Tag: curfew
Baltimore Police Give Findings Into Freddie Gray Death To Prosecutor

Baltimore Police Give Findings Into Freddie Gray Death To Prosecutor

By Timothy M. Phelps and Michael Muskal, Tribune Washington Bureau (TNS)

BALTIMORE — Baltimore police turned over their findings into the death of Freddie Gray to the state prosecutor on Thursday, a day earlier than their self-imposed deadline.

The results of the investigation were sent to State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby on Thursday morning, Police Commissioner Anthony Batts announced.

“We have exhausted every lead at this point. But this does not mean the investigation is over,” he said.

The action comes amid published reports of a new narrative suggesting that Gray intentionally tried to injure himself as he was being transported in a police van.

The 25-year-old African-American died from a severed spine on April 19, a week after he was arrested by Baltimore police and transported by van. Police are investigating how Gray, who was cuffed with his hands behind his back and his legs in irons, was injured.

The police findings into the death, which has led to days of protests and a fevered Monday night of rioting and looting, were scheduled to be completed by Friday, but were completed early.

The state’s attorney has the final say on whether to charge any of the six officers with a state crime. The officers have been suspended with pay.

“By turning these documents, our findings, over to the state’s attorney’s office as quickly as we can, we are being accountable to them so that we can be accountable to the public,” spokesman Captain Eric Kowalczyk said Wednesday.

Police have already acknowledged that department policy was breached when Gray was placed in the van but not buckled into a seat belt and when officers failed to get him medical care in a timely fashion. The federal Justice Department is also investigating whether there were any violations of federal civil rights law.

Police have said that the van stopped three times while carrying Gray to a police precinct. At one stop, Gray was taken from the van and placed in irons. At the last stop, another inmate was also placed in the van but was separated from Gray by a metal barrier.

According to The Washington Post, the prisoner sharing the police van told investigators that he could hear Gray “banging against the walls” of the vehicle and believed that he “was intentionally trying to injure himself.”

The Post quoted from what it said was a Baltimore police document that was included in an application for a search warrant, which is sealed by the court. The Post said it was given the document under the condition that the prisoner not be named because the person who provided it feared for the inmate’s safety.

The document offers the first official look at what happened in the van. Baltimore police have said they do not know whether Gray was injured during the arrest or during his ride in the van.

Gray was found unconscious in the wagon when it arrived at a police station on April 12, then taken to a hospital, where he died in a coma a week later.

Jason Downs, one of the attorneys for the Gray family, told the Post that the family had not been told of the prisoner’s comments to investigators.

“We disagree with any implication that Freddie Gray severed his own spinal cord,” Downs said. “We question the accuracy of the police reports we’ve seen thus far, including the police report that says Mr. Gray was arrested without force or incident.”

Photo: Vladimir Badikov via Flickr

Baltimore Calmer After Night Under Curfew; Schools Reopen

Baltimore Calmer After Night Under Curfew; Schools Reopen

By Noah Bierman, Michael Muskal, and W.J. Hennigan, Los Angeles Times (TNS)

BALTIMORE — A yellow school bus rumbling through a smattering of downtown traffic was a welcome sign of progress Wednesday morning as this riot-scarred city tried to return to normal after this week’s violence and looting.

No major incidents were reported overnight as a weeklong 10 p.m. curfew took hold and seemed to break city’s fevered response to the death of Freddie Gray, an African American who suffered a mortal injury while in police custody.

Ten people were arrested overnight, police said, two for looting, one for disorderly conduct and seven for violating the curfew. That was in addition to 235 arrests after Monday’s rioting that began hours after Gray’s funeral.

“Tonight I think the biggest thing is the citizens are safe, the city is stable,” Baltimore Police Commissioner Anthony Batts said shortly before midnight as he declared the curfew a success. “We hope to maintain it that way.”

More than 3,000 officers and National Guard troops enforced the curfew, which got off to a slow start late Tuesday night when about 200 protesters ignored police warnings and the pleas of community activists to disperse. Some threw objects.

A line of police behind riot shields hurled tear gas canisters and fired pepper balls, slowly pushing back the crowd. Demonstrators picked up the canisters and hurled them back at officers. But the crowd rapidly dispersed and was down to just a few dozen people within minutes.

More than 20 police officers were injured in the past days, officials said.

The curfew ended at 5 a.m. and the city attempted to return to its pre-riot routines. Traffic resumed, but against a heavy show of National Guard, city police, and law enforcement officers from surrounding cities.

At North and Pennsylvania avenues, one of the centers of unrest, traffic moved as usual and residents went about their business as police in riot gear stood on each of the four corners.

“Things need to get back to normal,” said one police officer, who was not authorized to speak publicly on the situation. “That’s what’s starting to happen.”

About half a mile away the Mondawmin Mall, where rioters looted thousands of dollars’ worth of merchandise on Monday, remained closed due to extensive damage during the unrest. Camouflaged Maryland National Guardsmen watched over each of the entrances.

However, the Shoppers Food and Pharmacy, which shares a parking lot with the mall, was open for business. And across the street, students entered Frederick Douglass High School after classes were canceled Tuesday.

“It’s good to move past all this,” said Robert Johnson, 50, who works at Shoppers. “There’s enough confusion in the world. We don’t need this madness.”

School buses were among the earliest vehicles on the roads. Like much of the city, schools were shuttered Tuesday. Educators said they were planning special programs.

“Principals and teachers are planning activities that will help students learn from the past days’ events. Counselors, social workers, and psychologists will be on hand to support students’ emotional needs,” the district’s executive officer, Gregory E. Thornton, said in a letter to parents.

Other usual city activities were also planned but with a special twist because of the days of protests.

The Baltimore Orioles were scheduled to play a baseball game against the Chicago White Sox after two previous games were postponed. But in what is believed to be a first in the history of the sport, Wednesday’s game will be played to an empty stadium. As a security measure, the afternoon game will be closed to the public.

On Tuesday, top officials including Governor Larry Hogan and Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake worked to calm the city, which has been in turmoil since Gray died on April 19, a week after he was arrested in West Baltimore, which became the epicenter of the riots and looting.

Gray’s spine was severed, but it remains a mystery exactly how and when that occurred. Video has shown Gray being arrested and his hands cuffed behind his back when he is placed in the van for transport. The van made at least two stops and at one, Gray is seen on video being taken out of the van. His legs are placed in irons and he is returned to the wagon.

Officials are still investigating the events, but police have acknowledged that Gray should have been buckled into a seat belt as he was transported and that he should have received early medical care.

Gray’s death touched off protests last week that increased in intensity through the weekend and finally into Monday night’s violence.

Photo: Yianni Mathioudakis via Flickr

And The O’s Played On

And The O’s Played On

Soon after the Monday funeral service for Freddie Gray, who died while in police custody, riots erupted in the city of Baltimore. The violence, fires, and chaos consumed the city and sparked a conflagration that the national media flocked to and fed.

For those news outlets that cover professional games and sports, such as ESPN, the overall view was a solemn declaration that Monday night’s Baltimore Orioles vs. Chicago White Sox game was postponed.

Plans to resume play were put on hold, as Baltimore mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake announced a weeklong 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. curfew for the city, apparently canceling or postponing the remainder of the Orioles’ night home games through Sunday. Yet Monday night’s game was scheduled to take place as usual long after it should have been called off.

The Baltimore Sun reported on the surreal event of fans making their way to the ballpark, entering through Babe Ruth Plaza, as both police in riot gear and ticket hawkers greeted them:

It was obvious that many fans were deterred by the violence occurring throughout the city… As the Orioles took batting practice, police and news helicopters circled the downtown area and faint police sirens could be heard in the background.

Playing a game while violent rioting occurs nearby might diminish the gravity of the events bringing Baltimore to its knees, to say nothing of the perverse feeling one might get from watching a typically quiet game like baseball while a loud uprising occurs outside the stadium.

John Angelos, executive vice president of the Orioles, struck the right tone when he tweeted a series of condemnations in response to the riots, upbraiding American society for ignoring the poor and disenfranchised. The violence consuming the city “…makes inconvenience at a ballgame irrelevant in light of the needless suffering government is inflicting upon ordinary Americans.”

Undoubtedly, there will be diehard baseball fans out there who will disagree with the postponement of the ballgames. To such people, no amount of money lost or nights out at the ballpark cut short could make the cult of sport less relevant than the anger of a marginalized community.

When Chris Rock went viral last week with his monologue about African-Americans’ lack of interest in baseball, he pointed out that the (overwhelmingly white) fans of the sport tend to get more worked up about baseball games than about police brutality in their cities. The crowds at St. Louis Cardinals games, he remarked, “were over 90 percent white — that’s like the Ferguson police department.”

Nor should it escape notice that the media coverage of the unrest in Baltimore is strikingly different from that of the (mostly white) sports fans who rioted after games in Vancouver, Boston, and Lexington, Kentucky.

The MLB’s commissioner, Rob Manfred, has naively suggested that the games “could be played elsewhere” at a nearby field, perhaps, where it would be undisturbed by police sirens and looting. But such moves would be problematic, as Joe DiMaggio knew when he said, “When baseball is no longer fun, it’s no longer a game.”

Though Manfred’s push for relocating the Orioles-White Sox games at a different field is uncouth, it would not be the first time the league has grappled with a similar question of whether to play ball or not. In 1992, the Dodgers had four games postponed in L.A. during the Rodney King riots and, hauntingly, two 1967 Orioles-Tigers games were moved to Baltimore following riots in Detroit.

Major League Baseball is a for-profit organization that puts on a great show. One that may be seen by nobody but the athletes themselves and people viewing at home, as the Orioles organization came to an agreement with city officials and the league on what to do about the postponed games. Wednesday’s scheduled game “will begin at 2:05 p.m. ET and will be closed to the public.”

So don’t worry, folks… MLB still plays ball. But for now, with a state of emergency in effect for the city, Camden Yards will remain sealed, as Baltimore battles itself just outside the gates.

Photo: jpellgen via Flickr

Tense Tally In Ferguson Includes Fires, Shootings, And 31 Arrests

Tense Tally In Ferguson Includes Fires, Shootings, And 31 Arrests

By Kevin Mcdermott, St. Louis Post-Dispatch

FERGUSON, Mo. — Two men were shot during the chaos of demonstrations late Monday and early Tuesday near West Florissant and Canfield, police confirmed. Officers weren’t involved in the shootings. There was no immediate information on the identities or conditions of the victims.

Police also confirmed that 31 people were arrested, including some who had come from as far as New York and California.

In an emotional news conference around 2:30 a.m. in the area of the protests, Missouri Highway Patrol Capt. Ronald S. Johnson said the shootings demonstrate “a dangerous dynamic in the night” in which a few people determined to cause trouble can pull a whole crowd into it.

While he acknowledged there is currently no curfew in place, he urged legitimate protesters come out during the day from now on, rather than at night.

“We do not want to lose another life in this community,” said Johnson.

His comments came after a night punctuated by bottles thrown at police, two fires in the area, and scattered reports of gunfire.

“Our officers came under heavy fire,” said Johnson. He stressed that “not a single bullet was fired by officers.”

Johnson, who was put on charge of security in Ferguson last week under orders by Gov. Jay Nixon, appeared before a table that displayed two handguns that officers had confiscated in an unrelated incident during the night’s strife, as well as a Molotov cocktail.

Johnson said the weapons were confiscated from “violent agitators” who were using other peaceful protests as “cover” to cause conflicts with police.

“This nation is watching each and every one of us,” said Johnson, who was visibly angry and emotional during the news conference. “I am not going to let the criminals that have come here from across this country, or live in this neighborhood, define this community.”

Johnson also lectured reporters at the scene, telling them they were interfering with police and putting themselves in danger by failing to immediately clear areas when asked to by officers. He also implored reporters to “not glamorize the acts of criminals.”

Some reporters at the news conference pushed back, saying he was infringing on their ability to do their jobs by asking them to stay separate from protesters.

AFP Photo/Scott Olson

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