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Eastport residents tired of gunfire

Forming new task force to 'irritate, aggravate' officials

By LISA BEISEL, Staff Writer

Published 12/18/07

Stanford Erickson is tired of hearing gunshots near his Eastport home.

His proximity to the water is great, but it makes the gunfire he hears at least twice a week sound even louder, he said.

And he's not alone. Mr. Erickson joined up with the Task Force to Stop Gunfire in Eastport this week in an effort to call attention to the problem.

"We have light shows, we have horses, we have fireworks, but the No. 1 obligation of a city government is public safety," he said.

The informal group of about 25 people met last week at a nearby coffee shop to talk crime and solutions. One of the chief complaints was the sound of shots ringing through the streets, he said.

Group organizer Cindy Cole said another chief concern was the lack of response from city officials. She said calls and e-mails are being ignored.

Alderman Ross Arnett said he's received e-mails and phone calls, but hasn't responded because he wanted to form a more detailed response to the issues they addressed.

"I thought they deserved a very thoughtful response," Mr. Arnett said this morning.

"We believe that city officials, first and foremost, their obligation to the city is to provide security and safety," Ms. Cole said. "We feel much less secure and safe lately than we used to in our neighborhoods."

She referred to a spate of robberies in Eastport over the summer and the more recent police-involved shooting at 1000 Madison last month.

"We want this to get much more attention," Ms. Cole said. "We want more resources, and more time and energy, put into crime prevention. We feel like it should be a top priority in Annapolis."

Mr. Arnett said he applauds the efforts of the task force.

"They're frustrated, I'm frustrated. Things are not moving fast, but also, there aren't any fast, easy solutions," he said.

Mr. Erickson said one problem is that residents call police when they hear gunshots, or noises that sound like them, but by the time an officer arrives nothing is happening.

Police officials said there's no good count of how many times they're called for reports of "shots fired," because if an officer goes out and sees nothing, he doesn't write a report.

But they respond to every call, said city Police Department spokesman Officer Hal Dalton.

"We respond to each and every report because we don't know what was behind it," he said. "Most of the time we don't find anything. But if nothing else, we want a police response to at least deter anything that might be going on."

He encouraged residents to call if they hear or see anything suspicious.

Mr. Erickson said he wants the city to fill the 23 open police officer positions and to start paying officers a higher starting salary. Last month, council's public safety committee made both these suggestions to Mayor Ellen O. Moyer.

The first step on the task force's agenda is to attend city council meetings and make their demands known. They want city officials to come up with a plan to stop crime in Annapolis and regular reports of their progress, Ms. Cole said.

Last night's meeting was a special hearing in which public comment isn't allowed, so the group wasn't allowed to speak. They'll meet up again Jan. 10 before the next regular council meeting.

"We want them to be aware of us, we want to be able to talk directly to them about our concerns and what we want to do," she said.

The group pledges to "irritate and aggravate" city officials until they see action.

"We will do what it takes to stop the gunfire," Mr. Erickson said. "All we have is the power of the vote. That's what we have."

For more information or to join the task force, call Mr. Erickson at 410-263-3934.

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Not just an Eastport prob - 2007-12-20 02:18:17

It is clear to me that the gun shots and other dangerous crimes we hear about daily in the police blotter are occurring within a fairly tight radius of ALL of the public housing areas in our City. When will we learn that putting a bunch of poor people together is a BAD idea. We need to dismantle these properties and find some alternatives that will break the cycle of crime and government dependence. There is no doubt in my mind that they are related.

In the mean time, it sure would be nice if our Mayor and police departments could fill the police vacancies.

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B. Kibbey - Annapolis, MD - Karma: Bad

It's gone on way too long - 2007-12-19 12:15:15

After 13 years living in Eastport, we had no choice but to move because we felt no longer felt safe. I was very active in calling the police, and reporting suspicious activity, but nothing ever happened ? NOTHING! The final straw when one police officer told me to just stay inside my house. Alderman Arnett, get out of your office and go meet these people who elected you and need your help! Mr. Erickson, I wish you the best of luck. I know first hand the tough battle you have ahead of you.

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Angelia F. - Rose Haven, MD - Karma: Bad

Gun fire in Eastport - 2007-12-18 23:27:26

This has been a problem for many years, much too long. We had a neighborhood watch program on Monroe Street from 1997 to 1999, and many nights we had to fight our own battles without the police. A saw a man get shot in front of the house. A saw many go to jail, many died, another generation is on the street now and much younger. Here it is almost 10 years later and nothing has been done about public housing and crime in that area. I blame the Director of Public Housing and HUD along with city officials for allowing certain criminals to reside in public housing. I blame the people that life in public housing for letting criminals stay with them. Young adult males without jobs have no business living in public housing when other people need housing badly. Nobody checks on who lives there, a loitering and curfew bill was fought by the ACLU years ago, and we won't see any improvements until residents in that area stand up and speak up and fight this.

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Ursula Schubert - Annapolis, MD - Karma: Bad

Eastport Crime - 2007-12-18 15:55:02

I just wanted to take a moment to thank the Capital for running this article. I have lived in Eastport for the last 5 years and have experienced many of the same frustrations with hearing gun shots and calling the police. First, I cannot praise the APD enough for their quick response. they are wonderful and respond quickly to every call. I look forward to joining the task force to create a safer neighborhood for everyone.

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megan jones - annapolis, MD - Karma: Bad

Eastport Gunfire - 2007-12-18 15:17:54

I would like to know where in Eastport Mr. Arnett lives that he heard gunfire on only two nights out of a week! I hear gunfire at least twice that often. Calls to the police have done nothing. They do not care. The big money in Annapolis is far from this location.

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S. Abbott - Annapolis, MD - Karma: Terrible