Police presence keeps Fells Point calm on Sail250 opening night

A heavy police presence kept Fells Point orderly Friday night as Sail250 opened. There were no major incidents in the neighborhood, and officers issued seven citations, including three for disorderly conduct, two for open-container violations, one for smoking cannabis and one for a liquor-law violation.

Over the June 21-22 weekend, police investigated two shootings in Fells Point, including an 18-year-old shot late Sunday night on South Bethal Avenue and another 18-year-old who later arrived at a hospital with gunshot wounds to the feet. Officers also were called to disperse a crowd of more than 1,000 people on Saturday night, and nearby business owners and residents had complained for weeks about underage drinking, open containers, illegal liquor sales and disorderly crowds.

Baltimore Police Commissioner Richard Worley promised a different approach for the Sail250 weekend: “You’ll see a different plan this weekend on how to combat this.” Officers were stationed throughout Fells Point as thousands of people moved through the waterfront during the city’s summer event.

Sail250 Maryland & Airshow Baltimore runs June 24 through July 1 and is free and family-friendly. The celebration is centered at the Inner Harbor, North Locust Point, Fells Point, Baltimore Peninsula and Martin State Airport, and includes tall ships, U.S. Navy and U.S. Coast Guard vessels, Blue Angels flights, military and historic aircraft flyovers, live entertainment, STEM programming and living-history education. The city also rolled out road closures and extra water-taxi and Circulator service to handle the added traffic and crowds.