Missourian
Diamond Member
Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake replaced the city's police commissioner on Wednesday, saying the city needed to be more focused on suppressing a spike in violence in the months since the death of a man in police custody.
Rawlings-Blake said the police department under Commissioner Anthony Batts had become too preoccupied with internal politics and not enough with stemming a surge in shootings and killings.
<snip>
Much of the spike in violence has occurred since the April 19 death of Freddie Gray, who sustained grievous injuries while riding the back of a police transport van. Protests followed, then looting and rioting. Six police officers were charged in Gray's death.
Around the same time, arrests declined, and the murder rate began to spike. The spike has yet to settle.
Through June, there were 48 percent more homicides in the city than the same period last year.
Baltimore Mayor Fires Police Commissioner Amid Spike in Homicide Rate - NBC News
Rawlings-Blake said the police department under Commissioner Anthony Batts had become too preoccupied with internal politics and not enough with stemming a surge in shootings and killings.
<snip>
Much of the spike in violence has occurred since the April 19 death of Freddie Gray, who sustained grievous injuries while riding the back of a police transport van. Protests followed, then looting and rioting. Six police officers were charged in Gray's death.
Around the same time, arrests declined, and the murder rate began to spike. The spike has yet to settle.
Through June, there were 48 percent more homicides in the city than the same period last year.
Baltimore Mayor Fires Police Commissioner Amid Spike in Homicide Rate - NBC News
The criminals are emboldened and the police feel no one has their back. What did they expect?