Protests in Baltimore, Maryland
By Anthony Rivera
On April 19th, 25 year old Freddie Gray was murdered by six police officers in Baltimore, Maryland. Not only had Gray been illegally arrested, but he also suffered severe spine injuries while in the custody of the officers. He was also denied the medical attention he pleaded for. After the details of his death were revealed to the public, there was widespread outrage among the people, ultimately leading in a few destructive riots throughout Baltimore. However, shortly after news of the riots spread, many people volunteered to help clean up the damage, and even organized peaceful protests in response. Unfortunately, the situation has not had much detailed coverage after the riots, but there are still people in Baltimore fighting for justice. An an attempt to assess how the general public outside of the Baltimore area may be reacting to media coverage of events in that city, this article presents interviews with four Manhattan Center juniors. These students were chosen at random in order to get a sense of the differing student opinions and beliefs about the Baltimore situation. These interviews not only allow the students to express themselves, but it also allows the reader to take note of the conflicting and differing viewpoints and evaluate why this situation has become so ambiguous.
What do you know about the Baltimore situation so far?
Josif Veleski: Six officers were involved in the homicide of Freddie Gray. They wrongfully accused him of illegal possession of what they thought was an illegal switchblade, meanwhile it was a legal spring-action blade. They detained and arrested him with unnecessary force. They broke his neck and and caused damage to his spinal cord in multiple locations, even fractured three of his vertebrae. The officers also did not secure him in the van which contributed to his injuries. They did not get him immediate medical attention. By the time he was able to get medical attention, he was comatose and eventually died soon after.
Celines Aquino: So far, what I know is that massive riots broke out because of the death of Freddie Gray. Gray was arrested on a weapons charge, although it was a pocket knife of legal size, and then police deployed force on him. In the end, he died because of a spinal injury and the injustice is what caused the protest, that soon turned into riot.
Emily Dominguez: I know that Freddie Gray was 25 years old, he was black, and that the city of Baltimore reacted badly as a whole to his homicide (It was declared a homicide because there were six officers involved, I think). I also know that there were riots which included the burning of a few businesses and places, one of which was a CVS pharmacy.
Vivica Michel: I know that the Baltimore situation first started with Freddie Gray. He was severely injured in the hands of the police, leading to his death. This then started a protest against police brutality, which led to a rebellion against the police. Baltimore was then under a state of emergency and curfews.
What is your opinion on the situation as a whole?
Josif Veleski: My opinion on the situation as a whole is that this is another unnecessary homicide by police that could’ve been easily averted. This is just another sad example of police brutality in America. It’s even harder to understand when this is still happening in a “1st World “country. Although two of the officers were African American, there’s no doubt that there was some racial profiling involved.
Celines Aquino: As a whole, I believe the situation got out of hand. I support the protesters with no doubt of course, but the rioting caused jobs and schools to get shut down, and forced civilians to live in fear. America has been having so many cases of injustice with the races, and I am starting to believe that we really can’t change. Even so, rioting is destroying people’s cities and jeopardizing many people’s way of life.
Emily Dominguez: Obviously what the police officers did is wrong, but the city went to an extreme. I guess the way they’re thinking is justified, but they took it a little too far.
Vivica Michel: In my opinion I believe that rebelling against the police will only make the situation worse. People became violent and that’s not the way to protest. Using the death of Freddie Gray as an excuse to do horrid crimes. Police make me feel safe. A whole group of people shouldn’t be judged based on a small percentage.
Is there anything you think should be done that isn’t being done already?
Josif Veleski: There are many things that should be done that aren’t being done. Like legislators providing more rights for civilians in police interaction–for people to be treated as humans first rather than criminals first. Body cameras mandatory for every officer, and better training for officers to handle complex or even simple civilian interactions.
Celines Aquino: Well, from what I know, police were indeed looking into Gray’s death, as well as the U.S. Justice Department. Six police officers were suspended in the wake of Gray’s death. But, they’re not too sure because the officers plead that they didn’t use force against him, so I believe they need to try harder to prevent anything like that from happening again, because officers can easily say they didn’t do it.
Emily Dominguez: I think the heads of the city actually did a pretty good job because I know they put a curfew, they called the National Guard, and they did a decent job maintaining peace regardless of the riots.
Vivica Michel: I think that people need to stop escalating the situation. I think that more laws need to be made in order to protect police as well as the way police handle people. They don’t have the best track record with the Michael Brown and Eric Garner incidents, but if more rules or regulations were made in the police system, there would not be as much crime as there is now.
Do you think the media is portraying the situation the way it should be?
Josif Veleski: Of course the media isn’t portraying the situation the way it should be. When does it ever correctly portray a situation accurately? Sure there were riots…even the arson of the CVS pharmacy. Contrary to popular belief, I believe those were justified acts. Peaceful protests simply get swept under the carpet. It is these actions that show how serious and how vital this situation is. News networks only show what they want to show. They’ll show protesters’ emotions getting the best of them, but they won’t show how the police aggressively engage the protesters, and even engage in the same behavior towards the protesters. They [also] won’t show protesters helping police to protect businesses. But once again the media will not show what needs to be shown.
Celines Aquino: I believe the media is portraying it but not the way it should be. They are only antagonizing the acts of the rioters and although they are doing wrong, they aren’t referring too much to the cause. Freddie Gray is not the only person to face injustice this year in the world, let alone this country. Freddie Gray is one of the few that come to the eyes of the ignorant, and whose death shouldn’t be left alone. The media needs to tap more into things like this, and needs to focus on the why, not only the what.
Emily Dominguez: Well, the media makes it seem like “another black man was murdered” and so it caused the rioting. I think that the media makes the people of Baltimore seem crazy, but at the same time the riots and events suggest it anyway.
Vivica Michel: I think that news media is portraying this to be a much bigger thing than it really is. They are saying things that anger the people, and cause protests. For example, here in New York people were protesting because they were broadcasting the story around the country. I feel like some things are exaggerated, but then again that’s what the media is expected to do.
