Once again, Montgomery County police were called to Westfield Montgomery Mall in Bethesda, after another 2nd-degree assault was reported there last night, August 21, 2022. The assault was reported at the mall at 6:37 PM Sunday. This was the eighth 2nd-degree assault at the mall since May 18. The Montgomery County Police Department announced earlier this month that it would be establishing a "resource room" at the popular retail destination.
20 comments:
So, what is "second-degree assault"?
Some housewife elbowed another housewife who jumped the line for the bargain bin?
The "resource room" isn't enough. You need to have dedicated roaming patrols of the Mall by MoCo PD to quash any reputation that at Montgomery Mall is a place where you can commit crimes like this without consequence. People who commit crimes there need to be caught and charged. They need to go to prison. They need to tell their friends that the police caught them and that they got caught and charged for assault at MoCo Mall and that the place is off limits for that kind of thing. Yes, that means hiring more police officers to do that. Otherwise, regular people will stop going to the Mall if they feel it isn't safe for them and their family. That will hurt the retailers there and affect their jobs.
Interesting that the crime continues unabated even with the new police station in the mall.
2010 Maryland Code
CRIMINAL LAW
TITLE 3 - OTHER CRIMES AGAINST THE PERSON
Subtitle 2 - Assault, Reckless Endangerment, and Related Crimes
Section 3-203 - Assault in the second degree.
§ 3-203. Assault in the second degree.
(a) Prohibited.- A person may not commit an assault.
(b) Penalty.- Except as provided in subsection (c) of this section, a person who violates subsection (a) of this section is guilty of the misdemeanor of assault in the second degree and on conviction is subject to imprisonment not exceeding 10 years or a fine not exceeding $2,500 or both.
(c) Law enforcement officer.-
(1) In this subsection, "physical injury" means any impairment of physical condition, excluding minor injuries.
(2) A person may not intentionally cause physical injury to another if the person knows or has reason to know that the other is:
(i) a law enforcement officer engaged in the performance of the officer's official duties; or
(ii) a parole or probation agent engaged in the performance of the agent's official duties.
(3) A person who violates paragraph (2) of this subsection is guilty of the felony of assault in the second degree and on conviction is subject to imprisonment not exceeding 10 years or a fine not exceeding $5,000 or both.
[An. Code 1957, art. 27, § 12A; 2002, ch. 26, § 2; 2005, ch. 283; 2006, ch. 305; 2010, chs. 264, 265.]
"You need to have dedicated roaming patrols of the Mall by MoCo PD"
Uh, NO. The mall owner can pay for their own security like every other privately owned establishment. Hire off-duty officers who are NOT on the taxpayer's dime.
@6:17: We don't know if the "Resource Room" is staffed yet.
Robert: Do you know if it is?
Agreed
Terrible news. But, with Lakeforest empty, thugs have to work somewhere.
@9:26 AM: This isn't shoplifting which is a loss prevention issue for a security guard to handle as a first responder. This is repeated instances of assault which makes it a police issue. The police need to patrol where the crime is. This is where the crime is.
Malls and other private venues don't hire security teams only for loss prevention, obviously. Deterring all crime, including misdemeanor assaults, obviously fall within their job description. It is NOT mcpd's job to act as a private security firm and patrol inside the mall just because that's somewhere that crime can happen. Suggesting that is as dumb as saying MCPS should be in charge of providing teachers to private schools because that's somewhere that learning can happen.
It was not staffed as of yesterday.
@4:04 PM: MoCo PD had Officers stationed at and actively patrolling on public school campuses as "School Resource Officers" to prevent crimes until woke people claimed it was racist to do that. So the officers were removed by woke MoCo leadership and campus violence predictably increased as a result. That's right: Woke MoCo Leadership sacrificed your children's safety in the name of wokeness.
When the level of campus violence became politically inconvenient they brought the Officers back as "Community Engagement Officers": https://wtop.com/montgomery-county/2022/04/montgomery-co-schools-law-enforcement-formalize-agreement-on-police-role-in-schools/
"According to council documents which include a copy of the MOU, the new arrangement states that CEOs will have a “private, designated office” near the main office of schools, but “will not be permanently stationed there.”
@7:18 PM: Is it publicly accessible/visible in the Mall? If so, where is it?
Second Degree Assault; It's a misdemeanor. Basically any physical act or threat of a physical act that doesn't result in real injury. Could be a crazy person yelling at a metro employee, could be someone threw a punch at someone, etc.
Let's stop the knee-jerk reactings to these reports by MCPD as being something EXTREMELY violent.
It's really a shame how far Montgomery Mall has fallen and what it's turned into now.
So happy we moved from Rockville back to North Carolina. We are in a semi rural Co7nty near Chapel Hill . Our population growth and economic activity are growing by leaps and bounds. In our County, it is hard to find a retail vacancy. Stores are quite often closed Sunday and Monday (some Wednesday as well) and apparently do well. No crime so far. Property taxes are so cheap. The personal income tax is under 4%. The corporate income tax will be at 0% wby 2025. Unbelievable State Parks with lots and lots of water for paddling and hiking trails abound.
Go out towards the side door where all of the Ubers and lifts come to pick people up but hang a right turn and it’s that little room that used to be for waiting. As of three days ago, it was still empty.
@10:59 PM: Is this location on the North/East/South/West side of the building? What's it near? I've never used Uber/Lyft there.
I believe it’s towards the west side of the food court. Go past the escalators that go up to the second and third floors and keep going out that side door and it’s on the right immediately after you exit.
@3:57 PM: Thanks. I'll look for it next time I'm there.
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