Attorneys for the family of Timothy Reynolds say they have notified city leaders of their intention to file a multimillion-dollar lawsuit over the Hampden man’s death last month during a confrontation with squeegee workers.
In a news release issued Friday, the Snyder Law Group LLC accuses Baltimore’s mayor, police commissioner and state’s attorney of “gross negligence” for failing to disperse a crowd of squeegee workers downtown at the intersection of Light and Conway streets despite complaints from drivers.
Reynolds was shot and killed after he pulled his car over, got out and confronted the squeegee workers with a baseball bat. Police have said Reynolds swung the bat at the young men.
Baltimore’s anti-panhandling code prohibits squeegeeing as well as other forms of solicitation, although the code is rarely enforced and legal experts believe it may violate the First Amendment right to free exercise.
“Unfortunately, these issues in Baltimore City are out of control,” the family’s attorney, Michael B. Snyder, said in the news release. “City officials can’t stand by and allow this illegal activity to continue anymore. Choosing not to enforce laws, make arrests and prosecute offenders, who knowingly put the public at risk, is beyond negligence, it’s gross negligence.”
City spokesman James Bentley said officials are aware of the law firm’s announcement and they will respond in the appropriate legal forum. He did not immediately say if the city has received the notice letter.
The family’s attorney, Snyder, also provided photos of scratches and dents to Timothy Reynolds’ car. Snyder said the squeegee workers caused about $5,000 in damage to the car and that’s what provoked Reynolds to pull over and confront them with the bat.
The killing of Reynolds, 48, a husband and father of three, has become a flashpoint in continued debate over Baltimore’s squeegee workers. For decades, city youth and some adults have made money by washing windshields on street corners, sometimes bringing tense confrontations with drivers.
Attorneys for the Reynolds family blamed city leaders for not stopping the squeegee workers and therefore putting drivers in danger, they wrote in the news release.
“He would not have been injured and not have died had authorities taken steps to keep the community safe,” they wrote.
Baltimore Police arrested a 15-year-old squeegee worker and charged him as an adult with killing Reynolds. A grand jury indicted the boy earlier this month on first-degree murder. Activists and defense attorneys had called for the office of Baltimore State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby to reduce the charges and prosecute the boy in juvenile court instead.
A student at Digital Harbor High School, the boy was 14 years old when authorities say he shot and killed Reynolds. His attorneys have asked a city judge to transfer the case to juvenile court. There, a child faces a maximum penalty of being detained until the age of 21.
In circuit court, he faces life in prison. The Banner is not identifying the teen. Under state law, his case is sealed until chances run out for defense attorneys to move his case to juvenile court.
A Baltimore judge has not yet scheduled a hearing on whether to transfer the boy’s case to juvenile court.
On Friday, the boy’s attorney, Warren Brown, called the family lawsuit a reach.
“This city will go broke if they win this case,” Brown said. “Just think how many drug corners there are that the police don’t disperse, or other crimes that police have not interrupted or interdicted that led to someone bring harmed. So, if you can sue the city for its failure to enforce a law, and convince someone that that failure led to the harm that you claim, the city would be paying out a lot of money.”
Brown added, “He died because he came across the street. ... He’s responsible for his own demise, and I think the city will dispatch with the suit in very short order.”
Reynolds’ family started an online fundraiser that has collected more than $70,000 in donations. The family has asked for privacy and declined to discuss the case. His widow, Shannon, issued a statement through the firm Friday.
“Tim had the type of personality that lit up every room he entered. He was kind, generous, charming, funny, and loyal to those he loved,” she said. “He was a devoted family man who loved [me and his] children. He also loved the city of Baltimore and was an avid Baltimore sports fan. We are beyond devastated, and this loss has left a void in our life that can never be replaced.”
Police have said Reynolds had “some type of interaction” with the squeegee workers. Then Reynolds drove through the intersection, parked his vehicle, and walked across eight lanes of traffic carrying a baseball bat, according to witnesses and preliminary statements from police.
The Banner obtained a 45-second dashcam video of the shooting. The footage, which does not show the initial encounter or Reynolds’ approach, begins with Reynolds walking away from the intersection. He’s pointing the bat at three squeegee workers, who are following from approximately 20 feet away.
Reynolds walks in front of a car and disappears from view. A description of the video in a police report indicates that’s when the individuals “seemingly surround him.”
Later, Reynolds swings the bat while running toward the youth. One appears to hit Reynolds in the head while he has the bat raised toward a different squeegee worker. That’s when that squeegee worker starts firing when running away.
Baltimore District Judge Theresa Morse noted the charging documents state Reynolds was walking away before he was fatally shot and she ordered the boy held without bail.
Under Maryland law, someone must make a reasonable effort to retreat before responding with deadly force to an aggressor. The person must also have a reasonable belief that the aggressor poses a deadly threat.
More than four hours before Reynolds was shot and killed, state Sen. Antonio Hayes, D-Baltimore, reported to police a confrontation he had with the squeegee workers at the same intersection. The Banner obtained a police record about Hayes’ confrontation.
Hayes told police that he was stopped at the intersection and asked a group of young men to get out of the street. One of the youths got angry, grabbed a water bottle and threw it into the vehicle, hitting Hayes in the head, according to the police record. The senator was not hurt.
tim.prudente@thebaltimorebanner.com
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