BALTIMORE COUNTY, MD — The owners of Vince's Crab House are suing Baltimore County Executive John A. Olszewski Jr., for $400,000 for issuing stand down and not to engage orders to Baltimore County officers regarding protests that have taken place outside of the Middle River restaurant for more than a month.
The lawsuit, filed on Friday, claims the family-owned seafood restaurant has been "under attack by so-called protestors" for more than a month and that the family, employees, customers and delivery vendors have been the target of death threats, assaults, harassment, and racist remarks, along with other actions.
The owners of the restaurant are suing Olszewski for ordering police officers to stand down and for failing to protect restaurant employees and others. Protesters assembled outside of the restaurant for weeks after the son of owner Brenda Meyer made comments deemed as being racist on Facebook before later apologizing.
Last month, Vince Meyer said that officers in Carroll and Harford counties had shut down protests, but that in Baltimore County, officers were instructed to stand down. A Baltimore County spokeswoman told Patch that the claims are false.
"The Baltimore County Police Department's approach for all protests has been consistent and focused on protecting life, property and first amendment rights for all citizens," Sgt. Vickie Warehime, director of public affairs for the Baltimore County Police Department told Patch on July 1.
Vince's Crab House has five locations, including three in Baltimore County.
In a news release announcing the lawsuit, the activity in front of the Middle River location is compared to that of the "CHAZ" autonomous zone in Seattle because "police have taken no action."
The suit maintains that because of the ongoing protesting, the restaurant's owners have been forced to pay $40,000 for private security and has also suffered substantial financial losses. The news release said the restaurant's owners voluntarily closed for nine days at the request of protesters following the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis and yet, the protesters have "continued their violent antics despite this gesture of goodwill."
The lawsuit indicates that legal action is not being taken because of "the plaintiff's agreement or disagreement with the inspiration for the protestors or the viewpoints expressed by the people occupying the area." Instead, the suit says, it is about the county executive's "active, knowing endorsement and support of a destructive occupation of a small Middle River business to the detriment of the well-being of those who own, patronize and work in the small business."
Meyer states in the lawsuit that the "stand down" order came after she asked the police to intervene after protesters had continually assembled outside of the business, which is located at the end of a strip mall. Meyer said she has asked officers numerous times if they have been ordered to stand down and that they have responded that they have been told to do so.
"I have customers that come in, and they're afraid to go back out," Brenda Meyer said two weeks ago. "We can't walk outside," she continued. "We have had threatening phone calls all day long" to the business and "with the threats, from them following us home, riding past our homes, calling my cell phone in the middle of the night — we have two young children that we have to keep pretty much hemmed up in the house on beautiful summer days."
While the county executive's office said it will not comment on pending litigation, it considers the clams in the suit "baseless."
"These baseless claims are not grounded in facts or reality. The men and women of county law enforcement have consistently gone above and beyond in service to all residents of our community regarding this matter," the statement read. "The county will continue to protect residents' First Amendment rights to peaceful protest while doing whatever is necessary to ensure public safety."
Protests began at the restaurant after a June 1 Facebook comment Vince Meyer made about those demonstrating in the wake of the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis.
CBS Baltimore reported the post from Vince Meyer read: "There is one place I bet protesters/rioters won't light on fire or break into or even block the road to…the social services building."
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July 13, 2020 at 11:11PM
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Vinces Crab House Owners Sue Baltimore County Exec For $400,000 - Perry Hall, MD Patch
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