The Official TOP TEN List of Baltimore City

This should make the List of the Top 10 Stupidest Things Done
by the Baltimore City Police Department... it should be #1 !!!

Handcuffs politics

Originally published July 30, 2003 (Baltimore SUn Editorial)

AS A POLITICAL novice, Andrey Bundley has been having a rough time
garnering publicity for his uphill challenge to Mayor Martin O'Malley.
Thus, the 42-year-old high school principal is making the most of his
brief handcuffing over the weekend. He's hoping to extend his 15
minutes of fame all the way to the Sept. 9 primary.

Campaign theatrics aside, though, this does seem to be a case of a
well-meaning but silly ordinance overzealously enforced.

The incident took place Sunday night as Mr. Bundley was leafleting
cars parked near a downtown nightclub.

"Tell me that's an offense," he said yesterday of his distribution of
fliers.

Actually it is an offense. City Code forbids affixing "an advertising
circular, notice, or item on any motor vehicle in the City of
Baltimore without permission of the motor vehicle owner or operator."
Many people, perhaps unwittingly, violate this law every day; if
convicted, an offender is subject to a $10 to $50 fine "for each
separate" instance of leafleting.

According to accounts emerging from dueling news conferences held by
the candidate as well as city Police Commissioner Kevin P. Clark, it
seems Mr. Bundley was the victim of an off-duty officer who was too
eager to exercise his police powers.

Yet Mr. Bundley brought the encounter on himself. He acknowledges that
more than two weeks earlier, police told him to stop leafleting at the
same parking lot off Guilford Avenue. Nevertheless, he chose to return
and resume the distribution of fliers.

But even if Mr. Bundley intentionally sought confrontation, there was
no apparent reason to handcuff him for violating a seldom-enforced
minor misdemeanor.Nothing the police have disclosed indicates he
threatened anyone. And why was he targeted when nothing was done about
another campaign worker participating in the leafleting?

As long as police cannot adequately explain the off-duty officer's
reasons for handcuffing Mr. Bundley, the incident smacks of selective
and arbitrary law enforcement aimed at political intimidation. Such
tactics are intolerable.

Mr. Bundley's appearance yesterday with Warren A. Brown, a flamboyant
defense attorney, promises quite a courtroom spectacle at an Aug. 9
hearing. Pure political theater.

Meanwhile, City Hall ought to take a hard look at the wording of the
statute used against Mr. Bundley. If prosecutors have to prove
leafleting occurred without the permission of a vehicle's owner or
operator, the law may be more trouble than it's worth.

	#1
dutch	The Official TOP TEN List of Baltimore City This should make the List of the Top 10 Stupidest Things Done by the Baltimore City Police Department... it should be #1 !!! Handcuffs politics Originally published July 30, 2003 (Baltimore SUn Editorial) AS A POLITICAL novice, Andrey Bundley has been having a rough time garnering publicity for his uphill challenge to Mayor Martin O'Malley. Thus, the 42-year-old high school principal is making the most of his brief handcuffing over the weekend. He's hoping to extend his 15 minutes of fame all the way to the Sept. 9 primary. Campaign theatrics aside, though, this does seem to be a case of a well-meaning but silly ordinance overzealously enforced. The incident took place Sunday night as Mr. Bundley was leafleting cars parked near a downtown nightclub. "Tell me that's an offense," he said yesterday of his distribution of fliers. Actually it is an offense. City Code forbids affixing "an advertising circular, notice, or item on any motor vehicle in the City of Baltimore without permission of the motor vehicle owner or operator." Many people, perhaps unwittingly, violate this law every day; if convicted, an offender is subject to a $10 to $50 fine "for each separate" instance of leafleting. According to accounts emerging from dueling news conferences held by the candidate as well as city Police Commissioner Kevin P. Clark, it seems Mr. Bundley was the victim of an off-duty officer who was too eager to exercise his police powers. Yet Mr. Bundley brought the encounter on himself. He acknowledges that more than two weeks earlier, police told him to stop leafleting at the same parking lot off Guilford Avenue. Nevertheless, he chose to return and resume the distribution of fliers. But even if Mr. Bundley intentionally sought confrontation, there was no apparent reason to handcuff him for violating a seldom-enforced minor misdemeanor.Nothing the police have disclosed indicates he threatened anyone. And why was he targeted when nothing was done about another campaign worker participating in the leafleting? As long as police cannot adequately explain the off-duty officer's reasons for handcuffing Mr. Bundley, the incident smacks of selective and arbitrary law enforcement aimed at political intimidation. Such tactics are intolerable. Mr. Bundley's appearance yesterday with Warren A. Brown, a flamboyant defense attorney, promises quite a courtroom spectacle at an Aug. 9 hearing. Pure political theater. Meanwhile, City Hall ought to take a hard look at the wording of the statute used against Mr. Bundley. If prosecutors have to prove leafleting occurred without the permission of a vehicle's owner or operator, the law may be more trouble than it's worth.