Podcast Show Notes
Cop Flash Bangs Are Bad For Babies . . . or maybe not.
On the afternoon of January 10, 2024, more than 20 police officers in tactical gear carrying long arms and deploying flash bangs served a search warrant in Elyria, Ohio. Sure … the usual stuff. You know. The guy the police were looking for hadn’t lived at the residence the cops trashed for more than a…
Read MoreA Man in Las Vegas Tries to Kill the Judge Who Sentences Him for a Crime of Violence
Serge often observes that America is declining into anarchy. Clarke is sometimes pessimistic. Serge and Clarke bring their inclinations to the story of a young man who jumped the bench in a Las Vegas courtroom and beat up the judge who was sentencing him to prison for beating up a person with a baseball bat.…
Read MoreMaryland Police Claim Constitutional Protection for Juveniles Makes Their Job Harder
Almost six decades after the United States Supreme Court’s landmark Miranda decision, police administrators in Maryland are claiming that a 2022 Maryland law that requires police to adhere to Miranda during juvenile arrests is making their job more difficult. In a now familiar whine, our state and local governments blame their inability to fight crime…
Read MoreThe Baltimore Police Commissioner Orders Every Officer to Empathy Instruction.
Police Commissioner Worley has implemented 8 hours of empathy instruction for every Baltimore Police Officer. In this episode, Serge and Clarke discuss the instructions. Serge begins with the valid premise that it is a good idea for victims of trauma — like most police officers and many Baltimoreans–to learn to understand. On his part, Clarke…
Read MoreMayor v ATF: Who cares who wins we just want to see a lot of hits!
This week, the Mayor of Baltimore filed suit in federal court against the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. It turns out that ATF sends gun trace information to the Police Commissioner but does not send the same information to the Mayor. Rather than figure a workaround, the Mayor — represented by Everytown Law…
Read MoreThe Dust Settles on Sexual Assault Forensic Examinations.
For three decades, the United States Congress has passed laws to fund forensic examinations in sexual assault cases. But it doesn’t seem to matter. The country is awash in untested rape kits while repetitive sex offenders continue to violate. In fact, Maryland leads the nation in rape kit backlogs at the forensic lab. But at…
Read MoreIs the federal government finally satisfied with the Derek Chauvin sentence?
After Derek Chauvin killed George Floyd, the federal government permitted anarchists to loot and burn communities across the country. The State of Minnesota successfully prosecuted Chauvin and he was sentenced to 22 years in prison. However, the federal government was not satisfied. A federal grand jury was convened. Chauvin was federally indicted. Chauvin pled guilty…
Read MoreNot All Prosecutors Think Alike; Some Thoughts on the Marilyn Mosby Case
The United States Attorney for the District of Maryland successfully indicted and convicted former Baltimore City State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby of two counts of perjury. In this weeks episode, Jack Mitchell — a former police officer who worked for Ms. Mosby as an Assistant State’s Attorney — joins Serge and Clarke to discuss Mosby’s perjury…
Read MoreIs it the Shoplifting Season, or Are We a Culture Devolving into Anarchy?
Who would have thought that in 2023, shoplifting could become a major crime in the United States? Wait — stop. Not everyone believes that shoplifting is even on the rise. But we do! In this episode, Serge and Clarke discuss the changing social conventions surrounding the crime of shoplifting as further evidence of a breakdown…
Read MoreThe Plot Thickens in the Kashef Khan MSP Termination Case
Kashef Khan was the Maryland State Trooper of the Year until he was fired for allegedly writing a false report. The “falsity” in the report was the location of a traffic stop which Khan accurately documented in many ways. Khan uploaded a slightly inaccurate longitude and latitude location from a reporting system that MSP admits…
Read MoreThe Curious Case of Marlon Koushall
You can always find three things in Baltimore: Natty Boh beer, Old Bay seasoning & ludicrous “justice.” In this week’s podcast, Serge and Clarke discuss the case of Baltimore Police Sergeant Marlon Koushall whose videotaped conduct during a late night arrest were simultaneously deemed completely consistent with the rules, policies, procedures and training of the…
Read MoreShould the FBI be Downsized or Deconstructed?
In this episode, Serge and Clarke discuss the popular idea among conservatives for downsizing the FBI and deconstructing it into as many as five independent investigative agencies, each with a focused interest in the type of cases being investigated. Clarke says, as it stands today, just writing the word FBI into the title likely invites…
Read MoreWTH is the Balkanization of Law Enforcement?
In three recent incidents, the police got it right and prevented serious mass casualty events. In this episode, Serge and Clarke discuss how the number of police agencies impacts the ability of sharing information and investigating criminal incidents. Clarke — but not Serge — thinks it is a miracle that the police got it right…
Read MoreA Maryland Circuit Court Judge is Murdered in His Driveway
The Honorable Andrew Wilkerson, Judge of the Circuit Court for Washington County, Maryland, was murdered in his driveway on the evening of October 19, 2021. Serge and Clarke discuss this shocking crime, assess how social media was tracking the law enforcement investigation, and offer thoughts on the root causes — and a possible incremental solution…
Read MoreSage Advice from Baltimore’s Unrivaled “Barber’s Son.”
Reverend P. M. Smith, a “barber’s son” and Pastor of Baltimore’s Huber Memorial Church, shares the wisdom of his life with Serge and Clarke. Reverend Smith never fails to challenge all of us to be better people. Please listen to be inspired.
Read MoreTu Culpa Part 2 — Can an Attorney General Issue an Executive Bill of Attainder?
Tu Culpa is a Latin phrase meaning “your fault.” In part 2 of the podcast on the (Maryland) Attorney General’s Report on Child Sexual Abuse in the Archdiocese of Baltimore, Serge and Clarke and special guest FJ Collins, discuss whether the AG’s report is fair, the impact of expanded statutes of limitation, and whether the…
Read MoreTu Culpa — The Attorney General Points the Finger of Fault at the Archdiocese of Baltimore
Most Catholics, and many lawyers, know the meaning of the Latin phrase, “mea culpa.” The phrase is literally translated as “through my fault.” It is the foundation of a traditional prayer sometimes recited during the Penitential Act of the Roman Catholic Mass: mea culpa, mea culpa, mea maxima culpa. Recently, Maryland’s Attorney General issued a…
Read MoreHow Does Inaction Merit a 173-Page “After Action” Report?
On July 8, 2023, Serge and Clarke discussed the South Baltimore Brooklyn Day Party that ended when 30 people were shot. Two died. On August 30th, the BPD and other city agencies issued an “After Action Report.” Join Serge and Clarke and our distinguished guest, Colonel Osborne “Moe” Robinson, Baltimore Police Department (ret.) and former…
Read MoreWould you like to pose for a picture with Danilo Cavalcante? Get in line.
The “picture of the week” was a group shot of heavily armed law enforcement officers surrounding the bleeding, captured and pathetic Danilo (or “Danelo”) Cavalcante in Chester County, Pennsylvania. Taking and posting the “trophy” photograph violated the rules of many of the law enforcement agencies that participated in the escapee’s capture. But lawmen breaking the…
Read MoreWhy has everyone heard of George Floyd and no one has heard of Ta’Kiya Young?
On August 24, 2023, a police officer of the 14-member Blendon Township (Ohio) Police Department shot and killed Ta’Kiya Young, a 21-year-old woman being detained for suspicion of shoplifting alcohol from a grocery store. The body worn camera evidence shows Young operating a vehicle in the parking lot of the grocery store during daylight hours.…
Read More