FROM: "Tanya Williams in the Hanlon Community"

TO: "Mayor.Martin.OMalley@BaltimoreCity.gov

DATE: 06/05/2003 2:58AM

Dear Sir,

Thank you for taking an interest in my situation.I am dismayed that you have not yet heard of it. Last month Tony Bridges our neighborhood liaison from the Mayors Office of Neighborhoods attended our community association meeting at the behest of our association president Elise Jude Mason because of this very issue. My family has been under varying degrees of attack at various times for about a year. Because our attackers are juveniles, the police have seemed reluctant to protect my family. My husband and I have gone out of our way to be neighborly, caring and giving to everyone in their household and others in the community. We have attempted to employ them and find them employment, taken them to job interviews, promised to transport them to work for the first 30 days that they are employed, bought a brand new basketball goal and several balls some of which disappeared in hours. We have attempted to talk to them about breaking bottles in the street with varying degrees of success depending on who is present. When there are 20 or more teenagers, which is frequent, and the bottles contain liquor there is no talking to them. They congregate on the porch of 2421 Denison Street, where there is very little parental supervision sometimes for days. Their arguments, drinking, and loud ruckus behavior spill out onto the street and to other properties. Calling the police only serves to antagonize them. And until we complained in the offices of the North Western District the police didn't even get out of their cars when we called. After calling the police when a bottle was thrown into my yard and stating I saw who threw the bottle the officer said, "I don't know if this bottle has been here 5 minutes or 5 years. It's your word against his." Then he told us we should video tape their behavior. We video taped Easter Sunday. Monday my husband attempted to show the video tape to a parent about three blocks away from our house who's two teens were at 2421 Denison on Easter drinking, arguing, and attempting to stab another teen with a broken bottle. The son answered the door and prevented my husband from speaking with the parent. The son immediately told the residents of 2421 Denison that we had video taped them the day before. While my husband and his dog were at work the teens began to come onto my property and insult me with racial slurs and overtly threaten to kill me and my family. I have them on tape drinking and threatening me at various times throughout the day. They were inside my fenced yard when my husband came home from work with his German Shepherd dog. My husband had a broken arm at the time and could not restrain the dog. The dog bit the first girl attempting to escape over the fence. The dog then ran through the gate tearing the chain link out of the frame and bit the second girl. The blood was in my yard inside the gate and three police officers saw it. My husband was arrested, jailed, and forced to pay 40 thousand dollar bail. He is facing 6 felony charges. We have been married 15 years, and have two beautiful children, Cedric 8 and Arrissa! 5. We volunteer in our community and anyone would be happy to have us as their neighbor. We begged the police for help before the girls were bitten and I feel let down that nothing was done to stop them before they came onto my property to harm me and were injured. I tried to call Sgt. Roper in community affairs but was unable to make contact. The patrol officers that answered the 911 calls would not even look at the tapes or try to find out if there were adults in the house.They said there was nothing they could do because they are juveniles and to stop calling them. Since they were bitten we have been under constant attack from them, their friends and even their parents have threatened to kill us and our children. Still nothing can be done until we are hurt or our property in damaged. I am seeking peace orders and have filed charges myself by going to juvenile justice but it seems unlikely anything will be done to stop the threats and harassment. We are resolved to move because there is no quality of life in a place where incorrigible teens rule and are able to bat rocks at your children and call them Oreos because their mother is white and their father is black. Their behavior is reinforced by ineffectual policing. Until we can afford to move we live in fear.
 
Tanya Williams



Bryan,
First , let me thank you for your efforts to help us through the mayors office. I am forwarding the reply from the mayor. The Ombudsman did contact me today by phone and I am very sad. His only concern is that 2 children(as he calls them) were bitten by my dog. He said he will be starting an investigation but he said he does not understand my fear because my husband is the only one who has committed a crime. We invited him to watch the videos of their illegal activities and threats but he said he would contact us after he completed his own investigation, with his findings. These girls are not innocent children. They carry guns! Just because someone is not legally an adult does not make them a child either. They are dangerous people. And they are capable of taking a life. I tried to plead my case explaining that the problem started before the dog bite and still continues. Yes, they were bitten. But no one will look at the tapes and no one would help to stop them before they came here to my house to hurt me.I have them on tape plotting to come and rob me for the video 2 hrs before they were bitten. In those two hours they came closer and closer to my house to threaten and scare me. They win. I am threatened and I am scared to death.My children do not sleep without nightmares. I do not sleep for fear that they will come for us. When I tell official type people the story they make it seem so trivial. I invite them to live in my shoes for a while. Would you allow your children to play outside while being called racial slurs even if they do not understand what they are being called. It has been suggested several times that if I let them stay in harms way long enough to be hit with a rock that something could be done. How absurd is that!!!!!  Choose one of yourselves to sacrifice so that the others can have relief. So, I feel that in my efforts to get help I have sent another official to build a case against my husband.
The stress and helplessness I feel is terrible. I am physically sickened to my heart. We have lived here for 2 years and have never hurt anyone and have helped many. Now, we are public enemy number one. I give up, we are the bad guys. In Baltimore City juveniles have all the rights no matter what they do to others. The Ombudsman was very scary indeed, He brought me to tears and when Clayton talked to him it only got worse. He says he will conduct an objective investigation, but he seems to have decided we are the problem. I only hope he will come here and speak to the other neighbors around us. We are not bad people,and we are not the only ones afraid of these teenagers.
Tanya
P.S. while writing you I received your email about the dog. The dog was quarantined for 10 days she was taken away immediately. We were allowed to visit her but could not touch her or let her out of the 4x4 cage she was kept in. She was abused  as witnessed by my husband while picking her up on day 11. He heard someone yelling SIT . And cursing . He was not supposed to go in the back but he opened the door and the attendant had her on a cord (like you would use for clothes line) tied in a noose and was hanging her off the floor. My husband got the dog from him and took her to the front where he put her collar and leash on. We had to pay about $300 and she has a micro chip in her somewhere(they don't tell you where, so you can't take it out). She lost her hearing and was completely deaf. We think it was clogged ears from being squirted while in the cage.(that is just speculation though as I have no proof) And they made it very clear that they can decide to come and get her and put her to sleep depending the outcome of the bite officer's investigation. We have left a copy of the tapes to City Paper and we have called channel 11 so far no one seems interested.


----- Original Message -----
From: Mayor Martin O'Malley
To: 'tanya williams'
Sent: Thursday, June 05, 2003 3:28 PM
Subject: RE: Tanya Williams in the Hanlon Community

Ms. Williams:
 
I've sent your e-mail to Mr. Reggie Scriber, the Ombudsman for Baltimore City, who will be contacting
you.
 
 
Martin O'Malley
 
Mayor




-------- Original Message --------
Subject: [Fwd: Fw: Tanya Williams in the Hanlon Community]
Date: Thu, 05 Jun 2003 23:19:03 -0400
From: Bryan <Bryan@RebuildingMadison.info>
To: Mayor Martin O'Malley <mayor.martin.omalley@baltimorecity.gov>
CC: tanya williams <tanya.williams@verizon.net>


Your Honor:

There are definitely two sides to every story, but I do not believe that the angst and desperation conveyed in the Williams' emails and entry in the guestbook could be contrivances. I intend to find out for myself what's going on ASAP.

I know too well the terror juvenile delinquents can create right from my experience here on Madison Avenue, long chronicled on my website, including a night of terror amoral "children" (teenagers) created for this neighborhood almost a year ago last July 4.

Regardless of what his investigation concludes, that your ombudsman would give such an impression of prejudgement to this woman in his first phone call is wrong. It reminds me of the insolent, impudent and disrespectful conduct of Jennifer Miehlke last year when we invited you to the grand opening of the police substation here at 1708 Madison, rear. You referred me to your scheduling secretary to set a date. When Ms. Miehlke called, she said the police did not want the substation, would not use it and that you had officially declined our invitation, even though Sergeant Hess had gladly accepted our offer many months before. You never did decline our invitation to me, but we gave up. Sheila Dixon and Catherine Pugh cut the ribbon.   City officers use the substation several times every day with Central District Major Gutberlet's support, supplied and supported by many citizens. Police Commissioner Designate Clark visited the substation on February 9 as a result of reading about it and our predicament here in the City Paper and encouraged the officers he met that night to use it.

I ask you to assign a new and impartial person to investigate this matter, please. I intend to bring the media in for the same purpose. Someone needs to hear both sides of this crisis. Something is obviously way wrong and such circumstances are not uncommon in this city. I'm reminded of senior citizens moved to gun play over harassment by out of control juveniles and young adults, as happened at least twice last year.

And how can any of us escape the similarity here to the pleas the Dawson's made just last year.

Please give this matter some personal attention. The frustration here is shared by way too many Baltimoreans.

Bryan