BALTIMORE — A new Inspector General report highlights security concerns at Baltimore City Hall meetings.
The report centers around a public hearing on April 26, that quickly turned unruly.
That night the out-of-state non-profit, Neighborhood Assistance Corporation of America, attended the meeting to advocate for a proposed plan that would have offered dollar homes again in Baltimore.
The hearing took a downward turn, when dozens from the group began chanting outside the City Council's chambers.
At one point, they made their way over to Mayor Brandon Scott's office and started banging on his door.
Scott was not there, but some council members felt the group's actions were insulting and amounted to a threat of violence. Many even left the hearing out of frustration.
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According to the Inspector General, some of what transpired could have been avoided.
An investigation found that Baltimore City Fire Inspectors "did not count the number of people entering City Hall during this time."
Police and fire officials went back and forth on whose responsibility it was to conduct a headcount of people entering the building, the report found. Ultimately, high ranking fire officials told the Inspector General it is their responsibility and not the duty of police.
Turns out about 500 people attended the meeting that night, significantly exceeding capacity limits.
Neither the Baltimore Police or Fire Departments were given sufficient time to properly prepare or provide staffing, the report found. They weren't notified until the morning of, which left only three police officers and two fire inspectors to work the event.
The visitor ID system used by City Hall security also malfunctioned, leaving officers without any means to thoroughly vet who was entering.
While security continued to search visitor bags and utilize metal detectors, they were unable to keep track or restrict the crowd's movement throughout City Hall.
The City Fire Marshal claimed to have ordered onsite inspectors to shut the event down once overcrowding occurred, but that message apparently was not passed onto police.
On the other hand, a police lieutenant recalled asking both onsite inspectors about a headcount as the crowd began to file in that night. According to a statement from that lieutenant, the inspectors said they were ordered not to count and allow everyone in.
Both fire inspectors however denied those claims in an interview with investigators.
Currently, the Inspector General says there are no standard operating procedures for handling large crowds at City Hall. Nor is there any clear timeframe of when police and fire should be notified prior to such an event taking place.
The report concluded that Baltimore City needs to address both issues, in order to prevent something like this from happening again.
Scott responded to the Inspector General by laying out several measures that will be taken before and during future public meetings at City Hall.
To read the full report, click here.
