The Baltimore Sun from Baltimore, Maryland • A2

2 THE BALTIMORE SUN NEWS TUESDAY, JANUARY 8, 2019 Two Baltimore lawmakers said Monday that they will introduce legislation in this General Assembly session to permanently ban the city from placing liens against homes, churches and other properties over unpaidwater bills. Communityadvocatesandchurchgroups have called on the city to end the process, to tax sale for water debt, including some churches, TheBaltimore Sunhas reported. Owner-occupiedhomes cango to tax sale if they have at least $750 in unpaid water bills that are at least ninemonths late. At tax sale, investorscanbuythatdebt fromthecity important revenue for a cash-strapped City Hall and can then foreclose if homeowners pay. State Sen.

Mary Washington and Del. Nick Mosby, both Democrats, cited rising water rates and erroneous bills in announc- ing their legislation. forever removes water from the tax said of her bill. Standing at St. John Alpha Omega Pentecostal Church in West Baltimore, Washington talked about residents in her district who are struggling to pay what she called exorbitant bills.

She noted other large jurisdictions in Maryland do not threaten to take homes or properties overwater debt. selling homes for water bills make sense in Montgomery County or Prince County then it certainly does not make sense to do this in Baltimore Washington said. join our neighbors to the south and end in 2019 this horrible The House of Delegates last year unani- mously passed legislation sponsored by Washington to ban such sales. But the state Senate passed a weaker version of the legislation, which applied only to homes for oneyear. Inacompromise, theHouseagreed to theback Hogan signed into law.

Mayor Catherine Pugh has said she would put a stop to such lien sales for owner-occupied homes. James Bentley, a spokesman for Pugh, said Monday she had not yet seen the legislation and therefore comment. aposition at this he said in an email. Mosby said he hoped the mayor would support the latest version of the legisla- tion. speakingup for the he said.

colleagues will get behind this. Our most vulnerable population is disproportionately impacted by Washington and Mosby were joined by City Councilwoman Shannon Sneed, who said she will introduce a council resolution in support of the legislation; the Rev. Alvin Gwynn, president of the Interdenomina- tionalMinisterial Alliance of Baltimore, and Rianna Eckel, the Maryland organizer for The legislation comes as Board of Estimates, which is controlled by Pugh, is set to voteWednesday tohikewater rates by more than 9 percent for the next three years. The city, citing costly but necessary improvements to its aging water and sewer systems, has regularly raised rates in recent years, to the point that residents pay double what they did nine years ago. Baltimore also has strug- gled to bill accurately for water use for years.

In 2012, the city had to refund about $9million after overcharging residential and business cus- tomers. It switched to a new billing system, but some problems continued. Earlier this year, for example, hundreds of customers received bills of more than $50,000, which city officials attributed to a software up- grade. luke.broadwater@baltsun.com twitter.com/lukebroadwater End to liens over water debt is sought Lawmakers seek to ban city from placing liens against homes and churches By Luke Broadwater The Baltimore Sun hope our colleagues will get behind Del. Nick Mosby Baltimore County police identified a 20- year-old from West Baltimore as the man struck and killed by a county police cruiser followingacarjackingandchaseSunday.

the3200blockofW. Rogers Ave. in the Pimlico Good Neighbors neighborhood, was hit by a police cruiser after he and two other people bailed out of a stolen car during the pursuit, according to police. Taylor was struck as the suspects fled on Highgate Drive, not far from his home. He was pronounced dead at the scene, police said.

A second Kelly, was arrested Sunday and is being held without bail at theBaltimoreCountyDepart- ment of Corrections, said Shawn Vinson, a BaltimoreCountyPoliceDepartmentspokes- man. He was charged as an adult with nine counts, including armed robbery, armed carjacking, theft and possession of a firearm, onlinecourt records show. A preliminary hearing for Kelly, of the 5000 block of Truesdale Ave. in East Baltimore's Frankford neighborhood, is scheduled for Jan. 18 in District Court for BaltimoreCounty.

As of Monday afternoon, Vinson said, police were still searching for the third suspect. The chase began Sunday evening after policespottedaFordFiesta thatwasreported stolen from a pizza delivery driver that afternoon on Merle Drive in Windsor Mill, according to police. An officer saw the car, called for backup and pursued the vehicle on Liberty Road into the city and then onto The chase continued to near Pimlico Race After the suspects leaped from the vehicle, a police cruiserhit theFiesta frombehind. The suspects took off on foot onHighgate Drive, where another police cruiser struck Taylor. Police are reviewing body camera footage from the incident as part of their investiga- The incident marked the second time in the past month that a Baltimore County policechaseended inadeath.

InDecember, a teenager was killed in a crash after a brief police chase inReisterstown. twitter.com/sarahvmeehan 20-year-old identified as man killed in police chase Dion Lamar Taylor of West Baltimore was run down by a Baltimore County cruiser By SarahMeehan The Baltimore Sun years went by, she realized she wanted to become a sworn officer. She started out as a patrol officer and worked up the ranks as a supervisor, public information officer, supervisor of youth services, chief of staff and commander of the human resources bureau. Founded in 1952, the Howard County Police Department has 478 sworn officers and 221 full-time civilian employees. Myers said her experience gives her insight into how all the personnel can work together.

was not just a sworn officer, I was a civilian in thedepartment. I understand the A retired former Howard County police captain is returning to service to become the first African-American female police chief. huge, an exciting said Lisa Myers, 52, who was named chief Monday by County Executive Calvin Ball. demonstrates a breaking of the glass ceiling forwomen Ball said he has known Myers for more than a decade, and made the pick based on her qualifications, compassion and her commitment to community policing. knew she would be a leader for today and he said.

Myers joins Ball, Sheriff Marcus Harris the first blacks in their respective roles serving in Howard County. The latter three were elected in theNovember general election. Additionally, last month Ball named Christine Uhlhorn, a third-generation fire- fighter who served with the county for nearly 30 years, as the first female fire chief inHowardCounty. Regarding his picks for the two high- profile positions, Ball said he leaders who shared my vision for a safe, Myers said crucial for county resi- dents to have people in leadership who represent them. important that people see our Police Department and leadership reflect the diversity of the she said.

Meyers had a 27-year career with How- ardCountypolicebefore retiring inJanuary 2018. When she was approached by Ball about returning as chief, she the interested in coming back and picking up where I left off and moving the department she said. She began her career with the depart- ment in a civilian position in 1990. For four years she was a crime lab technician, working with detectives and police officers on crime scene investigations. She said as agency in a different Myers said.

Myers will replace former chief Gary retired at the endof 2018. She will officially police chief on Feb. 1, and will receive a salary of $209,110, according to a county spokesman. A lifelong Marylander, Myers comes from a law enforcement background. Her late father, Leonard Bridgeforth, was a military police officer in the U.S.

Army, and her late uncle Dennis Mello worked in the Baltimore PoliceDepartment. Myers is following in the historical footsteps of her uncle, who in 1956 became the first African-Americanpolice captain in theBaltimore department. A cousin, Henry Mello, retired from the Baltimore PoliceDepartment in1986. In addition, Myers is married to Wood- row Myers a retired Maryland State Police trooper who is now a commander with the police force at Towson University in Baltimore County. She has a son and two step-children.

Myers said one of her first priorities in February will be to conduct a comprehen- sive assessment of thedepartment. She said she wants to look into the emergency preparedness, ensuring officers have the trainingandequipmentneeded for emergencies that can range from an active shooter to extremeweather. Myers saidshewants tocontinue tobuild tocombat the opioid crisis and bolster its mental health unit. InOctober, themental health unitwas expanded, in part as a response to Mary- new red flag law allowing law enforcement officials, family members, mental health providers and others to request temporary removal of guns from individuals if they believe they pose an immediate danger to themselves or others. The unit previously had one police officer and one mental health professional, and added two additional officers to its ranks.

She said she will seek to recruit and hire strong candidates who also reflect the diversity. According to U.S. Census data, Howard population is about 52percentwhite, nearly 20percent black or African-American, about 19 per- cent Asian and about 6.8 percent Hispanic or Latino. UntilMyers formally takes the reins next month, two current commanders in the department Maj. Luther Johnson, the deputy chief of adminis- tration, and Maj.

Ellsworth Jones, deputy chief in operations command will serve asactingHowardpolicechiefs, according to department spokeswoman Sherry Llewel- lyn. Gardner, who had been chief for four- and-a-half years, announced he would retire three days after Ball took office. His nearly 35-year career with the department endedDec. 31. twitter.com/jessmnocera Howard gets woman chief Top cop is first female African-American to lead department By Jess Nocera Howard County Times Lisa Myers, a former Howard County police officer, was chosen by County Executive Calvin Ball to be police chief.

DOUG BALTIMORE SUN MEDIA GROUP A man in cardiac arrest in the 1600 block of N. Wolfe St. was rescued from a smoking East Baltimore rowhouse Monday afternoon and taken to Johns Hopkins Hospital in critical condition. Officials did not identify the victim. LLOYD SUN Man injured in house fire.