海角大神

Just under 10 days ago, a 25-year-old man in Baltimore died after being taken into custody by police for reasons that still haven鈥檛 been made clear. What has been even less clear to date have been聽the circumstances of his death, which resulted from a broken neck and possibly other injuries that he sustained some time after being taken into custody but after he was out of the view of the cameras that recorded his initial encounter with police. There have been protests in Baltimore virtually from the day that Gray鈥檚 death became public and,聽on Saturday,聽they became violent enough that fans who were at Camden Yards to watch the Orioles play the Red Sox were kept in their seats for some period of time while police dealt with violent protests outside the stadium. Today, Gray was laid to rest but tensions began to rise when rumors began to spread of plans for attacks on police officers by gang members and, this afternoon聽protests broke out that quickly turned into a riot that has already caused significant property damage to one area of the city:

More from聽The Baltimore Sun:

As was the case during the riots that occurred in Ferguson, Mo., last August, it seems fairly clear that the rioting and violence that we are seeing in Baltimore today, and that we saw on Saturday night near Camden Yards, is largely the work of people using the protests as cover for their own nefarious goals. Some of the reports regarding the planned protests for today have suggested that the city鈥檚 gangs have actually banded together to use today鈥檚 protest as a cover to attack police officers, for example. More importantly, the community leaders who have been part of the peaceful protests that have been going on since Gray鈥檚 death on April 19, along with Gray鈥檚 family members, have been quick to denounce the violence and ask for it to come to an end. It likely won鈥檛, of course, and the fact that it has gotten out of hand so quickly likely means that law enforcement will find itself forced to use a heavy hand to restore order, something which may prove difficult to keep under control as we approach nightfall in Baltimore. More than likely, though, it will take more than one night to bring order to this situation.

There is, quite obviously, no excuse for violence and looting such as what we鈥檙e seeing unfold in Baltimore tonight, and the willful destruction of property is utterly senseless. One of the first businesses to be looted in this neighborhood, for example, was a CVS that one could tell even from the aerial shots being broadcast on CNN was a relatively new business, likely only a few years old at the most. Over the course of less than 20 minutes, one could see the entire store being trashed, windows busted out, and merchandise being carried out by people who obviously didn鈥檛 care very much what what happening to the neighborhood. Less than an hour later, that building was on fire, and when the fire department came out to try to put out the fire, with a CNN reporter standing right there, two people who had their faces covered came up and cut the firehouse鈥檚 connection to the hydrant. That鈥檚 just one example of what鈥檚 been happening in that city.

None of this is to excuse what happened to Freddie Gray, of course. Based on the information that has come out so far, it seems quite apparent that the officers involved in his arrest, all of whom are currently suspended, acted at the very least with reckless disregard for his life, and possibly worse. Additionally, the Baltimore Police Department itself apparently has聽a long history of abuses and bad relations with the community聽that are no doubt fueling much of what we are seeing unfold now. All of that needs to be addressed. However, none of that justifies, rioting, looting, and actions that place the lives of others in danger. I suspect that the people in Baltimore who actually care about what happened to Freddie Gray, and actually care about their neighborhoods know this. Unfortunately, they are being overshadowed by a bunch of thugs right now.

Doug Mataconis appears on the Outside the Beltway blog at http://www.outsidethebeltway.com/.