Protests Turn Deadly in Baltimore
April 28, 2015
Baltimore erupted in violence yesterday, April 27, after the funeral of a young black man who received a deadly injury while in police custody. On April 12, Freddie Gray was stopped by police and put into a police van. They transported him to the police station, and at some point during these events, Freddie Gray received a serious injury to his spine. He was in a coma and died on April 19. Baltimore Police Commissioner, , stated of the case, “We know our police employees failed to get him medical attention in a timely manner multiple times.”
This case is one in a series of African Americans being killed by police or in police custody, and anger is high in the African American community. As in Ferguson, Missouri, late in 2014, after the killing of an unarmed black teen, Michael Brown, by a police officer, the protests against police actions in Baltimore have turned violent. On April 26, 2015, peaceful protests in Baltimore at city hall and the Camden Yards baseball stadium turned disorderly and more than 30 people were arrested. By yesterday afternoon and evening, after the funeral of Mr. Gray, protests in Baltimore became unmanageable for local police.
Police officers were pelted with rocks and debris, police cars were set alight, and fires and looting broke out in several areas. As more officers were injured, Baltimore’s Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake ordered a week-long curfew in the city to begin tonight, running from 10 pm to 5 am. Maryland Governor Larry Hogan called in the National Guard and declared a state of emergency in the city. By 8 am this morning, 500 soldiers had been deployed in Baltimore. The last time Maryland’s National Guard had been used for riot control was in 1968, after the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr.
The Baltimore Orioles were playing at Camden Yards on Saturday when rioting broke out. Fans were not allowed to leave the stadium for a portion of the game for their own safety. The Orioles announced that their home game scheduled for April 29 against the Chicago White Sox will be played at Camden Yards, but no fans will be allowed admittance. Playing to an empty stadium will be an eerie moment for both teams.
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