In 1999, while writing The Logic of Steel and working nights as the frozen food clerk as Store 45 at Lawrence and Fort in South Baltimore, a police detective, named Mike Mancuso befriended me and would start telling me stories about his life as a Baltimore cop. These should all be in the Logic of Steel and The Violence Project.

It fascinated me that this big burly Eye-talian, liked me in part because I looked like some of his prey. One time, when I asked him how his night was, he said, “Great, Jimmy, great! I jacked up this long-haired tattooed freak against the wall and—”

He then set me back down in front of the floral display where I had been getting a cart, brushed down my shirt collar, and said, “Sorry, bro, just get carried away—no offense!”

Mike had been on 711 door rams by this time. He admitted to me that it was stressful and that it was largely dangerous because as the police you were conducting a home invasion of a possibly armed and possibly innocent person whose personal enemy or former girlfriend might have called in the no-knock warrant. The fact that so many of these people might be being wrongfully home invaded, made it more dangerous for the cops, which required higher levels of aggression to squash and resistance.

I personally think its cool that Jerome could be cutting up kilos of heroin with his credit card while Tyrone, the regular negro across the street—whose baby’s mamma was blowing Jerome while he practiced higher chemistry—might turn to his fellow and say, “Yo, T-Bone call in a complaint on dat nigga Tyrone fo slingin’ red cap while I bust a nut in dis bitch—you, know, juz ta keep da heat off!”

Mike had qualified to join the FBI and became a BPD cop instead and confined that he was honestly pleased and surprised to find little corruption on the BPD. I think he was naive or closing ranks there.

The last time I saw Mike, he was serving as the personal bodyguard to Police Chief Ed Norris, who would be ousted for some BS or another. I was at a Cuban themed bar on Key Highway with the airline stewardess who looked like Barbara Bach and Big Mike was keeping the top cop safe. He was excited about working on special tactical details with the NYP police, where his boss had come from.

I really liked Mike, and would be honored to do some stick training with him some day.

For the record, I think it is kind of funny that Baltimoreans never figured out that squeagee kids would be armed with something other then their mishandled window washing supplies, that the bags they share must contain a firearm, because they are really slinging drugs to motorists, with the window washing as a cover. The cops probably tolerated this for so long because they were taxing these hoodrats and taking a cut.

As for the ATV and dirt bike daredevils, I like watching them ride against the law, and particularly enjoyed watching one motorcycle negro die on Coastal Highway down in Ocean City, Maryland, and regard their mechanical bull parade as an opportunity to see one of them mangled and dead in the very streets where Baltimore City Cops and Baltimore City Negroes, hunted me for 38 years of my working life.

Below is something he wrote, which I will leave without comment.

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Typed by Guilla Girl for the Crackpot Eyes

July 18, 2022

Dear Citizens of Baltimore:

This past Saturday night, in the 4200 block of Boston Street at around midnight, the street car racing anarchists with their usual entitlement, created chaos in that part of the Southeast District. They commandeered a parking lot and shut down Boston Street, both ways, to traffic. It is estimated that 200-300 car participated in the burnouts and other related activity that we have all seen in recent videos, or in person. Police officers responding to this scene were hit with bottles, rocks, and one Sergeant took two directs hits to the eye from a laser beam, which was being used by someone in the crowd. Multiple Signal 13’s (officers need assistance) were broadcast but this situation lasted for over an hour. The injured Sergeant was taken to Shock Trauma with cornea damage, the permanency of which is unknown at this time. I continue to be humbled by the courage our officers maintain with their Patrol shifts so depleted. They continue to do this with no support from the top. And to add insult to injury, this incident occurred on top of multiple murders, shootings, and carjackings just this weekend, including two people who were shot, just after the Boston St incident, just a few blocks from this scene in the active Canton Square restaurant/bar area.

This is being allowed to happen because of weak leadership and the ineffective policies at the top of City Hall and the Baltimore Police Department. All of you have heard the Mayor and Police Commissioner echo the State’s Attorney’s coddling stance on everything from low level crimes to murder. This is why the city is out of control and the reason many have sought to live and work elise where, and others choose to spend their money outside of Baltimore City.

Murders, shootings, carjackings, and robberies are all at record levels even with a shrinking population. Ladies and gentlemen, you do not have enough patrol officers to answer calls for services and definitely not enough detectives to keep up with out-of-control caseloads. We need six hundred more police officers to bolster patrol as well as staffing the detective units, after which the balance of our manpower can be properly utilized for proactive law enforcement similar to our actions when we brought the murder rather to under 200. And no, this was not done with mass arrests. It was done with targeted enforcement of violent offenders in great numbers by many police, with that being their sole purpose. This year alone we have last 100 more police officers than we have hired. Put violent offenders in jail for a long time and the violent crime rate will drop, period.

If you are ok with an out-of-control city, short some six hundred officers, and the so-called leaders that continue the same old dribble when they talk down to you, please continue to elect them. I am telling you that since PC Harrison arrived in Baltimore some 3 years ago things have deteriorated tremendously. Since Mosby became states attorney some 7 years ago, Baltimore has turned into a criminal breeding ground of lawlessness. I had hoped that when Mayor Scott took office things might change. I spend many hours watching him when he was the Chair of the Public Safety Committee at City Hall. He would hold the BPD accountable for their decisions, repeatedly. It seems that now he has lost his way, mired in the progressive movement which in the near future will come back to haunt those same leaders. Also, please let’s not leave out some of our elected City Delegation in Annapolis and the part they have played in the deterioration of a once great city.

Citizens of Baltimore, this is your city. Vote Marilyn Mosby out now and let all of the others responsible for this destruction, or those who remain quiet, know that the time for change has most definitely arrived. We are out of time unless you are willing to wait multiple years for a “crime plan” or “holistic” experiment, all the while bodies continue to litter the streets. Public safety must come first. ACT NOW!

Mike Mancuso

President

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That hot little ho did get voted out—a shame, the end of an era.