Waverly dad says 311 told him not to call about dirt bike riders anymore
Does the city have a plan for addressing its dirt bike problem? Back in 2013, the police said they did.
Above: Baltimore’s dirt bike riders depicted in the film, “The 12 O’Clock Boys.”
A Baltimore dad is so disappointed with the way Baltimore City deals with illegal dirt bike riders that he wrote a commentary and posted it on Monday to Reddit, where it has gotten more than 300 comments.
“Twice already, a dirt bike rider zooming around a corner has almost run over my dog. With dirt bikes speeding recklessly through the neighborhood, it’s not safe to take my daughter outside to play,” he wrote.
Jon, who didn’t want his last name used, told The Brew that he’s been calling 311 about the riders in his Waverly neighborhood – mostly adult men in their 20s, not children – for months, following the advice of elected officials and community leaders.
“We’ve been doing our part, as citizens, to fix this problem. As community leaders have told us to do, we’ve called 311 with descriptions of the individuals and home addresses from which the disturbances originate. We trusted these community leaders and believed the police would be supportive and responsive in protecting our community,” he wrote.
When Jon would call 311, a dispatcher would routinely say: “We’ll send an officer out to that location.”
Sometimes, the police come quickly.
“Other times, they don’t come until later in the evening, and we have to explain to our daughter why she can’t play outside today,” he wrote.
But early this week, Jon says, the 311 operator told him something different: Police won’t respond to these calls anymore.
Calling 311 is a Dead End
“The police station told us not to report anymore dirt bike disturbances; they will no longer respond to these calls and will not chase dirt bikes,” the operator allegedly explained.
“Calling 311 is a dead end,” Jon said, “and apparently has been all along.”
His essay has garnered a boatload of comments from Redditors, some recalling their own negative encounters with dirt bike riders, while others admonished him for not understanding the “big picture” of crime and poverty in Baltimore.
Another still from “The 12 O’Clock Boys.” (YouTube)
One poster, who was sympathetic to Jon’s situation, was also especially pragmatic.
“The police literally have better things to do [and] are not equipped to chase dirt bike riders throughout the city. . . If there are a group of 30 how many do you actually think police officers can catch and detain at a time?”
What the Police Say
The Brew contacted the police to find out if there has been a recent change in policy or enforcement of dirt bike laws.
(Two years ago, the BPD announced a crack down on illegal dirt bike riders and lauded a prison sentence meted out to a 20-year-old rider.)
Police spokesman Col. J. Eric Kowalczyk gave some explanation for the 311 operator’s response, saying, “For several years there has been a policy of not engaging dirt bikes on the street unless there are exigent circumstances,” he wrote.
He added that police use alternative means such as the aviation unit, social media and other methods to track and, when appropriate, arrest people who violate the city’s dirt bike ordinances.
He noted that police respond to all 911/311 calls for service, but a caller doesn’t necessarily see them.
“A caller may not always see a marked unit. Sometimes unmarked units respond, sometimes the helicopter responds.”
Back in 2013, Police Commissioner Anthony W. Batts described the misuse of dirt bikes “an unacceptable intrusion on the quality of life in the City of Baltimore.”
The department even set up an anonymous tip line: dirtbikes@baltimorepolice.org
Impossible to Ignore
Jon said he had tried to talk to the dirt bike riders before, but their response was aggressive, bordering on violence.
“They damaged our parked cars, vandalized our porch, and threatened us as we walked the few feet between them. We were scared to go outside and now we’re scared again, even more this time.”
He replied to commenters on his original post – addressing, among others, those who said Baltimore had bigger issues.
“I certainly understand how it’s complicated and challenging,” he wrote.
He also understands why police won’t give chase.
What he doesn’t understand is why nothing is being done. “I’ve been calling 311 about the same location, near Barclay Elementary, for a year!”
“It’s sad, because a lot of people have made the point [on Reddit] that nothing is going to change until someone. . . get[s] seriously hurt because of this.”
Jon says he’d like city leaders to realize that many of the dirt bike riders are reckless and do dangerous things.
Maybe they would behave better, he adds, if they had a place to ride legally.
For now, he mostly wants to know the proper way to inform the police about illegal dirt bike riders – and if anyone is taking the matter seriously.