Baltimore City has been usually peaceful since the officers were charged with several counts, and given life sentences in prison. Here is an old video of some of the rioting for you all that don't like in the US to get an idea of what they were like.

 

 

I will be updating this topic as the situation unfolds. Be sure to check the newest responses for my updated posts.

A protest over the death of Freddie Gray, who was critically injured in police custody, started peacefully with thousands marching through downtown streets before the demonstration turned violent and volatile.

 

 

Related Stories

1. A dozen arrested as Freddie Gray protests turn violent Associated Press
2. Latest on police-custody death: Officer injured near station Associated Press
3. Latest on Baltimore police-custody death: Protests wind down Associated Press
4. Twelve arrested in Baltimore after march to protest black man's death Reuters
5. Friends: Man's death after arrest reveals Baltimore dynamics Associated Press

The chaotic scene Saturday night prompted the first public remarks from Freddie Gray's twin sister, who pleaded for peace at a news conference alongside the mayor.

"My family wants to say, can you all please, please stop the violence?" Fredricka Gray said. "Freddie Gray would not want this."

Just before nightfall, groups of protesters marched from City Hall to the Camden Yards baseball stadium, where the Baltimore Orioles played the Boston Red Sox. Fans were told to briefly stay inside the stadium until the police were able to clear an intersection outside of the venue.

My opinion on the issue: Before those of you that are very ignorant begin to make asinine generalizations of Blacks, just know that I'm Black and law enforcement has my full support. I don't live very far from Baltimore, and these clashes are taking place in the roughest ghettos in Baltimore. People in these ghettos can barely afford to eat. Crime and violence is an everyday thing in these areas of Baltimore, just the crime and violence has never been organized with a purpose.

Here's a link to the news article I was reading: http://news.yahoo.com/freddie-gray-protests-turn-violent-baltimore-070616463.html

Edited May 5, 201511 yr by PeetePanda

"Gray, who is black, was arrested after he made eye contact with officers and ran away, police said."

Is this the correct summary of what actually happened (quoted from that news story)? These types of stories have been distorted in some ways recently.

That isn't my attitude towards this incident or any similar incidents and the protests that followed, however. I hate police brutality and it makes me feel somewhat responsible since I want to be able to respect the police, but sometimes they don't act responsibly. As for the protests, they shouldn't have turned violent; a peaceful protest will make a clear statement (seeing that the purpose of the protest is for a good cause as well, like this one was) without causing more problems than there already are.

Edited April 26, 201511 yr by iansonwheels

"Gray, who is black, was arrested after he made eye contact with officers and ran away, police said."

Is this the correct summary of what actually happened (quoted from that news story)? These types of stories have been distorted in some ways recently.

 

​I'm not entirely sure. Yahoo is known for posting only partial of the story, or not telling the full truth.

Turns out communities react poorly when an unarmed man's spine is crushed. 

 

This is from CNN (http://www.cnn.com/2015/04/26/us/baltimore-freddie-gray-protest/index.html)

A neighborhood surveillance camera showed what appeared to be Gray sitting calmly next to two officers. Later footage showed them over him as he lay on the concrete.

When officers lifted him, Gray howled in anguish, dragging his limp legs behind him, as officers carried him by his arms to a paddy wagon. Neighbors cried out that Gray appeared to be injured.

Various outdoor surveillance cameras recorded the van driving through the neighborhood -- with at least one stop. It took nearly 40 minutes to arrive at a police station with the distressed 25-year-old. He was not buckled in properly, authorities have said.

His family said his voice box had been crushed and his neck snapped. After a week in a hospital intensive care unit and emergency surgery, Gray died.

That doesn't sound like good police work, it sounds like criminal negligence. The community has a right to be outraged. I don't condone violence, especially not in protests. But everyone needs to understand that violent protests have happened in nearly every instance of social change. We're in the process of that now, so please keep an open mind.

 

Edited April 26, 201511 yr by Riley24

It was only a matter of time before the protests become violent. 

It was only a matter of time before the protests become violent. 

​Especially since Baltimore is 65% Black. This was to be expected, though violence in Baltimore isn't anything new.

http://www.addictinginfo.org/2015/04/26/baltimore-protest/

Mayor of Baltimore has just spoken and she's said that she is going yo deploy the National Guard as soon as they become available. She has also instituted a city curfew of 10 PM to 5 AM for ALL residents of Baltimore.

Mayor of Baltimore has just spoken and she's said that she is going yo deploy the National Guard as soon as they become available. She has also instituted a city curfew of 10 PM to 5 AM for ALL residents of Baltimore.

​It's unfortunate, but I agree on the decision. Most of these people just want to riot, they can't justify the looting and others stuff. It has nothing to do with the police incident of Freddie Gray. It's just an excuse to throw rocks n' stuff at police and buildings and to set fires. 

People complain about the US being a police state, and then they escalate to violence, which will always result in calling the national guard. Hopefully it ends as peacefully as possible, without destroying more of the city

Also the BPD Intelligence unit has been sending memos to departments nationwide about the possibility of targeted hits against LEOs. Apparently multiple gangs are "teaming up" to take out officers, nationwide. They say the threats are credible, my town's department got the memo a few hours ago.

 She has also instituted a city curfew of 10 PM to 5 AM for ALL residents of Baltimore.

​I don't blame them. Only a fool would go out there with all the Thugs running around.

​It's unfortunate, but I agree on the decision. Most of these people just want to riot, they can't justify the looting and others stuff. It has nothing to do with the police incident of Freddie Gray. It's just an excuse to throw rocks n' stuff at police and buildings and to set fires. 

​Exactly, I heard on the news over here that about seven or so officers were injured.

People complain about the US being a police state, and then they escalate to violence, which will always result in calling the national guard. Hopefully it ends as peacefully as possible, without destroying more of the city

Also the BPD Intelligence unit has been sending memos to departments nationwide about the possibility of targeted hits against LEOs. Apparently multiple gangs are "teaming up" to take out officers, nationwide. They say the threats are credible, my town's department got the memo a few hours ago.

​Speaking about the National Guard, sometime ago people were complaining about police departments being armed with ex-military vehicles, but that's exactly what the police need to protect themselves from riots such this. People can never make up their mind, they always ask for more. What else do they want? What more can be done by the police when people keep on rioting and trashing their city.

National guard has just arrived in BALTIMORE. Check the original post for the video link!

Shepard Smith from Fox News kept it real on his show:

"I also don’t know where we are. We’ve got a major American city that has decades of turmoil within this neighborhood,” Shepard Smith said. “Decades! You’ve heard the stories from Doug McKelway a little while ago of people being arrested for nothing, a violent crackdown for years and years, of them feeling powerless and hopeless and nobody listening to what they were saying. One quarter of the youth locked up. Clearly there is a big problem. Then all of a sudden an African American man is taken into a vehicle and he comes out of it and dies. And you get nothing from authorities except a suspension. And those who would do harm take an opportunity to do harm. And here we are. But it is what has happened between all of that and today that that has led to this. There is no escaping that reality."

So I urge everyone to keep an open mind and understand that this didn't come from no where. Yes, there are people (and probably a lot of them) that just want to steal or throw things at cops in riot gear. But they are not representative of the growing issue behind the death of Freddie Gray.

Edited April 28, 201511 yr by Riley24

What gets me is these fools don't know what really happened and didn't wait for an internal investigation to happen. Also folks, this stuff right here is exactly what the KKK and racists feed off of. 

What gets me is these fools don't know what really happened and didn't wait for an internal investigation to happen. Also folks, this stuff right here is exactly what the KKK and racists feed off of. 

​The thing is people don't trust the internal investigation, because it's internal lol. Have the feds or state investigate and they'll probably be more patient and less violent, but who knows

​The thing is people don't trust the internal investigation, because it's internal lol. Have the feds or state investigate and they'll probably be more patient and less violent, but who knows

​^^^^

It's not like it is on TV. Internal Investigations isn't a bunch of bureaucrats trying to shut down good cops that don't play by the rules.

Take a look at this. http://imgur.com/gallery/yiO2A

UPDATE: 

Baltimore's State's Attorney Marilyn Mosby announced Friday morning that several officers involved in the death of Freddie Gray will face homicide charges.

 

“To the people of Baltimore and the demonstrators across America, I heard your call for ‘no justice, no peace.’ Your peace is sincerely needed as I work to deliver justice on behalf of this young man,” she said.

Six Baltimore police officers have been criminally charged: Officer Caesar Goodson, Officer William Porter, Lt. Brian Rice, Officer Edward Nero, Officer Garrett Miller and Sgt. Alicia White.

The charges, which vary for each person, include — second-degree murder, manslaughter, misconduct in office and false imprisonment. A link can be found below.

http://news.yahoo.com/freddie-gray-sustained-fatal-head-injury-in-back-of-police-van--report-124521845.html

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On a second note, Morgan Freeman says, "F--k the media" in response to the situation in Baltimore. A link to this story can be found below.

https://celebrity.yahoo.com/news/morgan-freeman-baltimore-f-k-media-142223417.html

Those charges = playing politics.

If I was one of those officer's I'd demand a speedy trial. I doubt the state has prepared for it at all and are just trying to appease the masses.