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Baltimore burns as another black American dies following arrest
Other | Tuesday 28th April 2015 | Christina
Following the funeral of 25-year-old Freddie Gray, who died in police custody, riots erupted in Baltimore causing a state of emergency to be declared in the city. 10,000 people marched peacefully after the funeral, but violence quickly escalated, turning the city into a war zone. There has been widespread looting and many buildings have been engulfed in flames, a fire hose attempting to put out a blaze was even slashed by a protestor. Around 15 police officers have been injured and 27 people have been arrested.
The US National Guard has been called into the city and mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake has imposed a citywide curfew from 10pm-5am beginning Tuesday night. Addressing the riots, she said, “Too many people have spent generations building this city up for it to be destroyed by thugs, who in a very senseless way, are trying to tear down what so many have fought for…things we know will impact our community for years.”
Sadly, these clashes in Baltimore are all too familiar to Americans, mirroring the violence that erupted in Ferguson following the death of Michael Brown. 25-year-old Gray, who was arrested for "catching the eye" of officers and then running away, died undergoing surgery after his spine was 80 per cent severed at the neck.
Mobile phone footage showed Gray being dragged to a police van yelling in pain, and police chiefs have admitted that officers failed to provide Gray with medical attention and failed to fasten his seatbelt in the van. Suspects are placed in a narrow metal box inside the police van and should be fastened in – Gray was not, and spent the journey with his hands cuffed behind his back and his legs in restraints.
There is speculation that he sustained his fatal injuries during this journey. Six police officers, whose ethnic backgrounds have not been disclosed, have been suspended whilst an inquiry is carried out. William Murphy, lawyer for the Gray family, has stated that Gray was healthy at the time of the arrest, and that there was no evidence that he had committed a crime.
The recent killings of unarmed black men in America has seen frustration with the police reach boiling point but it’s important to remember that the Baltimore violence is not a reflection of the whole city – many people protested peacefully and many people came out to clear up their neighbourhood the following morning. Whether tensions in Baltimore have diffused remains to be seen.
