When it comes to resolutions, this New Year’s Eve is a big one. With a new decade comes an even bigger opportunity to wipe the slate clean and get cracking on those goals that you’ve long been wanting to accomplish. But, before we all start hitting the gym and polishing up our personal budgets, there are tons of local celebrations to say sayonara to the past 10 years in style. Whether you’re looking for an all-out dance party, fancy meal, fireworks show, all-you-can-drink package—or some combination of them all—here are some of the best New Year’s Eve happenings.

Dance Dance Resolution

The Roaring 2020’s New Years Eve: A Burlesque Revue: The roaring twenties are back and better than ever at Creative Alliance’s clever nod to the past. Celebrate with a night of burlesque, dancing, two live bands, and CBD cocktails—an event worthy of a 21st-century Gatsby. $30-35

The Crown NYE in the Red Room: Everyone’s favorite dancing spot is opening up the Red Room this New Year’s Eve for a night of throwbacks. Two DJs will spin classics from the past decade (think Beyonce, Billie Eilish, and everyone in between) along with a mix of soul and funk. Bring your best moves and fit one last dance session into 2019. Free

NYE Bash at Mobtown Ballroom: Located in a restored Pigtown church, Mobtown Ballroom brings back its tradition of starting the New Year off with live music and dance. Mzz B & Company Dance Band will supply the tunes, including pop, R&B, and soul, with performances throughout the night. Tickets include a complimentary Champagne toast when the clock strikes midnight. $50

A 2020 Burlesque New Year’s: Dance like a flapper at The Charles in Federal Hill. Partygoers will groove to music by DJ Neil Paul and indulge in other offerings provided by the all-inclusive ticket, such as a six-hour premium open bar, heavy hors d’oeuvres, surprise performances, a photo booth, and party favors. Top off the night by watching the countdown and Times Square ball drop on The Charles’ 16-foot projector screen. $75-130

Midnight Shows

NYE Murder Mystery Train: Ride into 2020 aboard the Western Maryland Scenic Railroad, and step into the shoes of a detective with an evening of murder mystery fun. Guests will dine with a special three-course meal, enjoy a bar stocked with wine and beer, and relax to enjoy the show—which takes place on board. $185

Better Off Dead: There’s no better New Year’s fun for Deadheads than this late-night show with Better Off Dead, the touring tribute band that reimagines the music of the Grateful Dead. The 8×10 tradition includes admission to an after party featuring experimental jam group Squaring the Circle. Want to go all out this year? VIP tickets include an acoustic set with Better Off Dead and access to a potluck. $30-45

Firework Spectaculars

NYE Duck Drop and Fireworks: Havre de Grace celebrates the 20th anniversary of their annual duck drop, a tradition where a symbolic lighted duck takes the place of the Times Square Ball. The celebration includes a midnight fireworks display at the Concord Point Lighthouse, set off from barges just offshore, and tons of outdoor dancing.

New Year’s Eve Spectacular: Baltimore: Once again, this 15-minute fireworks display will light up the skies above the Inner Harbor. Baltimoreans will gather on the promenade, groove to live music courtesy of Rufus Roundtree & Da B’More Brass Factory, and enjoy a late-night skate around the Inner Harbor Ice Rink, which will be open past midnight to ring in the New Year.

NYE Deck Party on the USS Constellation: Giving a new definition to the party boat, the last sail-only warship used in the United States Navy brings the fun on board. The deck of the USS Constellation hosts a spread of attractions, from an all-inclusive gourmet menu, hot cider and other drinks, party hats and noisemakers, cannon firings, and a prime view of the Inner Harbor fireworks.

Cheers to the New Year

Suspended Brewing’s Countdown to 2020: This charming Pigtown brewery hosts its third-annual New Year’s party to close out the decade. Toast to the new decade with a choice of beers from hoppy to spiced, or with the three thoughtfully crafted cocktails on draft. Tickets also include a dinner by Asian-fusion favorite Ekiben, a special themed gift, and a dance party led by a brewer-turned-DJ. $100

Brew Year’s Eve Bash at Nepenthe Brewing Co.: Hampden beer haven Nepenthe is opening up its bar for those looking to ring in 2020 with a brew in hand. Five hours of open bar means plenty of time to try a few beverages—from beer to wine to cocktails—with entertainment such as a photo booth, a flip cup tournament, hourly prize drawings, cult drinking game Drinko, and a barrel drop at midnight. $65-95

NYE at Tagliata/Elk Room/Italian Disco: Three rooms, three experiences—one big New Year’s Eve party on Fleet Street. With the restaurants neighboring each other, and sharing an outdoor patio, guests can easily move between the live piano in Tagliata’s lounge, the jazz band at the Elk Room, and the DJ at Italian Disco. Enjoy an open bar, festive fare on a standing buffet, and a complimentary Champagne toast at midnight. $146-195

One Star Country Club’s NYE Party 2019: Known for its comedic one-star reviews, this Federal Hill favorite knows how to keep things fun. With a friendly and inviting atmosphere, the bar will host a one-hour premium open bar to get the drinks and cheer flowing, and a special live DJ performance throughout the night. $6-16.50

New Year’s Eve at Barcocina: Tiered ticket packages at this Fells Point hangout allow revelers to get as fancy as they would like this New Year’s Eve. Depending on which package you choose, enjoy a top-shelf open bar or admission to both Barcocina and its sister spot, Bond Street Social. Plus, the waterfront bar provides the perfect patio for watching the fireworks shine over the harbor. $40-90

New Year’s Eve 2020 at The Point: Start your January out “on point” at this Thames Street mainstay. Though general admission is free, guests have the option of indulging in a $25 buffet with a Champagne toast at midnight or a $75 premium open bar package. Plus, DJ Mike Jointz will be spinning and taking requests until 5 a.m. If you happen to stay out that long, you might as well stick it out until 9 a.m., when The Point will start serving brunch. Free-$75

New Year’s at Woody’s and Slainte: These Fells Point sister spots are doing it up with a gourmet buffet, premium open bar, prime view of the fireworks, and party favors galore. $80

Fancy Food:

New Year’s Dinner and Brunch at True Chesapeake Oyster Co.: Not only is this Hampden newbie offering dinner with free shuttle service to the Avenue on New Year’s Eve, but it’s also celebrating with two brunch seatings on New Year’s Day. Come in your PJs and enjoy live DJ music while sipping mimosas or Bloody Marys and, perhaps more importantly, unlimited coffee. All-inclusive tickets include the drinks, a brunch dish (try the French toast or a chicken-and-waffle Benedict), and a housemade bread basket for the table. $35

Charleston: For a feast that’s worth the splurge, head to Harbor East to savor one of chef Cindy Wolf’s unique, four-course menus with optional wine and Champagne pairings. Among them are “The Forest” (mushroom bisque and roasted beef tenderloin), “The Sea” (Scottish smoked salmon and grilled sea bass), “The Field” (fingerling potato salad and a chanterelle mushroom tart), and “Autrement,” with Maryland lump crab gratin and grilled calamari. $169-269

Little Havana: If Cuban food and a first-rate view of fireworks feels like a perfect night, greet 2020 at Little Havana in South Baltimore. Snack on appetizers such as puerco fritas, or fill-up on a dinner buffet before getting drinks at the canopied open bar. All the while, jam to party band Bye Felicia. $85

Papi’s Tacos: A night of tacos, salted margaritas, and shiny party favors sounds like a New Year’s Eve well spent to us. Tickets to this Hampden bash include bottomless beer, wine, house margaritas, sangria, and Champagne. And what could be better than starting January with a quesadilla buffet at midnight? $50

Rye Street Tavern: Snag a table at this Port Covington destination to feast on a special three-course fixed menu. Special dishes will include a Wagyu beef tartare, red wine-braised short ribs, chef Andrew Carmellini’s famous fried chicken, and a classic Baked Alaska for two. $85

Wayward Smokehouse: Four words: mac and cheese bar. Need we say more? Head to this South Charles Street staple in Federal Hill to line your stomach with all-you-can-eat mac and cheese before taking advantage of the open bar from 9 p.m. until 1 a.m. There will also be a photo booth, live DJ, and a Champagne toast. Another added perk? Guests in need of a hangover cure will receive 10 percent off of their checks at Wayward on New Year’s Day. $65

Cinghiale: New Year’s Eve at this Harbor East hotspot features a four-course modern Italian menu, party hats and favors, a sparkling toast at midnight, and a killer view of the fireworks display. Dishes to look our for include house-smoked swordfish crudo, wild boar bolognese, porcini-crusted monkfish, and prosecco cake with spiced plums. $99

Magdalena: Chef Mark Levy is pulling out all the stops at this Mount Vernon gem for the holiday. Diners will enjoy a four-course prix-fixe featuring chilled lobster salad, winter squash ravioli with sage, Beef Wellington, rack of Colorado lamb, and a salted caramel chocolate tart. $150

“Walk of Shame” Brunch at Topside: The team at this rooftop destination at Hotel Revival in Mount Vernon is hoping to make the often-brutal New Year’s Day hangovers a bit easier this year. Come in your pajamas, or the outfit you wore the night before (no judgement!), to take full advantage of a Bloody Mary bar, cold pizza, prosecco pops with Pedialyte, cocktails infused with vitamins and minerals, and more.

The Night Brunch NYE Party: The brains behind The Night Brunch are taking over the arcade at Lexington Market, transforming the food hall into an immersive New Year’s bash. Along with food stands from The Urban Oyster and Lexington Market favorites, the halls will get jazzed-up with decorations, lights, live DJs, and Instagrammable installations. The night will finish off with an ecstatic sequence of countdown, ball drop, and balloon drop. $40

Baltimore Blowouts

NYE Live! New Year’s Eve Baltimore: With nine bars and nightclubs, five gourmet buffets with classics such as crab cakes and jumbo shrimp, and four-hour all-inclusive drink packages, Power Plant Live! might keep you too distracted to notice the ball drop—although you’ll be able to follow the countdown on two 20-foot LED screens alongside live music and a laser light show. $95

Gatsby on the Harbor: If you’re waiting for a green light to party like it’s the roaring ’20s, head down to the edge of the water and wait no longer. Harbor East’s Marriott Waterfront Hotel will host this ball that is shaping up to be a monument to decadence—featuring several open bars and buffets, dazzling decorations, and a no-holds-barred midnight extravaganza that’ll be the talk of the town for a decade to come. $125

Charm City Countdown Charity Gala: Branded as Baltimore’s biggest balloon drop, this year’s Charm City Countdown will take place in an enchanted forest (inside the Hilton BWI Airport Hotel), with 12 party zones, specialty bars, a silent disco, heated outdoor lounges, and perhaps a touch of magic. Plus, funds raised will support the disability advocacy of nonprofit Caring Communities. $119

Sagamore Pendry: For an exclusive New Year’s Eve experience in the form of a double-gala, choose between either a Venetian masquerade or a winter wonderland, depending on your style. You won’t want to miss this gala at the Sagamore Pendry Hotel, and you certainly won’t want to miss the five-hour premium open bar. $33-500

The Lord Baltimore Hotel: We may be approaching a century since Prohibition began, but that doesn’t mean modern partygoers can’t enjoy the thrill of a speakeasy bash at the Lord Baltimore Hotel. But that’s not all—be sure to nab the two-person overnight package to enjoy a packed evening of celebration fit to ring in the ‘20s, with a Great Gatsby murder mystery dinner, hotel ghost tour, psychic readings, and a costume contest. $135-376

Loch Bar: Stay inside to watch the fireworks burst over the Inner Harbor with views from Loch Bar inside the Four Seasons Baltimore. Decked out with a ceiling covered in gold and silver balloons, the elevated event will offer a standing buffet with treats such as oysters Rockefeller and crab balls, an open bar, live music, and complimentary Champagne. $120-150

City Council President Brandon Scott announced his 2020 bid for mayor Friday in the Park Heights neighborhood where he grew up, making an urgent case for top-to-bottom change in city government.

Scott, who said he was “tired of seeing the tears of young people who’d lost their classmates” to gun violence, was introduced by Cease Fire founder Erricka Bridgeford. “We must stop the bleeding and address the root causes of gun violence,” the 35-year-old Scott told those gathered. “Baltimore needs a mayor invested in the people of this city, not the status quo.”

In his 10-minute address, Scott reiterated recent proposals and pledges to bring professionalism to city government. “Every agency will be held to performance measures,” Scott said. “There will be a focus on resolving 311 issues.”

By declaring his candidacy, Scott became first elected leader to make a formal entry into the race, which many observers predict will eventually come down to a two-person generational battle between the council president and Mayor Bernard C. “Jack” Young, who has given indications he will run, but has not yet declared his intention to seek Baltimore’s highest office next year.

Young, the former council president, became Baltimore’s 51st mayor following former Mayor Catherine Pugh’s resignation earlier this year when she came under fire—and investigation—after receiving more than $800,000 in questionable deals from her Healthy Holly children’s book series. Young had tried to get the council to name Councilwoman Sharon Middleton as his council president successor, but Scott outmaneuvered her for the necessary votes. Young and Scott have been viewed as potential 2020 mayoral rivals ever since with occasional tensions spilling out in public view.

Former Mayor Sheila Dixon, former Baltimore Police Department spokesman T.J. Smith, state Sen. Jill Carter, state Sen. Mary Washington, and state Del. Nick Mosby are said to be considering a bid for mayor as well. Former Democratic candidate for governor, Ben Jealous, recently told the Baltimore Sun he has ruled out a run for mayor, but is considering running for state’s highest office again. Twelve candidates, none currently elected officials, including four Republicans, have declared themselves candidates for mayor with the State Board of Elections.

First elected at 27, Scott, a subject in last year’s well-received documentary Charm City, was one of the youngest candidates ever elected to citywide office. After growing up in Park Heights, he graduated from Mergenthaler Vocational-Technical High School and then studied political science and graduated from St. Mary’s College in Southern Maryland. He got his start in politics as a liaison in the office of then-City Council President Stephanie Rawlings-Blake.

He previously served as chair of the council’s high-profile Public Safety Committee and co-founded the anti-violence group 300 Men March. He has also served as a member of the Budget and Appropriations and Judiciary and Legislative Investigations committees.

Earlier this summer, Scott unveiled a detailed, 29-page legislative and policy proposal highlighting his vision for improving city government, making communities safer, investing in youth, and bringing an equitable framework to governance. He essentially announced his bid with the release of a campaign video earlier this week.

If elected, Scott would be significantly younger than the average U.S. mayor—56, according to a recent study. But the ambitious Scott would be the same age as Martin O’Malley, another ambitious former councilman, when O’Malley ran for mayor and actually possesses several more years of elected experience.

“Brandon is hard-working, there’s no doubt about that, he’s smart, and capable,” former 1st District City Councilman James Kraft, told Baltimore this spring, adding he was not making an endorsement, but expressed confidence in his former colleague’s ability to handle the city’s top job. “He’d also surround himself with smart, good people.”

You may have heard that Baltimore has been disparaged recently. Here at Baltimore, we’ve spent 112 years celebrating this city—and we’re not about to back down now. Take a look back as we revisit some of the many reasons why Charm City lives up to its name. Here are some highlights from our archives:

We’ve got Otterbein’s.

The sacred sugar cookies of Bawlmer.

And the best crab houses in the country.

From Captain James, Oprah’s favorite, to the James Beard Award-winning Schultz’s Crab House.

Photography by Scott Suchman

Oprah Winfrey got her start here on WJZ.

Recently, she made a local news appearance on WBAL to defend Baltimore’s honor. “This charming city is anything but full of rats,” she said.

Illustration by Anita Kunz

We have sports legends.

The Iron Man even beat The Iron Horse’s streak!

Photography by Mike Morgan

Our chefs win James Beard Awards.

Woodberry Kitchen’s Spike Gjerde is a farm-to-fork pioneer. Even former First Lady Michelle Obama eats here.

Photography by Mike Morgan

We have some of the best museums in the country.

Among them are the first-of-its-kind National Great Blacks in Wax Museum, the Reginald F. Lewis Museum of Maryland African-American History & Culture, and the Baltimore Museum of Art—which is expected to unveil its upcoming Matisse center by 2021, making it the premier place to study the French artist and his works.

Some of the most iconic artists hail from here.

John Waters, Blaze Starr, and Joyce Scott. (Need we say more?)

-Bryan Burris

We have the largest free arts festival in the country.

Local legends (Ethel Ennis) to national names (TLC) have stepped up to the stage here.

Our symphony is home to conductor Marin Alsop, the first woman to head a major American orchestra.

In an era when symphonies around the country are closing their doors permanently, the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra is one of only 25 of the 800 or so U.S. orchestras to have been around for more than 100 years.

Photography by David Colwell

We invented just about everything.

Hyperbole? We think not. Read on.

Sean McCabe

It’s a tall order—asking a native New Yorker to make a documentary about violence in the streets of Baltimore that doesn’t feel like dilettantism or cultural tourism—but filmmaker Marilyn Ness is more than up to the challenge. Her Charm City, which premieres this Friday at the Parkway Theatre, was filmed over a three-year period in Baltimore just before and after Freddie Gray’s death and the subsequent Uprising, and takes a look at our crime problem from a variety of perspectives—the cops, the lawmakers, and those living the life, every day on the streets.

Charm City manages to feel equal parts authentic, despairing, and open-hearted, and it even leaves some room for hope. I had a chance to talk to Ness about her journey creating the film. About two-thirds through the interview, Clayton “Mr. C” Guyton, the director of the Rose Street Community Center and one of the film’s stars, stops by and joins our conversation.

How did you decide to film in Baltimore?

MN: I had been reading about all the deaths in police custody, you know, these African-American men, these high-profile deaths and I thought, “There’s never context.” So we wondered what would it look like if you went to a city where there was both the police and the policed and tried to see what was happening day in and day out other than just reflecting on the cataclysmic moment that the news tends to focus on. We had called the Department of Justice and said, “Where’s a city you think is trying to find a way forward?” and they were like, “Hands down, Baltimore.” We came down here in December of 2014.

Right before Freddie Gray.
MN: We had been here for four months before Freddie Gray . . . and we stayed and filmed, just sort of staying the course of what we had planned to do. We had two epiphanies. [One] epiphany was this: No matter how [big the cataclysm] and no matter how much leadership changed at the top, what it meant to be a patrol officer on the ground or a community member just trying to get by didn’t change really. It turns out day in day out life is the same. Everyone’s just doing life.

What was the second epiphany?

MN: We wound up being in Baltimore during the three most violent years in recent history and, whether you were with community members or police officers, they all talked about it in the same way. It was like, “What can we be doing as individuals to try to change the equation, how do communities life themselves up?” And we realized there was more similarity than difference as they talked to us. Not to say there wasn’t major tension and anger and years of distrust that had been built, but they were kind of coming at things from the same place. That to us also felt like an epiphany. The media will pit communities of color against police officers and vice-versa. There was a way in which everyone was singing the same song.

The film feels pretty sympathetic toward the police.

MN: These are issues that the communities and cities haven’t been able to solve for years and yet we feel comfortable sending in police officers often very young, 22 to 25 years old, with guns who are looking at this problem day in and day out. And we started to think, maybe we’re asking police to do too much.

Director Marilyn Ness

Did you have concerns about being an outsider who comes into Baltimore? That maybe this wasn’t your story to tell?
MN: So it’s completely a concern I had coming in. The way we tried to deal with it, actually my whole crew was local. My PA [production assistant] wound up being my co-producer, a woman named Meryam Bouadjemi—she knew this town, loves this town, is from this town. I said to her, “We’re not looking to do a slam job. We’re really trying to understand what is the beating heart here.” She threw herself in and was incredibly committed to helping make sure we saw all those sides of Baltimore.

Everyone seems so relaxed in front of the camera. What was that process like?
MN: We spent months without a camera. As soon as you put a camera in the mix, that human interaction ends. And then I slowly added the camera. The first days are useless. Everyone is still uncomfortable and doesn’t even know how to walk through a door with a camera following them. Over time, everyone gets their groove on. And then they kind of forget that we’re there. My scariest moment was when we screened the film for all the subjects. Thankfully, everyone felt that we represented their truth and this was the city they knew and understood and that we captured that.

Mr. C, one thing I sensed watching the documentary, the people in your neighborhood really trust you.

CG: You have to be there for them. No matter what time it is, 1 am, 3 am—if you’re angry and you want somebody to talk to, or you may not even want somebody to talk to, try us. Try us.
That’s a slow process. They have to feel that somebody, not necessarily that they feel your pain, but that you’re willing to walk with them. You got be real about that. . . . And once they know you’re totally committed, that’s half the battle.

MN: You watered the garden no matter which flower it was. And one day they need you and you’ve done the work that lets them come to you. We felt that from the first days we met you. I didn’t understand what I was seeing. But you understood that these guys, who look hard and tough and mad, were here with you and showing up for the [daily Rose Street Community Center] meetings and hearing the word and you could see love.

CG: They give what they get. You love them, they love them back.

Mr. C, tell me your reaction to seeing the film

CG: It’s like looking at a picture of yourself. The first time I looked at the film, I didn’t really feel it. I was distant, for whatever reason. No reaction. The second time, the ice melted a little bit. The third time, there were some parts that made me tear up.

You’ve screened the film at Tribeca and at the Maryland Film Festival. What’s that reaction been?

MN: I will say this about Mr. C, because he’s too humble: People are incredibly moved by him and the power of what he’s doing. They walk away from the film feeling hope, that there are people on the ground trying to stem the tide [of violence] with love.

In the first episode of The New York Times’ “The Daily” podcast entitled “Baltimore After Freddie Gray,” one would expect it to be another run-of-the-mill outsider point-of-view of 2015’s Uprising following Gray’s death while in police custody. But the Times isn’t your typical publication. Reporter Sabrina Tavernise takes a deeper dive into why instances of police corruption even happen in the first place.

Surprisingly, the episode doesn’t begin with the recounting of Gray’s death and arrest, but instead Tavernise begins explaining why Gray’s arrest served as the catalyst for the increase in homicides and violence in Baltimore. Through the lens of Toby Douglas and Davetta Parker, the mother and grandmother of Lavar “Nook” Douglas who was shot and killed by police in 2016, Tavernise tells the story of how Baltimore has landed in the national discussion of race and policing. The five-part series—that was released over five days beginning June 3—discusses everything from the spiking homicide rate to the investigation into the Gun Trace Task Force.

Lavar “Nook” Douglas’s case is the centerpiece of the series.
Very reminiscent of the popular Baltimore-based podcast “Serial” that followed the case of Adnan Syed whose case was reopened because of the media attention, Douglas’s family is hoping for similar results. Nook, who was 18 at the time, was killed by a Coppin State police officer near the campus after opening fire at a car in the middle of the street. Almost three years later, the family is still requesting that the BPD to identify the officer.

Tavernise and her producer, Lynsea Garrison, spent four months with his family to help them investigate the death in order to answer a deeper question about the violence in Baltimore: “How did things get like this?”

“The cops definitely pulled back,” retired Deputy Commissioner of Operations for BPD Tony Barksdale says. “Nobody wanted to be the next cop that makes an arrest and the arrest goes wrong.”

Former Police Commissioner Darryl De Sousa added: “Criminals got emboldened . . . they just tried to take advantage of a storm that was going on.”

Zero-tolerance policing is identified as one of the causes.
“What every black in Baltimore City knows is that the Baltimore City Police Department is the most racist and corrupt organization out here,” Sgt. Louis Hopson says. “You don’t get that way overnight. Freddie Gray was just a flash point, you see. And the problem is, no one trusts us now. How can you do your job if you don’t have the community’s trust.”

“The Daily” explores corrupt policing in Baltimore and points to the mayoral race of 1999 when Martin O’Malley introduced the idea of zero-tolerance policing in Baltimore that he’d witnessed in its infancy in New York City. The idea seemed like a good one at the time, but officers like Hopson disagreed with the new initiative.

“I appealed to Martin myself and said, ‘Martin, listen, if you bring zero tolerance here, in four or five years from now,’ I said, ‘It’s going to be so unbelievable,’” Hopson says. “‘You’re going to have corrupt police officers right and left. You can’t give this kind of authority to a police department and just say, ‘Look, you guys go do what you want’—not without some type of, you know, checks and balances on everything. Well, they did.”

The Gun Trace Task Force (GTTF) put the Baltimore Police Department in the hot seat. . . again.
The plain-clothes unit that was created at the peak of zero-tolerance policing has been under fire since it was discovered that the officers had been stealing from residents for years. Two of the eight officers—former Sgt. Wayne Jenkins and former detective Marcus Taylor—were sentenced to 25 years and 18 years, respectively, for a wide range of crimes including stealing drugs, money, and fabricating evidence. This has forced the city to re-examine nearly 1,700 cases involving the GTTF. “The Daily” includes audio from the body cameras of the GTTF officers as they are plotting to steal from a suspect they’ve apprehended.

“Everybody knew how corrupt the task force was,” Hopson says. “Any rotten fruit amongst good fruit, pretty soon all the fruit rots. That’s what you have here. I’d say 50 percent of them are bad and that’s no good.”

There is no given solution to the race and policing problems facing Baltimore.
While Tavernise spoke with everyone from gang members and drug dealers to former police officers and a grieving family, her exploration into Baltimore’s corrupt policing, past and present, provided nothing more than an analysis of the situation that residents are living every day. The general consensus of the those that were interviewed was that, in order to make Baltimore a better and safer city, the BPD needs to be completely wiped and revamped.

“We’ve got to understand that, while you can become a police officer at the age of 21, there’s no other position in the country that allows you to remove another human being from existence solely based on your title and training—not even the military has that power,” former FBI agent and advisor to BPD Tyrone Powers says. “We have to make sure they are doing this right. We have to get it right so there isn’t another situation like Freddie Gray. If we don’t get better, Baltimore will burn and so will other cities like it.”