The Baltimore Sun from Baltimore, Maryland • A2

THE BALTIMORE SUN NEWS TUESDAY, OCTOBER 16, 2012 Club security debate is revived after 2 shootings Some say city police need to reconsider policy on off-duty officers Council calls for posting 911 calls online Members also seeking more oversight of other city departments Cherry, said the shooting incident reinforced his belief that police need to revisit they way they handle officers working security at bars. In 2008, Commissioner Frederick H. Bealefeld III prohibited city officers from working security at businesses that serve liquor, citing the potential for conflicts of interest between public safety and the priorities of the establishment. The city instead set up a system in which bar owners could pool funds to pay for on-duty deployment of officers in their area, which is in use only in Federal Hill and at the Power Plant Live complex. Not all businesses in those zones participate, officials say, as many had previously subcontracted officers through private security Bar owners "tell me point-blank that they believe they had the best security when off-duty police officers were working." Steve Fogleman, liquor board chairman independent commission appointed to review the shooting of a city police officer outside the Select Lounge had also recommended a permitting system for party promoters.

New Police Commissioner Anthony W. Batts said he visited nightlife spots recently, and he agrees with Bealefeld that officers shouldn't work secondary employment for bars. He said he wants to have meetings with business owners to discuss "management things" like dress codes, taxicab pickup locations and crowd management on sidewalks. "Some of our locations could be better managed," Batts said. Elsewhere in the city, police said they will continue to move officers from administrative assignments to walk foot patrols.

Skinner said police also increased resources in the Eastern District in hopes of "drumming up intelligence" on some recent cases. He described the efforts as "targeted, working off a list of violent repeat offenders in those areas." The department has also been pairing up city officers with state troopers for patrols in hot spots, most recently over the weekend along Greenmount Avenue. Blogger James MacArthur posted photos of troopers conducting traffic stops and using license plate readers. Skinner said police have been using about a half-dozen troopers in areas of concern before last weekend, including in the Southwestern and Northeastern districts. "When you look statistically at where the Northern District is, we're just very concerned about some of the violence that's been occurring up there," Skinner said.

"Coming into this weekend, after a couple of incidents on Dumbarton Road, we wanted some additional coverage." In the shooting of 18-year-old Harbor City High School student Tashawna Jones, which occurred Friday in the 300 block of E. 26th Skinner said detectives believed it was a domestic incident and have leads. Police also said they had made an arrest in the shooting Saturday of a pizza delivery driver in Cherry Hill, charging 20-year-old Dayone Jackson with attempted murder. Batts said statistically, last year was a "home run year, a Super Bowl year" for police, and this year's numbers are trending the right way overall. jfentonbaltsun.com By Justin Fenton The Baltimore Sun City police plan to meet with management of a downtown club after two people waiting in line were shot early Monday a shooting that capped a violent weekend in Baltimore and has revived discussions about security around city bars and clubs.

Eight people were shot in the city over the weekend, and police said they had several plans in place in hopes of curbing violence. That includes prioritizing arrest warrants for people with domestic violence or robbery histories, and increasing foot patrols. The double shooting downtown occurred about 1 a.m. outside Club Mirage in the 400 block of W. Baltimore across from the Hippodrome Theatre.

The victims were waiting in line to enter the club when a gunman coming from the west opened fire, sending patrons scattering. One man, whom police did not identify but who they said has a "very, very long criminal record," was shot multiple times and taken to an area hospital in serious condition, while a second victim walked into Maryland Shock Trauma Center. Acting Deputy Commissioner for Operations John Skinner said it "doesn't appear that the club did anything that would've contributed to this." Nevertheless, he said that the club has been growing in popularity and attracting larger crowds, and police want to meet with owners to head off any concerns. "We have been monitoring it, but this is the most significant incident that they've had," Skinner said. "It's all about getting in front of this and getting us to work together." Hassan Murphy, an attorney representing the club's owners, said management was trying to learn more about the shooting.

"This club has a great track record of working with the community, and is committed to the safety of not only its patrons but making sure that people in the surrounding area are safe as well," Murphy said. "We're going to figure out quickly what happened here and work with authorities." The club, located in a former bank building, recently changed its name from Mansion Baltimore. The police union president, Robert F. companies. Liquor board chairman Steve Fogleman said bar owners "tell me point-blank that they believe they had the best security when off-duty police officers were working the clubs" and want to see that return.

Cherry said other clubs won't pay for police because of the costs or because they are unwilling to have officers in close proximity. He said he believes the answer is for the City Council to explore an ordinance requiring bars and organizers of other events to pay for overtime officers if a certain-size crowd is expected. "If you're going to pass out fliers trying to recruit large crowds, you should also have to pick up the phone and tell the city you're going to need five cops working the place that night," Cherry said. "It's only fair to the taxpayers, who end up losing police in their neighborhoods when something happens outside these places." Skinner said there have been discussions about requiring promoters to pay for officers based on the size of crowds, but no policy changes are imminent. In March, an By Kevin Rector The Baltimore Sun The City Council adopted a resolution Monday formally asking Baltimore police to create a system for posting active 911 responses online.

Police officials raised concerns last month about their ability to create such a system, which would post active police responses on the Police Department's website, before their planned rollout of a new Computer Aided Dispatch system in September 2014. But Councilman Brandon Scott, the resolution's lead sponsor, said new Police Commissioner Anthony W. Batts has since expressed a desire to work with him on the initiative. "They have ideas of great things we can do," Scott said of Batts and his staff. The resolution's approval was one of a handful of actions taken by the council to increase the amount of information city agencies and partners share with the council and the public.

The council moved forward a bill introduced by President Bernard C. "Jack" Young that would require Fire Chief James S. Clack to provide the council with annual reports on how he plans to use department resources, and to report to the council and the public on any major changes planned for unit deployment or closures prior to their implementation. Currently, the law calls for strategic planning updates from the Fire Department to the council every five years. Young said he introduced the measure to provide another layer of "checks and balances" following the July closure of two fire companies, a decision Young and other council members said was made without enough public input.

The bill will be read in front of the council once more before a vote on final passage. A separate resolution was adopted requesting that the Fire Department provide the council with an assessment of the impact of the company closures and more thoroughly outline its plans moving forward. Councilman Nick Mosby introduced a new bill to establish a city audits commission of two public accountants, two experts in government budgeting and one business leader, all appointed by the mayor, to provide input on city audits and how they are conducted. The commission also would have as nonvoting members Comptroller Joan M. Pratt, who oversees the city's auditors; Inspector General David N.

Mc-Clintock; and a member of the council appointed by Young. Mosby said his intent is not to create "another commission without much teeth," but to ensure the city has "objective views" in its auditing process. The council passed an amendment to the city charter to require more audits of certain city agencies under Pratt earlier this year, and it will go before voters on the November ballot. A resolution was adopted requesting that Baltimore Gas and Electric Co. officials meet with the council and city residents to respond to "observations and requests" following the derecho storm in June, which caused more than 1 million power outages in Maryland.

Councilwoman Mary Pat Clarke, the resolution's lead sponsor, said she hopes the resolution will help "lay ground rules and groundwork" for handling similar storms in the future. A resolution was introduced requesting the Department of Recreation and Parks and the Planning Department create a master plan of short- and long-term efforts to meet the city's recreational needs. Scott, who introduced the resolution, said many parks have not changed since he was a boy, and a long-term plan is needed. krectorbaItsun.com twitter.com rector sun MICA PHOTO The Artist's Palate is one of the country's first food trucks in a college setting, according to a MICA official. It's scheduled to start making food runs this week in and around the campus.

MICA adds 'Artist's Palate' food truck to its palette Mobile vendor will offer meals and snacks to students and the public By Richard Gorelick The Baltimore Sun The food truck trend has rolled onto the campus of the Maryland Institute College of Art. Set to debut sometime this week, the Artist's Palate will ply the university's campus, bringing students breakfast sandwiches, late-night snacks and meals in between. The newest truck in Baltimore's fleet of mobile vendors is one of the country's first in a university setting, according to Christo pher Bohaska, MICA's director of operation services. "A food truck is an idea that we've had for a while," Bohaska said. "It's a creative solution to our growing campus." Although its services will be available to the general public, the food truck is intended as an amenity for the MICA community, "Our students have really unique schedules," Bohaska said.

"They're sometimes in their studios for six hours at a time." A typical schedule would have the Artist's Palate serving lunch near academic buildings, dinner at studio spaces and late-night snacks near student housing. The Artist's Palate will be jointly operated by MICA and Parkhurst Dining Services, which runs the university's bricks-and-mortar dining facilities. It will serve a core menu of hamburgers, hot dogs, fresh soups, falafel sandwiches, turkey burgers and french fries. Food trucks have flourished in Baltimore, which puts fewer restrictions on their movements than most comparable major American cities. Willy Dely, who heads the 26-member Maryland Mobile Food Vendors Association, said MICA students have frequently requested visits from food trucks.

"It's a great idea for them," Dely said "and it's a great idea for everyone going to MICA." The truck was purchased by MICA from a Philadelphia-based company that had rigged it up for another college, which ended up not using it, Bohaska said. richard.gorelickbaltsun.com.