2015 Baltimore Riots — Politics, Racism, and Pure Hatred
For almost a week now, news reports have been focused on the city of Baltimore, Maryland.
What began as organized protests against police brutality and the recent death of Freddie Gray turned into a day and night of violent rioting and looting. Thugs basically had free reign over parts of the city as the police stood by and watched it happened.
So what really happened in Baltimore?
THE ARREST AND DEATH OF FREDDIE GRAY
On April 12, 2015, Baltimore police officers encountered Freddie Gray, a known criminal with a long history of being arrested. It’s not known why the officers stopped or wanted to speak with him. For whatever reason, Freddie took off running and the police gave chase. Freddie was captured, placed under arrest, and put into a police wagon for transport to a nearby police precinct.
New video shows arrest of Freddie Gray in Baltimore
Notice in the arrest video that Freddie is not (or just barely) moving his legs. The officers have to pick him up by the arms and literally carry him into the police wagon. Was Freddie injured during the capture and arrest, or was he just being uncooperative and refusing to walk into the wagon?
Video shows important moment during Freddie Gray arrest
According to the Baltimore police department, Freddie Gray was causing a commotion while inside of the police wagon. The officers had to stop the wagon, remove Freddie, and place leg irons on him. Part of this was captured in a different video recorded by a bystander. Freddie was then placed back inside of the wagon, and the police resumed their journey.
People have claimed that they heard Freddie calling for medical help during his arrest. If that is true, was Freddie really in need of help, or was he trying to get out of being arrested by faking a medical condition?
The Baltimore police have stated that the wagon made a third stop to once again deal with Freddie Gray. As to what happened at that point is still being investigated.
The police wagon then made a fourth stop to pick up a second criminal. That person was placed inside of a separate contained area inside of the wagon and unable to see the other prisoner (Freddie Gray). Last night, a news report from the Washington Post mentions that this second prisoner (whose name has been withheld for his own safety) claims that he *heard* Freddie allegedly hitting himself against the walls of the police wagon and trying to injure himself.
Was Freddie really trying to injure himself for whatever reason, or is this simply an attempt at a cover-up by the Baltimore Police Department?
When the police wagon arrived at the precinct, it was discovered that Freddie Gray was injured and unresponsive. He was taken to a nearby trauma center where he remained in a coma until his death a week later on April 19th.
The question is, what really happened while Freddie Gray was inside of the police wagon?
We know that Freddie was conscious and speaking when he was initially placed under arrest and put inside of the police wagon. He was also that way during the second stop when he was further restrained with leg irons. But that’s it. We don’t have any evidence as to Freddie’s true condition during the third stop and all points after that.
The bottom line here is that Freddie Gray was awake when he was arrested, and he was badly injured and unconscious when he arrived at the police precinct.
According to people in Baltimore, the police officers are racist towards black people, and they are notorious for giving them “rough rides” to the police station. Allegedly these are aggressive driving maneuvers that are intended to injure the prisoner passengers as they are NOT buckled into their seats.
Was Freddie Gray the recipient of one of those “rough rides” that have been described by other people?
Was Freddie Gray simply beaten by the police officers while he was in the wagon?
Here’s my theory of what happened:
On the morning of April 12, 2015, Freddie Gray was stopped by the police for one reason or another. He ran and tried to flee, but he was caught and placed under arrest. I’m guessing that the adrenaline was still flowing and the arresting officers were being a little more forceful than needed at that point in time. When the police wagon arrived, Freddie was carried by the arms and placed in the wagon.
Freddie was probably upset about being arrested, so he began kicking and protesting while in the back of the wagon. This caused the officers to stop the wagon, remove Freddie, and then place leg irons on him to restrict his movements. Freddie was then placed back inside of the wagon, and the police resumed their journey.
I’m guessing that Freddie continued to complain and yell at the officers, so the officers stopped the wagon again to “deal” with Freddie for a final time. The officers stopped on a side street with no known CCTV cameras (a “blind spot” in the system), and they choked Freddie and/or struck him in the neck to silence him. It was reported that Freddie had suffered from three fractured vertebrae and an injured larynx.
As far as that report of the other prisoner allegedly hearing Freddie Gray trying to intentionally hurt himself, that’s just part of a cover-up of what really happened.
Freddie Gray was not a model citizen. He has a lengthy arrest record, and he tried to run from the police. However, he also was not trying to attack the police. There’s no mention anywhere of him using the switchblade knife and trying to stab or cut the police officers. Even though Freddie may have been unruly and disruptive, that doesn’t give the police the right to essentially beat or choke him to simply silence him.
I believe that this was a situation where cops were being too aggressive and they took things too far. It’s understandable that police officers have to frequently deal with really bad people, but that’s something that comes with the job. All of those police officers are volunteers. They chose to take that career path. While most police officers are good, caring people, there are too many cops who are bullies, who are corrupt, and who need to be locked in jail with the rest of the criminals.
THE RIOTS
For many of the black people in Baltimore, the death of Freddie Gray was “the straw that broke the camel’s back.” This was their tipping point for taking to the streets and protesting against the Baltimore Police Department. Some people protested in support of Freddie Gray, while many others protested against the situation in general.
The protests became heated during the weekend of April 24-25. This was during the same time as the wake for Freddie Gray. Some of the protests became so heated that fans inside of the nearby Baltimore Orioles’ baseball stadium were restricted from leaving until after the protesters cleared the area.
April 27, 2015, was the day of the funeral for Freddie Gray. This was also the day when parts of Baltimore descended into chaos and anarchy.
The city knew that trouble was on the way. You could smell it in the air. One of the warning signs was that allegedly several of the city’s gangs had set aside their differences and joined together in a fight against the cops. Another warning sign was that high school students were spreading a recruitment flier (a “meme,” a.k.a. an image with words on it) telling about rioting that day.
Allegedly this was the meme being spread on social media and urging the high school students to join the protesters. “We Going To Purge” is a reference to the 2013 horror film The Purge where there was a single day each year where no laws were enforced and people could do anything they wanted. It was a day where people could seek revenge against others without worrying about being arrested and thrown in jail.
And that’s exactly what happened that day in parts of Baltimore.
Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake went so far as *allowing* for the rioting to occur. She made a televised statement and said, ” . . . while we tried to make sure that they were protected from cars and the other things that were going on, ummm, we also gave those who wished to destroy space to do that as well.”
Mayor of Baltimore said “We will give them space to Destroy” then denies it
Of course, Mayor Rawlings-Blake later claimed that she never made such a statement, and that the media is just twisting her words.
So what did the protesters do that day in Baltimore?
They became violent, they threw rocks, bricks and pieces of concrete at police officers, they destroyed private property, they looted private businesses, and they started numerous fires. The vast majority of these actions were done right in front of the police officers, yet very few people were actually arrested.
It was a free-reign for the criminals and thugs as the police stood by in riot gear and watched the action.
Baltimore Riots Uncut, Officer Down
So why did the police just stand there? Why were they retreating in some videos? They could have advanced and crushed the rioters the moments that the first rocks were thrown in their direction.
Baltimore Mayor to Police Officials: ‘Let Them Loot. It’s Only Property”
The reason for the police department’s inaction also goes back to Mayor Rawlings-Blake. It has been claimed from multiple sources within the police department that the mayor herself told the cops to stand down. It’s claimed that she said, “Let them loot. It’s only property.”
The rioters did just that and looted places such as a CVS pharmacy (which was later set on fire), liquor stores, a shoe warehouse store, stores inside of a shopping mall, and other privately owned businesses as well. In addition to that, cars were damaged, cars were stolen, and a ton of places were vandalized. This may have well been out of The Purge as the violent, classless thugs ran freely and had the time of their life.
The Craziest Footage Of April 27th, 2015,In Baltimore Riots:Stores, Banks, CVS Looted!
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Baltimore Riots 2015 A Compilation All Angles Freddy Gray
I’m sure you’ll notice that the rioters weren’t attacking city hall, nor were they attacking any of the police stations. No, these rioters were going after easy targets and places where they could loot. It didn’t matter that those businesses were owned by their neighbors and fellow residents in Baltimore. They just wanted to destroy property and steal whatever they could.
That’s not protesting against police brutality.
Rioting like that is what causes further racial tension across the country. It’s one step closer to having an all-out race war, something that will end very badly for all of us.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Police release CCTV video in Freddie Gray case
First of all, it’s obvious that the Baltimore Police Department was at fault for, A) Not giving Freddie Gray medical attention when he requested it (look for this to be further abused by criminals faking medical conditions), and B) Not buckling Freddie Gray into his seat inside of the police wagon.
So far that’s all that has been released to the public. We still don’t know what exactly happened when the police wagon stopped on the street with no cameras. Now it sounds like the report is never going to be released to the public.
This also involves a mayor who chose the stand-off approach and to basically allow the rioters to run free in a controlled area as long as they weren’t killing people. Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake punished all of the business owners who had their stores damaged and looted, and she punished everybody else who had their cars and other property damaged, all while the police were forced to stand by and watch. The mayor also disgraced the police department by using them as shields and not having them stop the riot as they are trained to do. Instead, the police had to stand there and take it as rioters threw rocks, bricks, glass bottles, and chunks of concrete at the officers. As a result, several officers were seriously injured.
The rioters didn’t only disgrace against the police officers. The violent thugs also threw bricks and concrete at the fire department as well. Some of them even went so far as to cutting the fire hoses so that the firemen could not stop buildings from burning.
That’s just how classless and evil those rioters were that night. They weren’t merely protesting against the death of Freddie Gray, or against police brutality in general. Those scumbags were out there to cause trouble, plain and simple. And the mayor of Baltimore gave them a free pass to do so. After all, it’s only property, right? That is, as long as it’s not *her* property that’s being looted, damaged or burned to the ground.
Who cares about those business owners who have to find a way to pick up the pieces.
Who cares about everybody else dealing with damaged cars and buildings.
The rioters and looters had a free run at parts of the city, and the police department was forced to stand down and watch it happen. Those rioters could (and should) have been stopped much earlier that day.