsible, just not trampling our rights to do so.

Nope , sure didn't, so I agree with the trampling rights part. Like I said my view is biased as hell right now with these ghettos.

a reply to: RickyD

Wow, I won, and so early in the day.

ATS is going to be quiet the rest of the night I guess.

You'll see though if this thread gains some traction. We'll hear them called "Animals", "thugs" and someone will break out the FBI's statistics and all that crap. It won't be a lone criminal nutjob.

originally posted by: xuenchen
It's starting.

Get ready.

Get used to it.

You are right. Innocent people being subjected to martial law from crimes they had nothing to do with. It's started.

Any video coverage?

originally posted by: mymymy
Well, it's mostly black, so I'm sure most of the people here will be OK with it. Constitution be damned

Here meaning ATS? So essentially you are suggesting most of the people here on ATS is racist. What a stupid useless comment. If I were a mod I would remove your comment and point you.

My opinion on this story is that I think this is absolutely unconstitutional and something should immediately be done about this. This is ludicrous! I wonder what would happen if they tried to peacefully protest this? Something tells me it wouldn’t end well for the citizens.

What troubles me is that plenty of people have been shot in Baltimore in the past, and there is no lockdown. The cops are not too proud to say that they only REALLY care when it is one of their own.

originally posted by: dfnj2015

originally posted by: xuenchen
It's starting.

Get ready.

Get used to it.

You are right. Innocent people being subjected to martial law from crimes they had nothing to do with. It's started.

And we should "get used to it."

Nothing tastes better than the boot of an authoritarian, I suppose.