Rioters flooded the streets of a Baltimore neighborhood on Monday, throwing rocks and attacking police officers, leaving seven injured, including one officer who was unresponsive, according to police officials.
Authorities declined to connect the actions with a cause, but it followed by days the death in police custody of Freddie Gray, a black man who died from spinal injuries, prompting an investigation of police officers.
“Law enforcement agencies should take appropriate precautions to ensure the safety of their officers,” the Baltimore Police Department said in a statement.
On Monday, crowds of rioters scurried up and down streets, throwing rocks and other debris at officers, who carefully retreated across streets, medians and parking lots.
Police Capt. Eric Kowachyk said officers were trying to restore calm, and would be using pepper spray and other tools as needed.
“Seven of our officers have been injured. They have broken bones, one of them is unresponsive. This is not OK,” he said. “Right now our focus is that the people who live in that community are safe, and that our officers are safe.”
Tear gas and “pepper balls” both were being deployed, he said.
“We’re sending extra resources and deploying extra officers,” he said.
Describing the rioters, the captain noted: “What we do know is that they’re criminals. … They are lawless individuals.”
Fox News analyst Judge Andrew Napolitano said, “That is not freedom of expression. That is destruction of property.”
Television newscasts showed rioters jumping up and down on top of a police vehicle at one point.
Police there had reported 34 arrests from Saturday afternoon through to the early morning hours of Sunday and six police officers suffered minor injuries.
Early Monday, police said they got what one media outlet described as “credible information” of gangs like the Black Guerrilla Family, Bloods and Crips uniting to target and injure or kill members of the law-enforcement community.
The department’s emailed message read: “The Baltimore Police Department/Criminal Intelligence Unit has received credible information that members of various gangs including the Black Guerrilla Family, Bloods, and Crips have entered into a partnership to ‘take-out’ law enforcement officers. Further information will be sent through appropriate channels.”
Gray’s funeral was not explicitly mentioned in the announcement of the credible threat, but the threat was revealed minutes before the service was set to begin on Monday.
A local television report said the Mondawmin Mall was shut down by the violence.
from PropagandaGuard https://propagandaguard.wordpress.com/2015/04/27/baltimore-riots-erupt-at-least-7-police-injured-2/
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