Baltimore is bracing for the possibility of more violence and cleaning up after yesterday's unrest in which several hundred people rioted, burning police cars and businesses, throwing projectiles at cops, and looting some stores.
The eruption followed Monday's funeral of Freddie Gray, the 25-year old black man who died of an injured spinal cord sustained in police custody, according to Baltimore Police officials. Today, President Barack Obama said there is "no excuse" for the violence in Maryland's largest city. He spoke about community anger against police, saying there have been too many troubling police interactions with black citizens. Obama also called the deaths of several black men by police across the country "a slow rolling crisis" - a reference that could be tied to the historical Watts riots in 1965, the 1992 LA riots, the Ferguson riots last year, and others.
To quell the violence in Baltimore, National Guard spokesman Lt. Charles Kohler says about 500 guardsmen are being deployed in Baltimore, and the force will build to about 2,000 though the day. As well, a citywide curfew will be in effect from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. for the next week. Additionally, Baltimore public schools are closed today. What are the factors contributing to the violence in Baltimore? Many compare yesterday's riots to the 1968 riots in Maryland after the assassination of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Some civil rights activists argue nothing has changed since then to improve the economic disadvantages of the city's black community.
Others dispute systemic causes, saying the city has enjoyed black leadership at City Hall and the police department for years. Why is the relationship between Baltimore police and its citizens described so often as poisoned? Was it the right decision to close public schools today? Some city leadership have pointed fingers at the media saying its exaggerating the protest violence. How can the media balance the imperative to report from a major American city embroiled in riots with the worry of further incitement?
What planning and preparing did city officials undertake in anticipation of Gray's funeral? What is next in the investigation of Gray's death and the police involved in his arrest?
Guests:
David A. Harris, Professor of Law at the University of Pittsburgh Law School, where he studies, writes and teaches about police behavior and regulation, law enforcement, and national security issues and the law
Maria (Maki) Haberfeld, Professor of Police Science, in the Department of Law, Police Science and Criminal Justice Administration at John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York City
David Folkenflik, media correspondent, NPR; He spent more than 10 years reporting for The Baltimore Sun
Frank Stoltze, KPCC Crime reporter, he joins us outside the LAPD police commission meeting
John Roman, Senior Fellow at the Justice Policy Center of the Urban Institute, a research organization focused on vulnerable communities
Joe Hicks, Co-Founder and Vice President of Los Angeles-based civil rights and social criticism organization Community Advocates, Inc.
Jim McDonnell, Sheriff of Los Angeles County