TOWSON, Md. — Baltimore County officers arrested a group of juveniles Saturday in Towson Town Center after officers and a security guard were hurt in a disturbance.
The six juveniles were charged with offenses ranging from disorderly conduct to assault.
According to police, officers enhanced their presence in the area after receiving reports of groups of juveniles raising a commotion.
When officers arrived, they discovered a big gathering of minors inside the mall. As officers dispersed the group, two County police officers suffered minor injuries and a security guard was assaulted.
Baltimore County Councilman David Marks, who represents this area, called the incident deplorable.
“It’s extremely alarming. I’ve heard from many constituents who were in the vicinity and observed some of the mayhem that occurred,” said Marks.
A few years ago, Towson Town Center put in place a youth escort policy that requires anyone underage be accompanied by a parent or guardian Friday and Saturday nights.
Marks said it cut down a lot of the congregating but still an incident like this happens. He wants to see a thorough review.
“Talk to the other merchants. We have to talk to the Towson Chamber of Commerce and we need to have a very frank discussion about how to increase police presence in downtown Towson,” said Marks.
He said not just in Towson, but all over the county.
“I just had a Starbucks close at Loch Raven and Joppa because of the public safety concern. We have a number of vacancies in our police force we need to doing everything possible to attract and retain our police officers,” said Marks.
The Baltimore County Police Department said in a statement they will continue to work closely with mall management to ensure the safety of both patrons and employees.
According to authorities, the heightened police presence resulted in traffic congestion.
County Executive Johnny Olszewski issued a statement Sunday regarding the incident, stating that he is “working closely with the police department and Towson Town Center management to understand what happened there last night and to ensure it doesn’t happen again.”
We expect everyone, including our young people, to behave appropriately in our communities. I am working closely with the police department and Towson Town Center management to understand what happened there last night and to ensure it doesn’t happen again.
— County Executive Johnny Olszewski (@BaltCoExec) February 20, 2022
