TWIN INCIDENTS OF ‘OVERZEALOUS BEHAVIOR’
2 Jewish brothers get their day this week in court;
shooter of Florida teen still has not been charged
By Alan Z. Forman
When the 20-something Werdesheim Brothers finally get their day this week in court for allegedly attacking a black teenager in November 2010 who they believed was up to no good, it is likely the neighborhood protection organization Shomrim will also be put on trial — if not in the courtroom, then in the hearts and minds of Northwest Baltimore residents and others for whom it exists to keep their communities safe.
The Werdesheims — Eliyahu, now 24, and his younger brother Avi, 21, both members at the time of Shomrim — are accused of beating a youth who had a juvenile rap sheet that included theft charges and whom they had identified as exhibiting suspicious behavior late in the evening as they were patrolling an Upper Park Heights area neighborhood.
One of the brothers later told police he recognized the youth as having been suspected of previously breaking into garages and stealing bicycles in the area.
But the Werdesheims overstepped their bounds. Instead of calling 911 and letting police handle the issue — as Shomrim and the Baltimore Police Department mandate — they subdued the youth, causing minor injuries in the process.
ONE INCIDENT, ONE OVERZEALOUS ACTION
It was one incident, one overzealous action, in years of successful patrolling by an organization that blacks and whites alike have praised for helping to restrict criminal activity in Upper Park Heights, where various neighborhoods are mixed with African-Americans and Jews.
The protection group, known as Shomrim — a Hebrew word meaning “Custodians,” “Guardians” or “Watchers” — was founded in 2005 and is part of a larger organization that was established by Orthodox Jews in Brooklyn, N.Y., more than 30 years ago.
Its stated mission is “to promote the religious spirit of members of the police, fire, and other law enforcement agencies of the Jewish faith and their families; to promote social well-being, strengthen friendships, and promote the welfare of all our members and their loved ones; to develop general welfare in our community and cooperate with all those who would have us make progress.”
Shomrim has operated in Baltimore — like Brooklyn, a city with a large Orthodox Jewish community — virtually without controversy since its inception, winning numerous awards along the way, including one from Sheila Dixon when she was mayor.
Without controversy — that is, until now.
This week, stoked by activists and media, magnifying outrage over the killing of a black teenager in Sanford, Fla., by an overzealous neighborhood watch volunteer who, like the Werdesheims, claims he was attacked by the suspect, some are demanding yet again that Shomrim be disbanded.
ATTACKED THEM WITH A STICK
The Werdesheims assert the 15-year-old youth in question attacked them with a stick with a nail and that they acted in self defense. The shooter in Florida also claims he was attacked, and that he shot in self defense.
He had a broken nose and grass stains on the back of his shirt when police arrived following the shooting. No charges have been filed against him; nor was he tested for use of drugs or alcohol, which is standard police procedure in most cases of homicide. Yet people at demonstrations around the country are calling him a murderer.
It is a tragedy that 17-year-old Trayvon Martin, the Florida youth, is dead. But is there evidence to justify calling it a travesty?
On Thursday, the Orlando Sentinel reported that Sanford Police Chief Bill Lee Jr. was “stepping down temporarily” in order not to be a “distraction” in the case and “in the hopes of restoring some semblance of calm to a city which has been in turmoil for several weeks.”
His announcement “did little to appease protesters furious that he did not arrest the shooter, crime-watch volunteer George Zimmerman, 28, who claimed self-defense in the Feb. 26 shooting,” the newspaper reported.
‘A HOSTILE BLACK COMMUNITY’
Sanford is a town “with hard-core urban crime and a hostile black community,” according to the Sentinel.
On Monday the Orlando newspaper reported that Zimmerman was punched by Martin in the nose, who then “slammed” the neighborhood watch volunteer’s head “into the sidewalk, leaving him bloody and battered” — an account that authorities say has been “corroborated by witnesses.”
Zimmerman has “gone into hiding,” the paper reports, adding that “a fringe group, the New Black Panther Party, has offered a $10,000 reward for his ‘capture.’”
Said Velma Williams, the one black member of Sanford’s City Commission — which last Wednesday handed down a 3-2 non-binding no-confidence vote on Lee’s handling of the situation — “I never thought he (Lee) was a racist. I think it’s a matter of lack of experience.”
A 27-year veteran as a Seminole County deputy and a native of Sanford, Lee, 52, became his hometown’s police chief in April 2011, beating out 175 other applicants for the job.
In Baltimore, on Monday, more than 1,200 demonstrators marched from McKeldin Square in the Inner Harbor to City Hall to protest the Feb. 26 shooting, demanding justice and that Martin’s killer be arrested and charged by Florida police.
LITTLE MORE THAN HEARSAY EVIDENCE
On little more than hearsay evidence, many have concluded that the Florida police are whitewashing the case to protect the killer. A number in Baltimore are also charging that City State’s Attorney Gregg Bernstein, who is Jewish, should have filed more serious charges against the Werdesheims.
The brothers are charged with second-degree assault, false imprisonment and possession of a deadly weapon. The teen they apprehended told police he was struck in the head by one of the brothers with a radio.
He also claimed to have a broken wrist, which turned out, according to medical records, to be a minor knuckle injury often caused by punching an object with a closed fist.
Many of the Baltimore marchers wore hooded sweatshirts — notable among them, Mary Pat Clarke, who represents the city’s 14th District in the City Council — in honor of the hoodie Martin was wearing when he was shot.
Earlier Monday, in Annapolis, state legislators, led by Baltimore City Sen. Catherine E. Pugh (D-40th), also dressed in hoodies to draw attention to the case.
THREE BILL HUGHES VIDEOS
Photojournalist Bill Hughes was on the scene downtown and filed three videos, which may be viewed by clicking below:
1) Hoodie-clad City Councilwoman Mary Pat Clarke (D-14th), “in solidarity” with demonstrators, calls Trayvon Martin case “this nation’s call for justice.” Clarke is interviewed outside City Hall following Monday night’s City Council meeting (click here).
2) Four demonstrators at McKeldin Square in the Inner Harbor condemn discrimination and the Trayvon Martin killing (click here). One calls it a “racist murder” and “convicts” the Werdesheim Brothers as well. Another of those interviewed is Maria Allwine, who ran for Governor of Maryland on the Green Party ticket in 2010.
Eliyahu and Avi Werdesheim are scheduled to go on trial Thursday in Baltimore City Circuit Court.
alforman@voiceofbaltimore.org
UPDATE: On Wednesday, the trial was postponed for a sixth time, this time because of illness of one of the defendants, as reported by the State’s Attorney’s Office for Baltimore City, which said all of the delays have been requested by the defense. A new trial date has been set for April 23.
March 30th, 2012 - 12:24 PM
I do admire the Werdesheim brothers for having the spirit and time to support their community. However, they, and all other members of any community watch organization, need to know that they have the most powerfull weapon in their possession the use of which will cause no bodily harm whatsoever to anyone and which, when used properly with a little common sense, will result in the swift arrest, prosecution, and conviction of the criminals. That device is a cell phone which is capable of taking video and recording sound.
Here is what should have happened and how the Werdesheim story should have read: “Yesterday evening, two members of the neighborhood crimewatch group known as the Shomrim were on patrol in their neighborhood. At approximately, they observed an individual who they felt was acting in a suspicious manner. At this point the brothers decided to split up each keeping the subject in observation as they both recorded video of the subjects movements. Both men remained far enough away from the subject to ensure that he (the subject) did not realise that he was being recorded and under observation. They saw the subject approach a shed at the rear of 123 Main Street. One of the brothers called 911 and reported that a home invasion was in progress and gave police the address and a description of both the subject and themselves so that arriving officers would not mistake them for the subject. Officers arrived and arrested the subject who, according to the videos shot by the Werdesheim brothers, had broken into the shed and stolen a bicycle from that shed. The subject, identified by officers as Mr. Xyz Abcde (an aspiring rap artist and NBA player) has a lengthy criminal record. Mr. Abcde is now residing in cellblock H at the Baltimore City Jail. The Werdesheim brothers were instantly awarded “Free Bagels for Life” from a local delicatessen owned by the residents at 123 Main Street.”
March 31st, 2012 - 1:44 PM
I hope the family of the 15 year old victim sues the Shomrim organization out of existence. Are Shomrim members armed? They are not law enforcement officers, why did they get out of their vehicles and confront the teenager, is this Shomrim policy? Raises larger legal questions about these community watch organizations.