Police Department

It began with a $15 bike and ended with three gold rings for $45 -- and in between, yesterday's Baltimore County Police Department auction had bounty aplenty for bargain hunters.Car radios, tools, coolers, coats, clothes, lawn mowers, lamps, curtains, tires, tureens, lawn chairs, televisions, suitcases, fishing rods, fans, bedding, backpacks and even illuminated plastic statues of Joseph and Mary -- the dusty, diverse inventory from the police property department was a discount shopper's dream.

A 35-year-old man was shot and killed Wednesday night after Baltimore police said several men forced their way inside his Waverly home and fought with the victim before shooting him in the head in his upstairs bedroom. The victim's teenage daughter was home at the time, according to a Police Department spokesman, and called 911 after the assailants left. The victim was identified as Tavon Frederick, who had lived in the 3300 block of Westerwald Ave. in North Baltimore, one block west of the old Memorial Stadium.

When Northern District police officers go on patrol, along with their guns, batons and pepper spray, the officers tuck a teddy bear in their cruisers.Officers use the stuffed animals to comfort children who have been involved in accidents and other traumatic incidents, from being accidentally locked in cars to witnessing a domestic dispute."The bears are issued as part of standard equipment to our officers out in the field," said Sgt. Jason D. Little, who works out of police headquarters in Millersville.

Two adult drivers, including a Baltimore City police officer, were transported to the hospital Sunday afternoon following a two-car accident in the 800 block of Walker Avenue, near The Alameda. According to witnesses, the city police car and a burgundy sedan collided on Walker Avenue, and the police car knocked down part of a wooden fence. The sedan was driven by a woman, according to one witness. Neither driver appeared to be suffering life-threatening injuries, and the officer was seen walking around after the accident, according to a witness.

Authorities say a missing 7-month-old baby boy and the teen he was left with Friday in Baltimore have been found in northeast Washington. According to Washington police spokesman Officer Anthony Clay, the baby, Ki'Yauhn Birch, and the teenager, Jonae Boozer, were found at a bus stop in the 4400 block of Nannie Helen Burroughs Ave. shortly after 6 a.m. Monday by police officers responding to a call. Baltimore police spokesman Kevin Brown said Monday that Baltimore detectives were interviewing Boozer, 16, about the incident.

A 47-year-old Joppa resident died Wednesday night in a motorcycle accident on Old York Road, according to the Baltimore County police department. Larry Stephen Hicks Jr., of the 1900 block of Mountain Road in Joppa, was pronounced dead at the scene. According to the police department, officers responded around 11:30 p.m. Wednesday to a report of a motorcycle accident at Old York Road and Openshaw Road. Investigators determined that the 2008 Harley Davidson motorcycle operated by Hicks was traveling eastbound on Old York Road when it left the roadway and struck a utility pole.

Baltimore Police say up to 50,000 people have shown up at Pimlico for the Preakness Stakes. The department expects about 112,000 people to come to the event by the time this evening's big race has been run. If the race hits that mark, it would be one of the biggest crowds on record -- last year's attendance was reported at about 107,398, the sixth-largest of all time. The race has been recovering from a decline in attendance when race organizers decided in 2009 to eliminate the B.Y.O.B.

The Aberdeen Room always enjoys getting assistance with extensive record keeping by donors who have been very active in civic affairs in the Aberdeen area. At times we receive help from those who have worked for city government and are very knowledgeable about their work. We were very fortunate to have a visit by retired First Sgt. James Testerman from the Aberdeen Police Department. He brought with him, as a donation, a binder containing pictures and information about the Aberdeen Police Department, from which he had retired after 39 years and 28 days.

Walmart announced Tuesday that it has donated $25,000 to the Baltimore Police Department to buy a fleet of mountain bikes, even as the retailer awaits a crucial City Council vote on whether to rezone land needed to build a new store in Remington. Officials said at a news conference attended by Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake that the gift, made through the nonprofit Baltimore Police Foundation, was an act of a good corporate citizen and independent of any action pending before city officials.

The Anne Arundel County branch of the NAACP is seeking a federal Justice Department probe of the county's Police Department, claiming that there is a lack of diversity in the department and not enough promotion opportunities for black officers. Jacqueline Allsup, president of the county branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, said she sent a letter Monday to Sen. Barbara A. Mikulski, asking her to make a formal request for a Justice Department investigation.

Baltimore Police say up to 50,000 people have shown up at Pimlico for the Preakness Stakes. The department expects about 112,000 people to come to the event by the time this evening's big race has been run. If the race hits that mark, it would be one of the biggest crowds on record -- last year's attendance was reported at about 107,398, the sixth-largest of all time. The race has been recovering from a decline in attendance when race organizers decided in 2009 to eliminate the B.Y.O.B.

A 47-year-old Joppa resident died Wednesday night in a motorcycle accident on Old York Road, according to the Baltimore County police department. Larry Stephen Hicks Jr., of the 1900 block of Mountain Road in Joppa, was pronounced dead at the scene. According to the police department, officers responded around 11:30 p.m. Wednesday to a report of a motorcycle accident at Old York Road and Openshaw Road. Investigators determined that the 2008 Harley Davidson motorcycle operated by Hicks was traveling eastbound on Old York Road when it left the roadway and struck a utility pole.

New details of the Baltimore police response to a particularly large, unruly and violent crowd of youths downtown over theSt. Patrick's Dayweekend not only raise the question of whether the department has the resources it needs to anticipate and respond to such incidents but also whether it can be trusted to level with the public when similar disturbances occur in the future. City officials are right to be concerned about protecting Baltimore's reputation as a tourist attraction and destination for out-of-town visitors, but not at the cost of whitewashing episodes that might tarnish that image.

For the past five years, news anchors at Baltimore's Fox affiliate have partnered with city police to hunt down fugitives. The segments, aired on the last Friday of every month, were more telethon than ride-along, with mug shots, a brief description of crimes and officers shown at desks fielding calls from the public. But police pulled out of the collaboration — which helped take more than three dozen wanted suspects off the streets since 2007 — after a man sought in a high-profile assault walked into the studio at WBFF-TV (Channel 45)

The Aberdeen Room always enjoys getting assistance with extensive record keeping by donors who have been very active in civic affairs in the Aberdeen area. At times we receive help from those who have worked for city government and are very knowledgeable about their work. We were very fortunate to have a visit by retired First Sgt. James Testerman from the Aberdeen Police Department. He brought with him, as a donation, a binder containing pictures and information about the Aberdeen Police Department, from which he had retired after 39 years and 28 days.

The announced departure of Baltimore Police CommissionerFrederick H. Bealefeld III prompted a round of media interviews on Friday. Here are parts of my sit-down with the commissioner. A story looking ahead to what's next is planned for Sunday. On Friday, Bealefeld said that he was indeed leaving for family , brushing off copious rumors that he and other members of the city's law enforcement team, such as political aide Sheryl Goldstein, had other motives. Here's a story about departures from City Hall . Bealefeld quotes; Why leaving “The real story is I'm going to be 50 in August.

First they stripped the city robbery unit, transferring one investigator after another into homicide in an effort to keep pace with Baltimore's murder rate. Where once there were 18 robbery detectives, by late last year there were only six.Then the bank robberies began -- dozens of them. In desperation, the police command staff turned to the depleted sex offense unit, sending its lone supervisor into the robbery squad.By November, that left exactly one detective to follow up on the more than 300 sexual assaults reported annually in Baltimore.

Frederick H. Bealefeld IIImade Baltimore safer. He ascended to the top job in the city's police department at a time when Baltimore was reeling from violence that threatened a return to the dark days of 300-plus murders a year. He immediately brought stability, focus and a no-nonsense attitude that got results. Crime is down, but so are arrests, and - most crucial for any police commissioner - homicides are at a low the city has not seen in two generations. His sudden announcement that he will retire in August, five years after his elevation to commissioner, is without a doubt a blow to the city.

A sixth Baltimore Police officer was sentenced Friday for his role in a massive kickback scheme involving an auto body shop, receiving two years in prison and being ordered to pay $24,000 in restitution. Officer Rafael Concepcion Feliciano Jr., 31, admitted last year that he referred accident vehicles to the Majestic Auto Body shop in Rosedale after being introduced to the store's owners by a fellow officer, Rodney Cintron, prosecutors said. Prosecutors estimate that Feliciano alone caused a loss of between $120,000 and $200,000.