Posted on 06/20/2015 8:06:53 PM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
Freddie Gray died in the custody of Baltimore police in April. Six officers have been charged in the death, which is said to have occurred due to spinal injuries he suffered while being thrown about the back of a police van during a rough ride to the station.
But now Baltimore police are playing the victim card. They’ve engaged in a work slowdown that has resulted in a 43% decline in arrests citywide from April to May, and as high as 90% in some neighborhoods, according to Doug Donovan and Colin Campbell of The Baltimore Sun. Some say it’s because police fear for their jobs if they’re caught abusing a suspect, but some police have displayed a more defiant attitude about the slowdown. Those who complain about police “are going to get the police force they want, and God help them,” Lt. Victor Gearhart told the Sun.
The decline in police presence has given criminals some breathing room. “I’ve noticed fewer police,” Steve Dixon, program director for the Penn North Recovery Center in West Baltimore, told the Sun. “We’re having robberies at the playground in broad daylight. All these murders and shootings, we’re having them in broad daylight.”
There were 42 homicides in Baltimore in May, almost double the total from the same month in 2014 and the most in any month since 1990, according to figures compiled by the Sun. Similarly, there were 20 homicides by June 16, more than there were the entire month in 2014. There has been an 84% increase in shootings this year, compared to this time last year, while the number of May arrests were fewer than in any month for at least three years.
Some cite another cause for the spike in killings. The riots that followed Gray’s death included looting of pharmacies, resulting in a glut of prescription opiates on the streets of Baltimore. That has led to a violent war among drug gangs over market share, according to Richard A. Oppel Jr. of The New York Times.
Much of the anger on the part of police has been directed at State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby, who made the decision to charge the six officers involved in Gray’s death. The six have sought to have her recused from the case, claiming “overzealous prosecution.” They are also trying to get the case dismissed.
Former police union president Sgt. Robert Cherry told the Sun that officers were previously encouraged to apply “aggressive enforcement” of laws to cut down on crime. Now, he says, they’re being told the opposite. “It’s not just fear of getting charged if a case doesn’t meet Marilyn Mosby’s expectation of a standard for probable cause. We’re only doing what we were asked to do.”
The community didn’t want cops around. What’s the problem?
This wouldn’t be going on if there weren’t a juggernaut on the loose far bigger than Gray.
It began with “Acted stupidly” Barack and went on through Trayvon and Brown. There were salivating spoilers for a fight long before the Gray incident happened.
It looks like because of this clown fight, any chance for actual justice, or improvement, in the Gray situation will be thrown away.
They’re union guys. The will behave like union guys.
There is much to be said about Prince ObaMA supporting the people and not the police.... but then again, you deserve the government you vote for.
no, they’re making smart decisions. the lunatic county prosecutor charges you with murder if you make an arrest and something bad happens. the empty skirt mayor supports this lunacy.
baltimore is screwed. it’s over. if you can move, you should.
Would it really be so shocking to discover that yes, they are? Why wouldn’t they be ‘gun-shy’, hesitant to completely follow through on local crime in the way they were trained?
These police have learned that their Mayor, their Attorney General and even their Police Chief Batts have come to resemble three vultures ever circling for the carrion of another officer’s ruined career. The officers know they have no friends of influence at this time. The Governor Larry Hogan better find his way back home quickly and start speaking up, if he wants to show a positive influence. I have heard zero from this republican governor!
Yeah, Hogan is a Republican. No doubt.
Blame the Mayor and Obama.
Steve, this is just what the community wants. Besides, would you aggressively police Baltimore against the wishes of the Mayor and City Prosecutor?
You’re right; when the government has made it clear that race activists will determine the policies, it is time to flee.
Last week Newark NJ (along with neighboring welfare hives) presented Al Sharpton with the keys to their cities, driving a stake through the heart of any chance of an economic rebound (which had been a long shot to begin with). Their cops have been “de-policing” for years; they could lose their jobs, pensions, even freedom - for doing their job. When Newark laid off 160+ cops during a homicide streak a couple of years ago, the difference was negligible; there have been no real cops in Newark since the early 90s at best.
You call it “slowdown”, I call it giving the ‘tards what they asked for but were too stupid to know it.
The mayor threw the police under the bus. The officers know that they could be next if they have to use any amount of force to get a suspect to comply or defend themselves. Why risk it, just sit back and watch.
Blame all of us for leaving our protection to union thugs and allowing laws that keep us from protecting ourselves.
Yup .
Sow= Reap
Police have no duty other than to collect their paychecks and pensions...
If I were an officer, I’d be watching out for my butt.
No one will back them up!
Maryland “Freak State” PING!
“The community didn’t want cops around. What’s the problem?”
Yeah, Stephanie wanted the cops to give “her people” room to crap in their own nests, so the cops are merely obliging her request. I don’t like it when cops abuse their authority, but the way they are handling this “investigation” stinks no matter who did what to whom. Don’t blame the Baltimore cops one bit. Evidently, Black lives don’t matter to Black “leaders.”
It would be strange if they were not.
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