Took some time to write about the next chapter of the saga that is the union, . (for )
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Ben Conarck
@conarck
criminal justice reporter • bconarck @ thebaltimorebanner dot com • DM for Signal • former 
Baltimore CityJoined December 2014
Ben Conarck’s Tweets
“I’ve been doing this for 15 years,” Michelle said. “I have the utmost respect for the Jewish community. I don’t want this place disrespected.”
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The Spanish-speaking population has grown exponentially in Baltimore in the last ten years.
But advocates say the shift is not reflected in city government.🧵
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In today’s and I write about how Black curriculum is taught by teachers in Maryland and across the country.
From lessons that include references about and to #ToniMorrison , check it out.
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More children were shot in Baltimore last year than in any year since at least 2015, when the city started publishing reliable data on gun violence. In 2022, 84 children were shot, compared to 62 the year before.
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New: A 54-year-old woman was arrested on charges related to a minor gaining access to a firearm, in connection with the case of a 15-year-old girl who was fatally shot by a 9-year-old boy last August, @CadenceQuaranta & @conarck report thebaltimorebanner.com/community/crim
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New: A 54-year-old woman was arrested on charges related to a minor gaining access to a firearm, in connection with the case of a 15-year-old girl who was fatally shot by a 9-year-old boy last August, & report
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Woman arrested in connection with fatal shooting of 15-year-old NyKayla Strawder, via
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1/Millions of Americans with health insurance are denied care every year. Patients can appeal but most don't. Usually, the insurer wins without a fight.
One sick patient decided to battle UnitedHealthcare in court. Here’s what happened. 🧵
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Wait what
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A new bill would let those incarcerated in Massachusetts to donate organs for reduced sentences. It's opened a debate about not only how to address a shortage of available organs for transplant, but what the moral and legal limits are for doing so. bostonglobe.com/2023/02/01/met
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That whoosh you're feeling is the slipperiness of the slope.
Now who is going to help design an at home curriculum we can put our kids through. Maybe an online course taught by the brightest minds out there.
My 12yo is ready.
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College Board caves on AP African American history course nytimes.com/2023/02/01/us/
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Newsroom vending machine sandwiches for dinner in rural New England circa 2012 better be my rock bottom or I quit
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Just walked past a colleague in the office eating dry cereal out of a plastic cup with his hands, flake by flake. I made note of the situation and he said, "This is rock bottom"
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Per , 14 new members of Baltimore City's police accountability board will be sworn in tonight. Earlier this month, I wrote about why this is all taking so long.
it's Surfside. recognized it instantly.
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Imagine strolling down the beach — pretty sure this is in Miami Beach — and seeing Tom Brady recording his retirement speech. Great spot to get contemplative though
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Video: How long does a traffic stop take when you’re the acting superintendent of the Maryland State Police?
In the case of a recent stop of Lt. Col. Dalaine M. Brady, about eight seconds.
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The “I had to suffer so others should, too” mentality in journalism is bad — especially when we’re trying to improve newsroom diversity.
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. dug up an old Tweet of mine about the long history of plainclothes/specialized units in the Baltimore Police Dept. In addition--
VCID came in the 2010's followed by GTTF.
Now there are DAT teams (District Action teams)
All part of the department's DNA
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Replying to @jennylynegan
Stop Squad (late 80's) Violent Crime Task Force (90's) Organized Crime Division ( early 2000's) SET (mid 2000's)
This is off the top of my head
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In a rare loss for federal prosecutors, a jury has acquitted former BPD Det Ethan Glover of charges that he stole $10k from a massive drug bust and lied about it to the FBI. Per who was in courtroom, Glover dropped to the floor sobbing after verdict read.. story tk
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. has responded to my tweet, and I've screenshotted the response here so it is easier to read in one place.
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The names of people who have died in 's jails is information that does not serve the public interest, according to the HCSO. I asked for a fee waiver and was denied. I asked for an explanation and they said it's their policy to deny fee waviers for reporters.
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Here's a very thoughtful, nuanced piece by on the current state of community-based violence intervention. Many promising opportunities, and also some challenges. One thing we know for certain...
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On the death of Tyre Nichols, Bates says he was reminded of the Gun Trace Task Force when he learned of MPD's Scorpion Unit. "You had an organization that was loosely supervised, and officers took it upon themselves to do vigilante justice as they saw it."
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Bates says he eliminated the SAO's work from home policy and has given employees 30 days to return to the office. He adds that he saw social media posts of employees who were supposed to be working on vacation in another country. "That’s crazy when you think about it."
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State's Attorney Ivan Bates on WBAL discussing his proposal to up the mandatory minimum for illegal gun possession for 21+ says he is listening to jail calls and hearing incarcerated people discussing the bill. "That’s what we need to change the culture of violence in the city."
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Maryland's reputation for having one of the most dysfunctional medical and geriatric parole systems in the country demanded a closer look. found a tangled mess of conflicting laws and regulations keeping people incarcerated.
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Update: I got a statement from mayors office on Rochester case
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Danielle Scott, whose 18 y/o son Donnell Rochester was killed by Baltimore police last yr, wants to keep pressure on about her son’s case. She was upset to see city officials putting out statements about Memphis when she feels they haven’t acknowledged Rochester
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NEW: More than a year after Mayor Francis Suarez presented an oversized, million-dollar check to the Black nonprofit Circle of Brotherhood, the City of Miami has reneged on the contribution.
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Most urgent matter of the week has been settled. Everyone can move on with their lives now.
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Replying to @APStylebook
The use of “the French” in this tweet by @AP was inappropriate and has caused unintended offense. An updated tweet is upcoming.
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DeSantis came to Miami to fight bail reform. Hours later, judge agrees to back off miamiherald.com/news/local/com via
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I grew up in a #1 household but over time I have learned the hard way that #3 is the way to go. Runner up is #5
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OK, you can only write with ONE type of pen for the rest of your life, which one are you picking? (ignoring the ink color)
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Fiona Apple, who has served as a trained court watcher in PG County over the last two years, submitted a letter of support for the legislation that would require video access for all public court hearings in Maryland.
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Filed: Ex-officer takes stand, denies stealing from Mexican cartel bust in last Gun Trace Task Force fallout case
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Every year, over 10 million people are admitted to jails in the U.S.—causing immense harm and disruption to people’s lives, families, and communities.
Too often, the harsh reality of life behind bars is invisible to the public.
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New: In today's BPD consent decree hearing, Judge James Bredar asked what he described as an "awkward, even ugly question" and instructed the DOJ that it should monitor for incidents in which officers de-escalated when they should have used force.
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NEW: Is the Baltimore Police Department de-escalating too much? Consent decree judge wants to know via
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I don't think I've ever seen a consent decree question like this one posed by Judge Bredar.
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Bredar just posed what he described as an "awkward, even ugly question" and asks if the BPD is closely monitoring instances where officers should have used force, but didn't. He says it is "our collective responsibility to assess for all defects."
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Out of the 12 teens shot this month, half of them near the city’s high schools, I can only think of one case where a suspect was identified and arrested.
And that's just a summary of teens. That doesn't include those students who had reached the age of 18 when they were shot.
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Harrison says there are no significant updates to the murder of a 15yo high school student yesterday. @wjz
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A missed tax payment of $750 could leave a Baltimore homeowner forced to pay thousands to an investor, or risk losing their home.
We spent months digging into the racial disparities, costs and profits of the tax sale system. A 🧵 1/11
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hearing now in recess
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Bredar: "You don’t hear any advocacy from me in asking this question in looking for a greater use of force at all. I think it’s implicit, but in such a sensitive area, I think I should be explicit." He says BPD should be able to say it reviews for these instances.
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