Readers Respond: Inner Harbor Attacks

Support police, not lawless kids

As an Inner Harbor resident, I'm outraged my neighborhood has become the stomping ground for "roving groups of young people." ("A city on guard," May 31.)

It might occur to Mayor Dixon and Commissioner Bealefeld there also is a problem with police morale. From the few conversations I've had with local officers, I'm told they get no support from "the brass" when they apprehend a young troublemaker.

And if these are racist, black on white (or reverse) hate crimes, Commissioner Bealefeld needs to say so. Above all, it's time to stop whining whenever a young person is brought to justice.

Rosa Nester, Baltimore

Zero tolerance policy needed

While I am disturbed by the recent uptick of assaults in the city, I don't see a real desire on the city to do what needs to be done. What this city needs is a Giuliani-style zero tolerance policy to crack down on the overall lawlessness going on in this city.

I'm sorry that we need to teach people how to live because their parents don't, but let's not pretend this is just about a few kids punching people at night.

Lonnie Fisher, Baltimore

No wonder Orioles attendance is down

This is the first time I have been so outraged at the double talk about violence in the city that I honestly don't feel safe bringing my family downtown. I had planned to bring my two grandchildren to the Orioles game on June 17th for the birthday of the oldest, but I don't feel I could jeopardize the safety of a 4 and 5 year old walking from a parking lot to the stadium. I don't believe the city can protect the residents, and I'm wondering if the low attendance at Orioles games is all about not winning or about not feeling safe in the city of Baltimore.

Bruce Miller, Baltimore

Comfort in Baltimore shaken by beating

With considerable interest I read the two front page articles in Sunday's Sun dealing with the random acts of violence taking place in downtown Baltimore. Our son Marshall Mickelsen was brutally beaten for no known reason on the corner of Light and Fort Streets on April 17th. After three weeks at the University of Maryland Shock Trauma Center where he received state of the art medical care, he was transferred to Kernan Rehabilitation Hospital where he is responding well to the therapy he gets six days a week.

Marshall was in a coma for several weeks, and he continues to be confused, disoriented and detached from reality. His return to a normal, workaday life, using his information technology skills and contributing to society as a fully functioning adult seem somewhat unlikely given the severe damage he sustained to his brain, particularly to his frontal lobe. To my knowledge, as with the cases reported in the newspaper, no suspects have been identified by the Baltimore Police Department.

My fondness for Baltimore, and the level of comfort I have felt walking in my neighborhood to and from restaurants, to the Inner Harbor, coming home from Camden Yards after Orioles ballgames and visiting nearby friends has been shaken.

I am a small, 72-year-old woman and feel more vulnerable today than I ever have before. If I no longer can feel safe in this, my adopted city, I ask myself if I want to live here. I would miss the wonderful cultural offerings, including the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, my good friends, the wonderful new restaurants and the proximity to Washington, D.C.

Nancy R. Mickelsen, Baltimore