The 7th District Civic Council of Baltimore County published a letter requesting Redwood Capital Investments, owners of Tradepoint Atlantic located in Sparrows Point, Maryland to “SUPPORT OUR POLICE. ” Fort Howard Community Association is a Council Member. The full content of the letter follows.
Redwood Capital Investments
7301 Parkway Drive
Hanover, Maryland 21076
Dear Redwood Capital Investments,
Kindly be advised on June 22, 2020 the 7th District Civic Council of Baltimore County telephoned Tradepoint Atlantic, 1600 Sparrows Point Blvd, Sparrows Point, MD 21219 and was transferred to Mr. Aaron Tomarchio, Director of Tradepoint Atlantic’s corporate affairs and external relations. Mr. Tomarchio was unavailable. A message was left on Mr. Tomarchio’s voice mail detailing the 7th District Civic Council of Baltimore County is co-sponsoring a demonstration of solidarity titled “SUPPORT OUR POLICE,” on July 4th 2020, from 9-12 am in Dundalk, Maryland 21222 and Tradepoint Atlantic is invited to co-sponsor/participate with the communities of the 7th District.
It has become public knowledge Mr. Aaron Tomarchio is also a community activist in his own right as the Upper Fells Point Leader and that Mr. Aaron Tomarchio is a signatory a public document (attached) in which “Mr. Tomarchio, along with 34 other members of Southeast Baltimore City’s community leaders, stand together to say that we should defund the police, and Black Lives Matter.”
7th District Civic Council of Baltimore County is a Maryland non-profit 501c3 whose Board of Directors is composed of presidents of Maryland non-profit 501c3 community associations within the 7th Councilmanic District of Baltimore County, the same Councilmanic District of Baltimore County Tradepoint Atlantic is geographically located.
7th District Civic Council of Baltimore County and all the member communities represented by the 7th District Civic Council of Baltimore County oppose “defunding,” police in light of the violence and civil unrest reported in the news media associated with the Black Lives Matter organization.
Additionally, 7th District Civic Council of Baltimore County and the majority of member communities are also members of the 12 Precinct Baltimore County Police Community Relations Council, one of eleven Baltimore County Police Community Relations Council Precinct Councils, (a Maryland non-profit 501c3) whose purpose is to support the Baltimore County Police Department developing positive relations, hold events such as National Night Out, and liaison between residents, businesses, non-profits, schools, churches, and other Baltimore County taxpaying stakeholders.
Ironically, Tradepoint Atlantic Director of Tradepoint Atlantic’s corporate affairs and external relations Mr. Tomarchio (Fell Point community police defunding activist) lobbies for Tradepoint Atlantic to receive directly, and indirectly, billions of dollars of taxpayer dollars in tax incentives and direct cash of which Baltimore County taxpayers are contributing 80 million dollars towards a new Baltimore County Police Station at Sparrows Point’s Tradepoint Atlantic.
This Baltimore County 80 million dollar taxpayer largesse is in the backdrop of multibillionaire Redwood and Tradepoint Atlantic owner Mr. Jim Davis being reported in the Baltimore Business Journal committing 10 million dollars to “fight social injustice,” and fellow multibillionaire Redwood and Tradepoint Atlantic and Baltimore Ravens owner, Mr. Bisciotti recently being added to the Forbes Magazine Billionaire list.
Many question why billionaire’s owners of Tradepoint Atlantic dare request and should receive taxpayer money for their private investment and wealth?
Many ask how Mr. Davis can commit 10 million dollars to social justice and at the same time ask Baltimore County taxpayers for 80 million dollars for his infrastructure, 80 million dollar that can go towards “social justice,” of the underserved 7th District communities in a new high school to relieve student overcrowding at Dundalk, Patapsco, and Sparrow Point High Schools.
If Mr. Tomarchio endorses defunding police, is it unreasonable for Baltimore County taxpayers to endorse defunding Tradepoint Atlantic sweetheart deals which are at the expense of Baltimore County schools, roads, water pipes, and of course our policeman and public safety?
It will most appreciated if Tradepoint Atlantic will stand with the 7th District Civic Council of Baltimore County this 4th of July, 2020 at the “SUPPORT OUR POLICE,” demonstration of solidarity in the Dundalk National Historic District in Dundalk, Maryland 21222.
Please contact me at [email protected] or by phone at 443-914-3373 for any concerns or questions.
Thank you for your attention in this matter.
In Support Our Police,
Scott Pappas
Corresponding Secretary
7th District Civic Council of Baltimore County
I, along with 34 other members of Southeast Baltimore’s community leaders, stand together to say that we should defund the police, and Black lives matter.
Please see the following letter from 35 community leaders in Southeast Baltimore that was sent to the mayor and city council asking for the Baltimore Police Department budget to be cut.
If you would like to sign on to support the letter as a community member, please sign here. https://forms.gle/GXtQ54jjjErNQJVG8
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After years of using a ‘tough on crime’ strategy in Baltimore, it’s time for the city to reevaluate its priorities. With the budget realities of post-COVID Baltimore, and as we examine policing across the country, displayed in the wake of the deaths of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor, we feel it is time to look at our budget priorities.
In 2011 the budget for the Baltimore City Police Department was $311M, representing 20% of the general fund. The proposed budget for 2021 is set at $509M, which is over 26% of the general fund. Thinking about the state of crime and policing in the city over time, it is clear that taxpayers are receiving a diminished return on investment in the nature of the police budget. Collectively, we think a better solution would be to more effectively address underlying factors that contribute to crime, like poverty, mental illness and homelessness, and reallocate funds to address these public health issues. Every year that we maintain the status quo, it is another year that we continue to traumatize residents of Baltimore. We cannot say that we are a trauma-responsive city when we are still, in part, the cause of the trauma.
Black lives do indeed matter, and our current budget does not reflect that. We are inflicting undue harm on our residents–actively through flawed policing tactics–and passively by the lack of investment in truly supporting our residents. Southeast Baltimore has advocated for these harms in the past. We feel this is totally unacceptable.
Over the last decade, taxpayers have spent $4.74B in city funds on the Baltimore Police Department. Despite a budget that increases every year, the homicide rate for 2020 is outpacing the same time period in 2019. This is a tragic statistic and one that fully describes just how broken the current policing and funding equation truly is. We, therefore, believe that it is time to responsibly cut the BPD’s budget and begin an honest discussion about where we can best redistribute those funds. Rolling the budget back to 2018 levels would allow for an additional $30M for programming that is sorely lacking in our parks, in our youth and trauma services, and in our schools. Los Angeles has already begun such a budget roll-back. In addition to examining where our budget priorities should lay, we need to have an honest debate about how we can create a better police force that may provide better results. For example, a program that would incentivize police officers to live in the city, so that they may actually begin to feel a sense of pride about where they work and live.
We are happy to help in any way that is needed, whether that is engaging at a local level or organizing public discussions. Please feel free to reach out to any or all of us directly if there is something we can do to further this conversation.
Thank you,
Aaron Tomarchio – Upper Fells Point Leader
Amanda Bourgeois – Canton Community Member
Amy Sheinin – Member at Large, Butchers Hill Association
Andrew Crummey – Parliamentarian, Butchers Hill Association
Arch McKown – Patterson Park Community Leader
Beth Braun – President, Butchers Hill Association
Bri McNamara – Corresponding Secretary, Butchers Hill Association
Brian Seel – Upper Fells Point Community Leader
Brian Sweeney – Highlandtown Community Leader
Casey Brent – President of City on a Hill Improvement Association
Colin Hayward – Patterson Park Community Leader
Dan Kiselik – Vice President, Butchers Hill Association
Danielle Robert – Patterson Park Community Leader
Darin Mislan – Fells Point Community
Dave Werkmeister – Patterson Park Community Leader
Douglas R Gorius, Esq. – Member at Large, Butchers Hill Association
Emily Warren – Treasurer, Butchers Hill Association
Islas Mendoza – Comite Latino
Jay Golon – Member at Large Butchers Hill Association
Kurt Schiller – Upper Fells Point Community Leader
Liz Bement – Upper Fells Point Community Leader
Mairin Srygley – Patterson Park Community Leader
Mark Edelson – Canton Community Leader
Maura Taylor – Canton Community Leader
Michael Ryan – Douglas District Community Leader and owner of MiY Home
Mollie Fein – Upper Fells Point Leader
Nick Frisone – Highlandtown Community Member
Patrick Lundberg – Patterson Park Community Leader
Sara Hoover – Recording Secretary, Butchers Hill Association
Sarah Johnson – Patterson Park Community Leader
Scott Bukholder – Douglas District Citizen leader
Sean Brescia – Fells Point Community Leader
Torbin Green – Canton Community Leader
Tray Smith – Youth President of Southeast Youth and Families Engagement Organization
William Motel, Ph.D. – Vice President, Butchers Hill Association
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After years of using a ‘tough on crime’ strategy in Baltimore, it’s time for the city to reevaluate its priorities. With the budget realities of post-COVID Baltimore, and as we examine policing across the country, displayed in the wake of the deaths of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor, we feel …
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Chad Johnson When you say “defund the police”, do you mean to defund and eliminate or reduce funding to a lower level? I’ve been really confused by all this because defund already has a meaning but hearing people describe what they really want sounds more like reduce funding than really defunding.
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Michael Flanigan Great proposal , I would add that we stop paying police abuse claims out of the general fund and instead have it come out of the police budget, no more binding arbitration in salary negotiations, and end overtime and sick leave abuse.
The list of reforms is long because the city has become the hostage of a force of mercenaries who neither protect or serve the citizens of Baltimore
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Brian Seel This letter was targeted to the budget hearing that is today. I am not sure about that example, but the law enforcement bill of rights dictates a lot of what the city can do.
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Brian Wright All fucking bullshit. Baltimore has been run by the democratic left for years. Maybe we should blame them. They are supposed to run the city. Apparently all they do is run it into the dirt. After you defined the police I really hope all you community leadersStand up and face all the crime that’s going to be beaten down your door.What a bunch of fucken idiots
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