I want to make sure you didn’t miss two really important stories we published at Baltimore Beat this week.
One was an update to the shooting death of 70-year-old Pytorcarcha Brooks. Brooks was shot and killed by Baltimore Police Department officers on June 25 after they were called to her home while she was experiencing a mental health crisis. On July 9, the department released bodyworn camera footage of the incident.
“The incident is one of three police-involved deaths in the span of eight days in June that appeared to involve people experiencing mental health crises and raised questions about Baltimore’s crisis response system,” reported Baltimore Beat contributor Madeleine O’Neill and Report for America corps member Kori Skillman.
“The officers who responded to Brooks’ house did not call for the Baltimore Police Department’s Crisis Response Team, which pairs police with mental health clinicians. The department’s only Crisis Response Team was also handling another call at the time,” they wrote.
We previously reported that a family member tried to take over Brooks’ medical and financial care through guardianship but was stymied when a judge denied his request to waive the $165 filing fee.
Skillman is a new reporter who joined us this week who will write about justice and accountability. That means she will investigate policing, incarceration, and civil rights in Baltimore City.
“Coming from national news, I’m looking forward to being involved in the community and feeling like I’m making a difference in the community I live in and report on,” Skillman said. “I think Baltimore, so far, feels different from everywhere else I’ve lived in, and I’m excited to see how the varying neighborhoods interact.”
Last Thursday, as many as 25 people experiencing overdose symptoms in Penn-North were hospitalized. The day before, Baltimore Beat contributor Logan Hullinger wrote about the Baltimore City Council’s first public hearing regarding the city’s overdose response strategic plan.
“Last week, officials unveiled a sweeping strategic plan to serve as a roadmap for the city’s overdose prevention and substance use treatment initiatives, aiming to cut fatal overdoses 40% by 2040,” Hullinger wrote.
“Though the two-year, 20-page draft plan makes no mention of [overdose prevention centers], it explicitly states that one of the city’s priorities is to ‘increase access to a full array of low barrier harm reduction services (including naloxone distribution, drug checking, syringe service programs, and other evidence-based strategies,’ the latter of which indicates OPCs would fall under that criteria.”
Finally, please read a lovely write-up from Carrie Fox, the CEO of Mission Partners, about our Baltimore Beat Boxes.
“At Baltimore Beat, drivers do more than toss papers from their cars or bikes—they note when one business has closed, or another has opened. They get to know the communities and their new residents. They even ensure the paper’s Beat Boxes (more on these below) are in good working order and will help repair them when needed.
The Beat’s intentional commitment to community is refreshing—and good for business—as the determined nonprofit news outlet bucks the trends of many community-based newspapers nationwide.”
We won’t survive this difficult time if we don’t care for our neighbors. The stories we provide and the work we do help that happen — or at least highlight where it’s not happening. I’m so proud of our team and thankful for your support.