After a night of rioting and looting in Baltimore, the cleanup begins

Posted 2015-04-28 15:10 by Grunt Report with 0 comments

The morning after looters and rioters wreaked havoc on Baltimore’s West Side, cleanup efforts began before dawn as shop owners swept broken glass out of their stores, residents filled garbage bags with refuse and towtrucks removed burned cars.

Although the streets became calm shortly after sunrise, problems were reported as late as 5 a.m. and police officers in riot gear continued to block an intersection that had been at the center of the mayhem, near a CVS pharmacy that was burned and looted.

Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan (R), who activated the National Guard to assist Baltimore police, promised a heavy law enforcement presence throughout the day and into the night Tuesday to deter further violence and fires.

“Things are going to be different today,” Hogan said during a news conference broadcast live on Baltimore television stations. He blamed Monday’s havoc on “roving gangs of thugs.”

“We’ll be more prepared here tonight,” Hogan added. “We’ll have more people here from the police, from the Guard and from the fire departments around the state.”

Hogan estimated Tuesday morning that police presence in Baltimore had doubled since Monday.

National Guard troops had set up a checkpoint outside Baltimore’s Western District police station by early Monday morning, but no troops were visible at the West Baltimore intersection that had been at the center of Monday’s protests. City officials said 200 Guard troops were on the ground and dozens more were awaiting deployment.

The commander of the Maryland National Guard, Maj. Gen. Linda Singh, promised Monday evening that her troops would be “out in massive force.”

“We are going to be patrolling the streets in order to ensure that we are protecting property,” Singh said at a news conference, adding that troops would be serving in a supporting role. “This is not martial law. Martial law means that at that point the military fully takes over, so we have not reached that point.”

The violence erupted Monday afternoon shortly after crowds gathered to eulogize Freddie Gray, who died April 19 of a severe spinal injury he suffered while in police custody a week earlier.