FEDERAL HILL, Md. — Federal Hill neighbors called on city officials to keep them safe.
"Cause even if I do get my justice, I'll never get my vision back. So I'd like to understand what you all are doing to prevent this and make this community safer," John Berardi said.
Berardi sat front row at a community meeting Tuesday night, months after juvenile crime left him with permanent eye damage.
Baltimore City Police Commissioner Richard Worley addressed an issue in the department's response to the crime.
"There was a 30-minute delay in us getting to the scene. We should've done better. That was part of the reason why we started the overlapping shift," Worley said.
He told residents juvenile violence is a problem.
"In my 27 years, I've never seen the rage of kids that even after they commit a robbery they'll just beat or hit, and I just don't understand why it is they have to assault someone."
But it's a problem the department doesn't ignore.
"Our juveniles were going right back out after we arrested them and committing the same crimes. That's gotten a little better with the ankle monitoring," he said, "I think it's heading in the right direction. We've got a long way to go."
Councilman Zac Blanchard told WMAR 2 News he was at the Federal Hill Association meeting a couple of days after Berardi was attacked.
He remembered the fear on his neighbors faces but said things are going in the right direction.
"A lot of what we're seeing is armed robbery and some aggravated assault. Those numbers are down substantially, about 20 percent, both in the southern district where we're at as well as citywide."
He applauds Mayor Brandon Scott's violence prevention program at Digital Harbor High School that includes mentors.
"We're seeing substantially lower suspensions, significantly higher attendance at the school."
However, at the end of the day, there's still a hard reality to face.
"But you're never going to clear every crime."
