The Last Days of Disco

 Cancelled leave. All police officers were on duty.

Every one of them. 

 Ladies and gentlemen: this is how you achieve a peaceful Independence Day celebration in Baltimore.

All cops employed by the city of Baltimore were deployed on July 4th. Every last one.

 By saturating the entire city with every police officer, in an attempt to showcase the state still has the monopoly on violence in a metropolis overrun with black criminality [Baltimore Fourth of July to feature heavy police presence: All officers ordered to report, state law enforcement agencies coming in, Baltimore Sun, July 4, 2013]:

Baltimore police ordered every officer to work July 4 and will rely heavily on reinforcements from state law enforcement agencies, an effort intended to keep Inner Harbor visitors safe while maintaining a strong presence in areas besieged by recent violence.

The city has traditionally packed downtown with officers for Independence Day celebrations like the one planned for Thursday. But this year police are also stepping up their presence in neighborhoods across the city that have been rocked by more than 40 shootings and 16 homicides since June 21.

"The Inner Harbor is going to be safe on the Fourth of July," Lt. Col. Darryl DeSousa declared at a news conference.

DeSousa promised an "overflood" of officers downtown and said that all police districts would be at full strength, because the department has canceled leave for the holiday.

A visible army of city and state police, city sheriff's deputies and Maryland Transportation Authority Police officers will be posted downtown as about 200,000 people fill the Inner Harbor at dusk to watch fireworks burst over the water.

Revelers will see police on foot and on horseback, patrolling in cars and peering from helicopters. Undercover officers will mix with the throngs while investigators monitor multiple angles from overhead CitiWatch cameras and "surveillance" stages.

The Inner Harbor celebration runs from 4 p.m. to 10 p.m. The fireworks display is scheduled for 9:30 p.m.

While city police have been grappling with a persistent deficit of officers due to retirements, defections and suspensions, Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake has made it clear to Police Commissioner Anthony W. Batts that he has her "full support," mayoral spokesman Ryan O'Doherty said.

O'Doherty said police would have technological resources needed "to target repeat violent offenders, gangs, and illegal guns while keeping our streets — including downtown — safe." He noted that the CitiWatch camera network, which the mayor has expanded, acts as a "force multiplier" that helps officers with more eyes on the street.

As the city seeks to balance the needs of well-off enclaves with those of troubled neighborhoods, community leaders said the holiday represents one of the biggest tactical challenges Batts has faced since being hired last fall.

"This may be the real first test of whether downtown and uptown Baltimore is covered as well as all areas," said former Baltimore NAACP president Dr. Marvin L. "Doc" Cheatham Sr.

  But why would 'all areas' need to covered Mr. Former Baltimore NAACP president? Haven't colored people advanced the city of Baltimore to a point where police are unnecessary, a superfluous reminder of the discriminatory past?

No.

Every officer had to be called to work on July 4, 2013 in Baltimore (imagine the overtime/holiday pay), because the threat of black violence was that great.

Meanwhile, the slow death of a great American city was accelerated on Independence Day 2013. [Teen fatally shot in crowd after Downtown fireworks; faith leader calls incident 'frightening, unsettling', Indy Star, July 5, 2013]:

The shooting death of a 16-year-old after Thursday’s Downtown fireworks has raised concern this morning among community leaders.

“It’s frightening and unsettling in that something like that could occur in the context of what has been a safe activity,” said the Rev. Charles Ellis, pastor at 25th Street Baptist Church and interim director of the Indianapolis Ten Point Coalition, a local outreach group trying to quell violence.

“The reality is until some of the really root problems are addressed,’’ Ellis said, “violence can continue to happen.”

According to Ellis, those issues include the state’s gun laws and the city’s rates of poverty and education.

Ellis said in these cases, the coalition is usually called to talk with family members or others involved and ease tensions in the community.

“We typically begin to find the person’s connections and try to stem the tide of retaliation,” he said.

While the shooting death was the first seen in Indianapolis this July, it follows a month where 16 people were killed -- and comes a week before thousands begin arriving Downtown for Indiana Black Expo’s Summer Celebration.

IMPD Police Chief Rick Hite said this morning that police had no suspects and were investigating if the victim was targeted.

"It could have been a number of things," Hite said. "It could have been a shot at distance. It could have been random shots."

Hite said a large contingent of police were Downtown at the time of the shooting, trying to move crowds -- including large crowds of teens -- along as they do on most weekends.

"There were a lot of fireworks going off and a lot of people moving," Hite said. "Unfortunately we are entering different times where people bring weapons to a fireworks show."

"It was a great atmosphere, lots of families,’’ Hite said. "Parents should not let children who are incapable of being unsupervised roam downtown."

Hite said there were no immediate plans to change police strategy for this year’s Indiana Black Expo events.

A spokesman for Mayor Greg Ballard said city officials would be assessing the situation today.

While Ballard’s office is still waiting for additional details in the case before officially responding to it, spokesman Marc Lotter said the office will respond as more facts become available.

“Obviously, we’ll work with our community partners, including IMPD, to discuss what happened and the impact of the shooting,” he said this morning.

Earlier: Police report no suspects

Detectives continued to search for suspects today in the shooting death of a 16-year-old male late Thursday at the intersection of Maryland and Meridian streets.

The shooting, in the heart of Downtown Indianapolis, occurred as large crowds were still gathered after the annual 4th of July fireworks.

It happened shortly before 11:30 p.m., according to an Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department report. An ambulance took the victim to Wishard Memorial Hospital, where he later died. According to initial reports, the youth had been shot in the stomach.

The IMPD report indicated the victim is a 16-year-old male, but police have not released his name.

Prior to the shooting, the report states, police cleared the corner of Illinois and Maryland streets of 40 to 50 juveniles. The “crowd of juveniles” walked eastbound on Maryland, the report states, and a short time later police heard a gunshot.

Is there anything in life more feckless than a black 'community leader' or black 'faith leader' attempting to be a shepherd to their unruly, uncontrollable flock?

You could cancel leave for all police officers employed by the city of Indianapolis, and the same situation that flared up like a case of  herpes will strike again.

War-zones.


The threat of a war-zone requiring the deployment of all officers (and the cancellation of Independence Day leave).

It's not Islamic Fundamentalist engaged in some Holy War against the Great Satan that requires such a mass concentration of police to ensure some semblance of order; it's the Black Terror that has already claimed such cities as Birmingham and Detroit, New Orleans and Memphis.

With the threat of riots - in the acquittal of George Zimmerman - already an established reality (and on the police department of Sanford, Florida is preparing in earnest to combat), the instruments of our liberation reside in waiting.

Watching.

And never yielding.

We still live in a world where the Kerner Commission dictates how we view black criminality (especially its origins).

But the music is starting to fade out.