Discussion
  • Read More
    hackstoJordan Sargent
    9/08/15 12:31pm

    I can only hope they buy up a few blocks of Baltimore, rent out the homes at cost, and spend the rest buying into industries that will employ black folk at a decent enough rate that they’ll have an opportunity to hope.

    Wait a minute. That’s what we should have done 50 years ago instead of shipping out every possible job to China. Dang.

    Reply
    <
    • Read More
      gawkerellahacksto
      9/08/15 12:45pm

      It’s not THAT much money.

      Reply
      <
    • Read More
      hackstogawkerella
      9/08/15 12:49pm

      Have you been to Baltimore? Go by train. It’s a bomb site.

      A beautiful brownstone, completely redeveloped, in downtown Fells Point goes for around $300k. And that’s within walking distance of anywhere that’s safe. Fells Point is beautiful.

      Then see how much they cost up on North Avenue, then go West or East from there. You can buy a block for $1m, no problem.

      Reply
      <
  • Read More
    SolJordan Sargent
    9/08/15 12:31pm

    They should make stuff like this come right out of future wage hikes for police officers. Hit em where it hurts.

    Reply
    <
    • Read More
      nramos33Sol
      9/08/15 12:58pm

      I disagree, it should come out of their pension fund. Then you’ll have older police officers who are close to retirement and in power to actually care because it’ll directly impact them in a couple of years.

      Reply
      <
    • Read More
      ReburnsABurningReturnsnramos33
      9/08/15 1:02pm

      Good luck winning that lawsuit. Even if you did, it wouldn’t be the current older officers who would be impacted, it would be younger officers who have to deal with the legacy of an underfunded pension that get hosed.

      Reply
      <
  • Read More
    tjwJordan Sargent
    9/08/15 12:46pm

    The most amazing part of the settlement is that Maryland has a law capping damages that victims can receive when they are injured by police officers at $400,000 ($200,000 prior to April). Because of that reason, the vast majority of Baltimore settlements, even in cases of death, have been for $200,000 or less.

    It seems pretty clear that the city was expecting a federal civil rights lawsuit in this case, which could have opened a whole other can of worms including a DOJ investigation. They paid an awful lot of money to make this go away.

    Reply
    <
    • Read More
      gabesavesJordan Sargent
      9/08/15 12:47pm

      A choice quote missing from your write-up

      “In addition to the financial payout, the settlement would also call for the Baltimore police department to begin requiring its officers to wear body cameras.”

      Hopefully cameras can limit future payouts, as this isn’t Baltimore’s first.

      Reply
      <
      • Read More
        Ginger Is A Constructgabesaves
        9/08/15 2:15pm

        Agreeing that body cameras are important, and should have been mentioned in the article. However, I would think that the “hopeful” thing about body cameras would be that they might “limit” the number of people (black people in particular) killed by cops in the future, not that they might “limit future payouts.”

        Reply
        <
      • Read More
        gabesavesGinger Is A Construct
        9/08/15 2:55pm

        Well yes, one follows the other. I am just saying the settlement is a payout, the terms of the settlement involve use of cameras in the future, and the Gawker article (and subsequent discussion) is framing this as a taxpayer-funded sweepstakes giveaway, so I thought the camera details were important. Hopefully Baltimore police stops killing black people.

        Reply
        <
    • Read More
      youjustkeepthinkingbutchJordan Sargent
      9/08/15 12:54pm

      So, not only is it wrong to abuse people in your custody until they die, it’s also EXPENSIVE. Won’t someone think of the poor budgets?

      Reply
      <
      • Read More
        pdxwhyyoujustkeepthinkingbutch
        9/08/15 1:17pm

        You would think people would think of budgets, but hurting and killing brown/Black people is apparently worth every penny :-/

        Reply
        <
    • Read More
      Lionel OsbourneJordan Sargent
      9/08/15 12:28pm

      Are they going to WIRE him the money?

      You know, like that show that everybody likes. It was on HBO. It was about Baltimore. It wasn’t that popular when it first aired, but a lot of white people have since bought the complete DVD/Blu-ray set.

      Guys? Guys? Please don’t walk away. I’m so very lonely.

      Reply
      <
      • Read More
        Max CherryJordan Sargent
        9/08/15 2:17pm

        They need to take it from the police officers. The problem is, they’re going to take this out of funding that would go to the rest of the city. If programs beneficial to most residents face cuts because of this, but the police don’t face cuts, then the end result will be that the people of Baltimore paid for the actions of the police, people, many of whom, that are victims of their brutality as well. The system needs a total overhaul. Police departments need their own separate fund so when they fuck up, only that fund gets hit. We’ll see if they’ll practice some restraint on the beat when they see their pension contributions dropping year after year because of fellow officers going too far and getting the department sued.

        Reply
        <
        • Read More
          jasoneliasJordan Sargent
          9/08/15 1:18pm

          Blake’s reasoning makes sense. I don’t know why many butt hurt white racists can’t understand the fact that getting your neck snapped in a paddy wagon isn’t a good thing, Gray’s “just desserts” or something he engineered himself. Why did they even pick Gray up that day anyway? That’s the question that makes the case despite Gray’s rap sheet or other issues. Arresting without probable cause and dying in custody? It’s not difficult to understand.

          Reply
          <
          • Read More
            first time talker long time listenerjasonelias
            9/08/15 3:49pm

            “Not difficult to understand” um- you did see the ethnicity of the deceased, right? Butthurt racists are plentiful these days. It wouldn’t have mattered if he crossed against the light, he did ‘something’ to deserve it.

            Reply
            <
        • Read More
          CaliforlifeJordan Sargent
          9/08/15 12:54pm

          It’s not enough. Dead is dead, and he was tortured in the back of that van. That city knew these things were going on for years and did nothing to end the practice. As another post says, this money should be coming from future pensions and the like because that entire department, those elected officials, et al are all culpable in this death, other deaths, mass/dumb incarceration and for terrorizing those citizens for years.

          Reply
          <
          • Read More
            More Ghosts Less StuffJordan Sargent
            9/08/15 1:23pm

            Damn, kill me right now! Let me jump on that block and you can take a swing. I’ll settle for $4 million for my family at this point. Just don’t look at my comment history or I’ll probably fetch less than $2 million. :/

            Reply
            <