BALTIMORE — For a long time, it felt like they were just shouting into the void. But Arch McKown and Donna Ann Ward never backed down.
"That can be said, that I am a dog with a bone. But the other reason the petition did not fade is because juvenile violence did not fade," Ward told WMAR-2 News.
Watch as neighbors react to the news of Schiraldi's departure
Ward started a petition in September asking Governor Moore to fire the Department of Juvenile Services (DJS) Secretary Vincent Schiraldi. She kept sharing it, and eventually racked up more than 4,000 signatures, some as recently as a few days ago. McKown, as the head of the Safety Committee for the Patterson Park Neighborhood Association, also led the chorus in calling for Schiraldi to go.
"Because we really feel that the change that's needed needs to start at the top," McKown told WMAR-2 News on Tuesday.
Among carjackings and businesses getting broken into, there were also a couple of high-profile cases that went viral on social media around the same spot in in the Patterson Park neighborhood - one in November 2023, and another in September 2024.
First, a 12-year-old and 14-year-old assaulted and robbed a woman walking home on the corner of E. Lombard Street and S. Patterson Park Avenue. They were arrested and then let go just a few hours later. Then, a man walking from his car to his home on Madeira Street was assaulted by a group of teenagers. An 18-year-old and 15-year-old were arrested, but the 15-year-old was released by DJS.
After a lot of backlash, he was eventually charged as an adult for attempted murder. Many blamed what they called a system of "catch and release" at DJS, and pointed fingers at Schiraldi, who has advocated for the abolition of parole and probation, as well as an end to mass incarceration.
"Those policies oftentimes when they're from down on high, they impact certain communities more than others and because of the variables that are in place here we oftentimes live at the pointy end of those outcomes," McKown said Tuesday.
When news broke that Schiraldi was out at DJS, it didn't take long to reach Ward, McKown, and their neighbors.
"My voicemail blew up, my inbox blew up, my email blew up. I was thrilled," Ward said. “We are really looking forward to turning the page on a very dark moment in history in East Baltimore.”
The circumstances surrounding Schiraldi's departure are unclear: Schiraldi has said that this was his decision to resign. Though members within the governor's office have said Governor Moore asked Schiraldi to resign.
Ward says she remains cautiously optimistic with Schiraldi's replacement, Betsy Fox Tolentino.
"We've invited her to come to East Baltimore to let us get to know her, to talk about her methodology and her goals, and to do something Vinny Schiraldi was incapable of - listen to us."
McKown says he worked with Tolentino in her previous role at DJS, when she served as the Deputy Secretary of Community Operations under Governor Larry Hogan.
“We got a lot of communication and collaboration from her and her people during that time that we didn't get under Schiraldi, and I'd really like to see us go back to that," McKown said.
Tolentino is expected to assume her role as acting Secretary on Wednesday.
