Baltimore has long struggled with violence. It went a decade with 300 or more killings each year in the 1990s before the numbers finally began dropping in 2000. But the homicide rate hit a high in 2015 after drug dealer Freddie Gray died in police custody and the city erupted in riots and looting.
That year, Baltimore had 344 homicides, the deadliest per capita in the city’s history. The next year marked its second highest, with 318 deaths. This year, the city with a population of 614,000 is on track to beat both records and top all other big U.S. cities. Meanwhile, Baltimore’s police force has shrunk from 2,900 officers to 2,700.
So what is escalating this madness?
According to reports, theories circulated about how Freddie Gray’s death contributed to the surge in killings. Some people say the use and sale of drugs from looted pharmacies contributed to the violence. Others say the riots ignited old turf wars between gangs.
Some residents say police have changed how they patrol for fear of getting in trouble. We had the Ferguson effect following the 2014 shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri. Now, it appears the Freddie Gray effect – fear of being labeled “racist” and losing their jobs – is causing Baltimore police to hesitate in going after criminals.
The city’s former prosecutor, Marilyn Mosby, an overzealous and inexperienced black attorney, charged six officers in Freddie Gray’s death, but her case was weak, and all the officers were acquitted.
Barack Obama, former Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake, the Congressional Black Caucus and Black Lives Matter activists all came down hard on the police – especially on white officers. These people falsely accused police of “racism” and encouraged anger toward police.
The Baltimore Police Department was the subject of a scathing Justice Department report that accused the department of racial discrimination on Baltimore’s streets. The department is now being overhauled under a consent decree with the federal government.
“Since the Freddie Gray situation, even if you call the police and give a description, they can’t touch” the criminals, a Baltimore business owner told the Philadelphia Inquirer. “They know they’re untouchable. That’s the key.”