Several months ago, we conducted a reader survey regarding
what content folks would like to see in the paper. Among the topics they asked
for was more police news, so we redoubled our efforts to provide it.
The front page of the July 8 edition demonstrates that, with
“City confronts fireworks attacks,” “Four shot Sunday morning,” and “Egide
plant suffers $1 million in damage.” As we help to build community, we help
focus attention on good news, of course, but also on issues that need to be
addressed, and these stories did that, as did follow-up articles on these
incidents.
Then there is our keeping an eye on the local government. In
“Council decides 3-2 to mail ballots” on July 15, we led our Page 1 with a
story that touches on a number of issues which we continue to cover with our
own articles, letters to the editor, guest commentaries and Town Square
comments. This touches on claims of voter suppression, citizens’ claims that a
council member has failed to follow residency requirements, and race relations.
Something we are pleased to report: Citizens and council
members on opposing sides of these issues continue to send their submissions to
us, knowing that they will be treated fairly and with respect.
submitted photo/CPD The Cambridge Police Department confiscated fireworks, including these, in recent days.
CAMBRIDGE — “Our firefighters are being assaulted,” Mayor Victoria Jackson-Stanley said during a City Council conference call on Thursday afternoon.
It’s not only firefighters, either — police officers have been in the line of fire in recent nights, as storms of fireworks have been ignited in the streets of the city.
Police patrols and firefighters responding to incidents have been met with verbal abuse, physical attacks and more. “One of our officers had fireworks thrown or shot at them,” in the 800 block of Phillips Street on Wednesday night, CPD Capt. Justin Todd said in an earlier conversation with the Banner.
That assault caused minor damage to the officer’s vehicle. “No one is in custody for that as of yet,” Capt. Todd said.
Residents of this usually quiet town have been losing sleep and sometimes feeling threatened in their own homes, as loud explosives have been set off, sometimes all night long. Those who live in other neighborhoods might not see it in their own streets, but many have heard the loud booms echoing across the city.
Incidents have occurred not only on Phillips Street, but also Greenwood Avenue, South Pine, Central Avenue and other areas. “It’s all over town,” the mayor said.
The meeting got off to a rocky start, as the numbers of residents calling in to listen or comment exceeded the limit of 40, causing some council members to have trouble getting linked in. After that was straightened out, the mayor, commissioners, City Attorney Chip MacLeod, State’s Attorney Bill Jones, Rescue Fire Company Chief Adam Pritchett and City Manager Patrick Comiskey were on the line to examine the issue, as were about three dozen citizens.
The council is gathering comments from the public and findings of fact from the Cambridge Police Department necessary to impose a curfew on city residents under the age of 18 in an effort to deter late-night incidents including the pyrotechnic disruptions. That’s not something that simply be declared, however.
“There is a process to doing this,” Mr. MacLeod said, beginning with recommendations from law enforcement.
“Curfews can be tricky, but they can be navigated, if done so carefully,” Mr. Jones said. The facts presented to the council would have to justify the curfew, he said, which itself should be no more restrictive than necessary.
“There are certain things we have to be careful about, in terms of making sure the curfew, if enacted, is applied fairly and equally to all parts of town,” Mr. Jones said. “It would have to be carefully written, and carefully executed, by your officers.”
Cambridge Police Department Chief Mark Lewis said, “It would be a limited tool for our officers to use in situations. There is a juvenile issue, a problem in some areas, and that would be used as a last resort,” to help get juveniles to return to their homes.
Five men were arrested earlier this week, as the CPD tries to bring the situation under control. Richard Blanks Jr., 31; Byron Herndon, 29; Donnell Jones, 25; Naail Thompson, 20; and Tyonbre McKnight, 19 were charged with discharge of of fireworks without a permit and related offenses.
Chief Pritchett said his organization has been stretched thin by emergencies caused during the incidents. “We’ve had five fires since Friday, directly from fireworks,” he said.
Though the men charged in connection with the discharges of explosive devices are not minors, there have been reports of children, some quite young, being on the streets at all hours. “How do we hold parents responsible?” Mayor Jackson-Stanley asked.
Mr. Jones said there are legal avenues through which parents can be held responsible for the actions of minor children, including violation of curfews.
Citizen Lynette Wongus called for quick action and an increased police presence in neighborhoods — in person, not only in their patrol cars. “People are afraid, in their own apartments,” she said.
“We will have officers working overtime,” Chief Lewis said.
Ms. Wongus didn’t leave it all up to law enforcement, as she urged residents to speak up to protect their community. “As residents, we need to step up,” she said.
The need to allow public comment required another meeting to be scheduled, this one for Tuesday at 5 p.m., on townhallstreams.com. The mayor and council acknowledged that public comment had been limited by the technical difficulties, and asked that citizens email their comments on these issues to Mr. Comiskey at
pcomiskey@choosecambridge.com.
He will forward the comments to the mayor and council by Saturday, allowing them to consider citizens’ views before Tuesday’s meeting.
Four shot in Cambridge early Sunday morning
Jul 5th, 2020 · by
Dave Ryan · Comments:
0
Dorchester Banner/Dave Ryan
Weaver Avenue was the area in which multiple shootings occurred in the early hours of Sunday morning.
CAMBRIDGE — An apparent gunfight in the early hours of Sunday morning has left four individuals wounded.
The Cambridge Police Department received a call about 4:30 a.m. that there was a large crowd at a block party in the Weaver Avenue area of the city, where the shooting occurred.
“Four subjects were shot, two in the arm, one in the leg, one in the chest/torso area,” Capt. Justin Todd said in response to a request from the Banner for details on the incident. “The subject with a gunshot wound to the chest is at PRMC [Peninsula Regional Medical Center]. Appears to be more than one firearm used, as casings from more than just one caliber of weapon were located. Investigation is continuing.”
The condition of the victims is not yet known.
None of the injuries had caused a fatality as of late Sunday morning.
The shootings took place after a string of nights in which local residents had their rest disturbed by loud explosions from fireworks. The noise and smell of burned chemicals was noticeable late Saturday night as far as a mile across town.
City officials are considering a curfew of Cambridge residents under the age of 18. A meeting will be held and livestreamed on townhallstreams.com on Tuesday at 5 p.m.
Egide plant suffers $1M damage
Jul 7th, 2020 · by
Dave Ryan · Comments:
0
Submitted photo/Juanita Darby
A cloud of black smoke rose over the Egide plant on July 1. The incident went to three alarms, pulling in crews from around the region.
CAMBRIDGE — One of the city’s major employers sustained severe damage in a July 1 fire. Egide USA’s factory suffered an estimated $1 million loss in a three-alarm fire first reported at 5:21 p.m.
At that time, the volunteers of Rescue Fire Company Inc. (RFC) were dispatched for a commercial building fire at 4 Washington St. Units arrived on location with black smoke and fire showing from the roof and started interior operations, advancing a 300-foot attack line into the right side of the structure.
The company specializes in the manufacture of hermetic packages for sensitive electronic components used in defense, security, aeronautics, telecommunications and energy, the company’s website says. “Egide Group is the only pure player in this market niche with manufacturing bases in France and the United States,” a statement on the site says.
The plant employs up to 50 persons, according to its LinkedIn page.
Crews did not find any fire on the interior of the structure, just smoke conditions without high heat, a report from RFC said. The plan was switched to a master stream operations and flying stand pipe using the tower companies on the roof.
It took approximately 20 minutes to set up and bring this fire under control. Additional units, including hazardous materials and the Maryland Department of the Environment, were called to deal with the chemical aspect of the incident.
Crews responded from Salisbury, Anne Arundel County and Baltimore. Teams formed a plan and made entry into the structure where it was rendered stable for the night.
Decontamination was set up and performed on all team members who made entry into the structure. Command placed the situation under control and all units were placed in service without incident at 12:13 a.m. The last volunteer cleared Station 1 at 1:39 a.m. after all equipment was fueled, filled, and restocked.
Thirty-four volunteers and 12 vehicles from Rescue Fire Company Inc. responded to this incident.
Mutual aid was provided by the Cambridge Police Department, Dorchester County Emergency Medical Services PM100, 101 and 102 (Cambridge), Station 61 (Linkwood-Salem), Station 46 (Church Creek), Station 21 (East New Market), Station 16 (Secretary), Station 6 (Hurlock), Talbot County Station 30 (Trappe), PM93 (Trappe), Talbot County Station 20 (Oxford), Talbot County Station 60 (Easton), Salisbury FD Haz-mat Team Station 2 PM2 (Naylor St.), Engine 16 Station 16 (Cypress St.), Anne Arundel County FD Haz-mat Team, Rescue Engine 23, Special Unit 23, Station 23 (Jones Station), Squad 4, PM4 Station 4 (Severn), Maryland Department of the Environment, Maryland State Fire Marshal’s Office, Coast Guard (EPA) and the State Highway Administration.
On June 2 at 9 a.m., RFC’s Tower 1-1 returned to the scene to assist the Maryland State Fire Marshal’s office with the investigation.
“The Officers & Members of Rescue Fire Company Inc. would like to thank every fire department that responded. This was a long incident, but departments pulled together and gave what they could to ensure the safety of the citizens of our communities. The company would also like to thank Domino’s of Cambridge for the 30 pizzas made at very short notice, free of charge to the volunteers.”
The Office of the Fire Marshal reported that the estimated loss to the steel and concrete structure is $300,000, and $700,000 to its contents. Fire alarms and sprinklers were both present and activated. The fire was discovered by an alarm and an employee, the office reported.
Seventy-five firefighters brought the incident under control in six hours. The area of origin and preliminary cause are under investigation. No injuries or arrests were reported.
· RFC firefighter Kevin Carr contributed to this report.
Council decides 3-2 to mail ballots
Jul 13th, 2020 · by
Dave Ryan · Comments:
0CAMBRIDGE — City Commissioners decided by a vote of 3-2 during their Monday meeting to mail ballots to voters for the Oct. 17 city election. Commissioners Steve Rideout (Ward 1), Dave Cannon (Ward 4) and Robert Hanson (Ward 5) were in favor, while Commissioners Donald Sydnor (Ward 2) and LaShon Foster (Ward 3) were opposed.
The council had discussed the ballot issue during a July 8 work session. Polling places will still be open for those who choose to vote in person.
Mayor Victoria Jackson-Stanley said Monday evening, “If we didn’t have a coronavirus threat hanging over us, we would probably do this differently.”
Commissioner LaShon Foster, who is running for mayor, released a statement on July 9, opposing the suggestion to include mail-in ballots. In it, she questioned the security of ballots in the Post Office.
“There will be no accountability as to who mailed theirs in or if they have been documented,” she wrote. And a person could vote in person after mailing a ballot, she wrote, adding, “They will just simply throw your first ballot away when they find it.”
On Monday, Commissioner Foster said, “We have a problem with the first time in history, you can vote twice.”
However, the mayor said, the issue up for a vote in the emergency charter amendment was only whether the city would mail ballots, not the process.
Mayor Jackson-Stanley said in discussions with the county’s Election Board a couple of years ago, city officials asked if they would could hold their elections at the same time as the presidential voting in November. “We were told we would not be allowed,” she said, explaining why the city’s count will be in October.
