Baltimore Riots

[RedSoxUK]

A perfectly acceptable protest turned in to opportunistic rioting - making already poverty stricken neighbourhoods zones of destruction costing the state millions. 

 

It's another completely overblown reaction to a black person dying in the hands of the US police - but it's only made race-related by the media and social justice warriors.

Three of the six charged are of black origin (one charged with second degree murder,) the mayor of Baltimore is black, the chief of police is black, the council is made up mostly of democrats. The black population of Baltimore is 60%+, the Baltimore police force is 55%+ of black origin -- the outcome will most likely be all that are charged found not-guilty due to an extreme accidental death of Freddie Gray, and if any of the six will actually be sentenced, it will be the black officer with a charge of 2nd degree murder.

 

Turn to police; they seemingly did nothing unusual while restraining and then detaining Freddie Gray, can't comment too much but the investigation will reveal more and i'm sure justice will prevail. 

 

As for Freddie Gray, this is a man who actively ran from the police, was carrying a knife (though legal in Maryland,) it's still a provocation to be carrying a knife; a man with 22 previous arrests.

 

This is not a matter of race like so many protesters and rioters will still claim even after the realisation that half of those charged are black, it's a matter of police brutality from the perception of Americans who feel so strongly about their powerful police force. But if you don't respect the law, flee from the police, consistently provoke police officers who have life threatening jobs - then they're always going to be somewhat trigger happy and show a sign of force to potential criminals. I've met US police officers and they have a lot of balls to do their job, sure they carry a weapon but so do many Americans as it's their right - it's especially difficult for Highway Patrol police officers who are gunned down on a weekly basis.

 

 

If anything's going to come out of the Freddie Gray trial, it will be a demand for the public to put more respect and trust in the US police force; there's always going to be incidents like this. I massively, massively condone the violent behaviour of some of the rioters who are showing a complete lack of respect to the city of Baltimore and their fellow man. 

[RedSoxUK]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/crime/prisoner-in-van-said-freddie-gray-was-banging-against-the-walls-during-ride/2015/04/29/56d7da10-eec6-11e4-8666-a1d756d0218e_story.html

 

And looks like we have our respect.

[Detroit Blues]

Baltimore is highly segregated, between Baltimore City (low income Blacks) and Baltimore County (higher income Whites).

The City used to have a million people and has declined to about 600,000. The tax base is limited to a relatively few higher earners still in the City.

The huge need for social services, the high taxes on the earners creates tension between the haves and have-nots. Which is also delineated on racial lines.

The City workers and service providers might be predominantly Black, but they also stereotype. As was the case with Freddy Grey, running away from the police in a high crime, largely poor and therefore more likely to be a Black neighbourhood means you are instantly a suspect. Having been stereotyped and vilified for generations, it is easy to see why tensions spill over in to inappropriate actions.

The oppressor is poverty, which disproportionately affects Blacks, often due to historical socioeconomic reasons. In Baltimore, this is interpreted into institutional racism from organisations like the police.

This is spot on.

[MPH]

BALTIMORE — A prisoner sharing a police transport van with Freddie Gray told investigators that he could hear Gray “banging against the walls” of the vehicle and believed that he “was intentionally trying to injure himself,” according to a police document obtained by The Washington Post.

The prisoner, who is currently in jail, was separated from Gray by a metal partition and could not see him. His statement is contained in an application for a search warrant, which is sealed by the court. The Post was given the document under the condition that the prisoner not be named because the person who provided it feared for the inmate’s safety.

The document, written by a Baltimore police investigator, offers the first glimpse of what might have happened inside the van. It is not clear whether any additional evidence backs up the prisoner’s version, which is just one piece of a much larger probe.

Interesting.....

[marko]

This guy in Baltimore has been waiting a lifetime for this moment.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UVaDWeMg1AM

[ronnup]

So it's been deemed homicide and they are setting out to arrest the police officers involved....

Interesting

[MPH]

So it's been deemed homicide and they are setting out to arrest the police officers involved....

Interesting

Yet there is a witness ( the other prisoner in the police van) who has signed a statement saying he was intentionally trying to hurt himself.

They'll get them for something. But it won't be homicide...

[Merging Cultures]

So it's been deemed homicide and they are setting out to arrest the police officers involved....

Interesting

 

They nearly arrested the wrong people...

 

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/crime/blog/bal-freddie-gray-arrest-documents-drawn-up-for-wrong-people-20150504-story.html

[Darkon84]

I wasn't sure where else to post this, but as it's race-tension related I thought this would be as good a place as any.

 

It's a sad state of affairs when the default action is to call the race card, despite the fact she was breaking the law, especially when they are someone who is in the public eye. Good to see though, that she's admitted she was wrong to do so and will serve community service.

 

http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/may/04/django-unchained-actress-daniele-watts-apologise-police-arrest

[ozleicester]