Man killed off-duty officer over parking space
18-year veteran struck in the head with concrete object
A 25-year-old Southeast Baltimore man has been charged with fatally injuring an off-duty Baltimore police detective by throwing a piece of concrete at the officer's head during an argument over a Canton parking space, according to police.
Detective Brian Stevenson, an 18-year veteran and married father of three, had gone out to have dinner on the eve of his birthday when he and Sian James got into an altercation in a private parking lot in the 2800 block of Hudson St. about 10 p.m. Saturday, police said. James was charged Sunday with first-degree murder.
James struck Stevenson in the left temple with a "fist-sized" concrete fragment, according to court records. Stevenson suffered "massive head injuries" and was taken to Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center, where he died about an hour before he was to have turned 38.
Colleagues who investigate violent crime in the city — much of it over petty disputes and perceived slights — were struggling to cope with Stevenson's death and were baffled by the circumstances.
Detective Brian Stevenson, an 18-year veteran and married father of three, had gone out to have dinner on the eve of his birthday when he and Sian James got into an altercation in a private parking lot in the 2800 block of Hudson St. about 10 p.m. Saturday, police said. James was charged Sunday with first-degree murder.
James struck Stevenson in the left temple with a "fist-sized" concrete fragment, according to court records. Stevenson suffered "massive head injuries" and was taken to Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center, where he died about an hour before he was to have turned 38.
Colleagues who investigate violent crime in the city — much of it over petty disputes and perceived slights — were struggling to cope with Stevenson's death and were baffled by the circumstances.
"All of them are terrible," Detective Thomas Jackson said of the city's killings. "But a parking space?"
Stevenson, who lived in Gwynn Oak, grew up in the city and as an officer investigated shootings and robberies in the Northeast District. He is the first city officer to die at the hands of another since Jan. 9, 2007, when Officer Troy Lamont Chesley Sr. was fatally shot during a robbery while he was off duty in Northwest Baltimore.
"It's an incredible tragedy for the family, for all of us," Police Commissioner Frederick H. Bealefeld III said outside the hospital, where he and Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake met Stevenson's relatives. "The city's losing a fantastic detective who worked to make people safe in this city. It's just senseless."
Stevenson was out having dinner with a longtime friend near Canton Square, and the argument broke out in the parking lot of an eye care clinic. Residents said the neighborhood is typically packed, with some area bars offering valet service and drivers jockeying for parking spots.
Acting on information from witnesses, James was tracked down by officers at a club in Power Plant Live and taken into custody. He was formally charged Sunday afternoon.
1st let me state again that I am not 2nd guessing the actions of the Officer. His death is a tragedy. However the circumstances of his death can be studied to prevent similar outcomes in the future.
Bad things happen in predictable places. If you avoid the places you can avoid a huge percentage of the violence in the world. What are those places?
· Bars – Parties – Anywhere people get their minds altered
· Anywhere that young men gather
· Where territories are in dispute
· Private Places
· Limited mobility or escape routes
Monkey Dance (MD)
· Hard, aggressive stare
· Verbal challenge – “What are you Looking at”
· An approach, with signs of adrenalization - gross motor actions arms swinging, chest bobbing skin flushing
· Squaring off (hey diddle diddle right up the middle) and contact chest bump – push / shove
o Repeat as necessary until…
· Big Looping over hand punch (almost always right handed hey maker)
Thousands of generations of man have been conditioned to play this game. It is very easy to get sucked into and very hard to walk away from.
Important elements about a Monkey Dance. It is between near equals to establish dominance.
No mater who said what, who made contact first or who threw the first punch with all the opportunities for preclusion (leaving) there is no self defense here. This is a mutually combative situation and most likely both of you are going to jail.
Serious injuries are rare in the monkey dance and usually occur by accident a broken fist or someone slipped and hit there head. The social violence ritual combat is genetically designed NOT to be life threatening. Elk “fight” for mates head on antler to antler (damage unlikely) Elk drive off predators by goring their antlers into the sides of the predator puncturing organs (potentially fatal).
When it is injurious as in the story self defense is an option you will be charged with murder.
When two tigers fight one is killed the other is injured.
If you feel yourself being drawn into a monkey dance you must ask yourself
- Is this worth killing for?
- Is this worth my life (ending or being spent in jail)
This is very sad. Letting something so silly escalate like this... I bet he just threw that rock at him out of frustration, to scare him off.. to show he had 'the last word" and the end results were tragic. When we let the evil monkey take over, it can have devastating effects.
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