Annapolis police are increasing foot patrols downtown this summer

A mid-June weekend at the Castlebay Irish Pub in Annapolis was coming to an end when a fight broke out in the bar and restaurant on Main Street.

Edward O’Brien, a 56-year-old Pennsylvania man, was involved in a violent brawl. According to charging documents, when police arrived, he had already choked and punched a woman in the face and beaten a bartender bloody. When officers tried to arrest him, he lunged at them and tried to grab one of their guns.

As of Monday, O’Brien had been charged with multiple counts of first- and second-degree assault, reckless endangerment, resisting arrest and disarming a police officer. He has since been indicted by a grand jury and a trial date could be set in late September.

With its new summer crime prevention plan, Annapolis Police aim to prevent incidents like the one in Castlebay.

The plan calls for deploying more officers near bars by the end of August, while also allocating resources to executing outstanding warrants and combating violent and property crimes.

Deputy Police Chief Stan Brandford said the department’s plan is not a response to the increase in bar fights or violence around City Dock. Instead, with the expected influx of tourists and events in downtown Annapolis, “we just want to make sure we have a presence in that area,” Brandford said.

It’s not the first time the department has taken such measures. Last year, when there was an increase in almost all Class I crimes – murder, robbery, burglary, rape, aggravated assault and theft – Annapolis Police Chief Ed Jackson began offering overtime to send additional patrol officers to “violent areas.”

The Annapolis Police Department defines “class one” crimes as those crimes that it reports to the Maryland State Police and the FBI.

By the end of last year’s eight-week plan, two teenagers had been shot in Annapolis, while all other Class I crimes had declined, the Capital Gazette found. Jackson then extended the department’s summer strategy into the fall.

When the chief unveiled this year’s summer crime plan on June 6, rates of the department’s high-priority crimes were mostly flat or declining compared to the same time in 2023 – Annapolis is investigating just a single homicide case in 2024, and only aggravated assault saw a notable increase, with 17 more incidents than last year.

The department’s 2024 summer plan revolves around nighttime safety in the downtown area. The priority, according to a draft, is to increase foot patrols “in areas affected by violence, physical altercations, noise, general unrest and alcohol-related incidents … to provide a sense of safety to residents and citizens.”