The University of Maryland Medical Center in downtown Baltimore is serving as home base for Baltimore Sgt. Kenneth Ramberg after he was dragged two blocks following a traffic stop. His wife briefly left his room to sit in a park across the street and voice her concerns about what will come next for her husband.
Luana Ramberg, Sgt. Ramberg’s wife, said her husband is a dedicated officer and has been a member of the Baltimore Police Department for 27 years. She said he had plans to retire from BPD. But now, his future remains unknown as his medical team continues to evaluate the extent of his injuries.
“He did have to have surgery and he’s going to have a long time recovering from that. He can’t walk right now. His foot was dislocated but he’s having other issues and other problems every day,” Ramberg said Friday afternoon. “It’s definitely going to be a long road. We can’t say whether he’s going to have any permanent damage yet but he’s going to have a long road to recovery.”
Ramberg said her husband does not have spinal or head trauma, but added every day seems to bring new struggles and adversities.
Sitting with her in the park was her sister-in-law, Cindy Queen – Sgt. Ramberg’s sister. She said she came to Baltimore as soon as she heard that her brother had been involved in an incident while on the job.
“You hear Shock Trauma, and you know it’s serious,” Queen said.
For Queen, she said the biggest concern for her is about what will happen now that the suspect, Joseph Black, has been arrested and charged. Black is a repeat violent offender, no stranger to the justice system.
Court records show in 2006 Black received a five-year sentence with four years suspended for armed robbery.
Six years later he plead guilty to second-degree assault and handgun charges and received a suspended sentence again.
More recently in October 2019, court records show Black was involved in a confrontation over a woman which led to a shooting between him and another man. He was charged with possession of a firearm with a felony conviction.
Two months later, black was charged with the same crime. In 2021, Black had spent about 19 months behind bars, when records show he pled guilty and received a suspended sentence in connection with the two separate gun arrests. The plea was not objected to by the state in either case.
Now, Black is charged with attempted first-degree murder, first assault, second-degree assault on a police officer and reckless endangerment; he is being held without bail in Baltimore City.
“We’re putting out a plea to the community to contact the state’s attorney. Contact Marilyn Mosby. Let it be known that you support my brother. Let it be known that you don’t’ support this criminal and that the only justice that should be served is no parole, lifetime in prison,” Queen said. “I can’t comment on her actions in the past, but all I can do, is urge her to do the right thing.”
“My main concern is that it’s election time and this is a high-profile case,” Ramberg said. “Sure, charging attempted murder of a police officer makes her look good. But what’s concerning to me is that once the dust settles and everything calms down, no one is really talking about this case any longer is that a plea deal could come for him. That’s what we don’t want to see happen.”
We don’t want to hear that another person has been murdered or you having to interview another family because he was let out on a plea deal. He had no business being out and we don’t want him being out and for this to happen to someone else.
The Baltimore Police apprehended Black less than 12 hours after the initial incident. Ramberg said their swift work shows that officers can and are doing their job, noting it’s now in the hands of City State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby.
“As hard as the men and women work, it’s gotta be hard for them to feel like they are doing their job going after the bad guys, but them not being prosecuted,” Ramberg said. “I would like to have confidence that the justice system is working and right now I don’t have that.”
“I would like to see change.”
Black is schedule to appear back in court on July 27.