A protestor faces police enforcing a curfew in Baltimore
Baltimore streets previously rocked by riots were eerily quiet early yesterday as residents obeyed an all-night curfew enforced by 3,000 police and National Guardsmen.
The curfew, which went into effect at 10 p.m. Tuesday (yesterday daytime in Macau), got off to a not-so-promising start, however, as about 200 protesters initially ignored the warnings of police officers and the pleas of community activists to disperse.
Some threw water bottles or lay down on the ground. A line of police behind riot shields hurled tear gas canisters and fired pepper balls at the crowd and slowly advanced forward to push it back. Demonstrators picked up the canisters and hurled them back at officers. But the crowd rapidly dispersed and was down to just a few dozen people within minutes.
The clash came after a day of high tension but relative peace in Baltimore, which was rocked by looting and widespread arson Monday in the city’s worst outbreak of rioting since 1968.
Police, city leaders and many residents condemned the violence, and hundreds of volunteers showed up Tuesday to sweep the streets of glass and other debris.
But life was unlikely to get completely back to normal anytime soon: The curfew was to go back into effect at 10 p.m. yesterday and baseball officials — in what may be a first in the sport’s 145-year history — announced that yesterday’s Baltimore Orioles game at Camden Yards would be closed to the public.
The violence set off soul-searching among community leaders and others, with some suggesting the uprising wasn’t just about race or the police department, but also about high unemployment, high crime, poor housing, broken-down schools and lack of opportunity in Baltimore’s inner-city neighborhoods — issues that aren’t going away anytime soon.
Activists also stressed that they would continue to press authorities for answers in the case of Freddie Gray, a 25-year-old black man who died of a spinal-cord injury under mysterious circumstances while in police custody. His case is what spurred Monday’s riots.
A group of pastors announced plans to hold a rally and prayer vigil for the city of Baltimore and Gray’s family at noon yesterday and to “draw public attention to 17 police accountability bills the state legislature failed to pass during the recent legislative session.” Amanda Lee Myers and David Dishneau, Baltimore, AP
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