Baltimore’s ongoing squeegee situation could soon see a shakeup. There’s a new City State’s Attorney coming to office in November and the clear front runner, Ivan Bates is calling for change. It's a shift the Mayor is now admitting, he's open to considering.
"Stepping off the sidewalk going in and out of traffic. That's illegal. You cannot do that," said Bates at a press conference declaring victory over Marylin Mosby, "The squeegee workers, they cannot be there."
Bates' plan to quickly address the longstanding problem starts with rolling back Mosby’s current non-prosecution policies, but he also says he’ll need to speak with both the mayor and police commissioner.
"Hopefully the police department will recall their general order. It talks about the interaction and having some of the senior officers say whether or not the officers can interact," said Bates.
After weeks of doubling down on his refusal to clear the corners, Tuesday the Mayor’s office sent a statement to FOX 45 revealing he's now open to the change. “We welcome conversations with the new city State's Attorney. There is always room for compromise and pivoting strategies to meet the ever-changing reality of this situation," the statement reads in part.
The mayor’s office also admitting, in some cases, police are currently being told to stand down. The statement goes on to say, "Since squeegeeing is considered 'panhandling,' it is a protected activity, therefore police cannot remove squeegee workers from corners. However, police officers are stationed at high volume intersections to ensure the safety of both workers and motorists. When specific incidents become violent against any individual or their property police are instructed to intervene and enforce the appropriate laws."
The latter part of their response directly contradicts what FOX 45 has been hearing from drivers and what our camera’s have been capturing.
"He was literally standing right next to me yelling at me and that's when I laid on the horn and the police officer turned his lights on," said a caller who asked we only identify her by her first name, Carol.
Many say police watching squeegee workers become combative aren’t following through with consequences.
"The police officer looked at me said I know every single one of those kids names. They've grown up here, you know, and there's nothing I can do about it," said Carol.
"It's apparent that police officers aren't being instructed not to intervene, not to make arrests, and not to bother harass or in any way, stop the squeegee kids," said Sean Kennedy, a criminal justice expert with the Maryland Public Policy Institute
Kennedy says a hands off at all costs approach has to be coming from the top.
"From the mayor likely and certainly down from the commissioner, there's no way that the laws are not being enforced on the individual decisions of patrol officers," he said.
However, as the Mayor already implied, once a new top prosecutor comes to town, Kennedy thinks those currently in power will likely be persuaded to pivot.
"They're harassing and intimidating people, in some cases, committing violence. There can't be any toleration for that and I think the state's attorney can make a very strong case to the commissioner and to the mayor, that there at least has to be some accountability for some of these offenders," said Kennedy.