A report cited by The Daily Mail claims Baltimore mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake gave the command for police officers to stand down as rioters and looters overran the city.
A senior law enforcement source stated that the mayor told her officers to do nothing as the riots began, bringing forth the question if they could have been prevented from starting. When asked if the mayor was the one who issued the order the source replied, “You are God damn right it was.”
The mayor continues to deny she issued the order as Baltimore slowly begins to return to a relative calm state with schools reopening and people returning to work.
“You have to understand, it is not holding back. It is responding appropriately,” Mayor Blake said in an interview with Fox News’ Bill Hemmer as she continued to deny allegations against her.
The mayor is also being accused for waiting too long to declare an emergency and request the National Guard. Maryland Governor Larry Hogan claims he didn’t use his executive authority and send in the troops because “We didn’t think it was appropriate to come in and take over the city without the request of the mayor.”
The governor continued to say that as soon as the mayor contacted him “it was about 30 seconds before we completely activated all of the resources that we had to bear.”
Rawlings-Blake dismissed the statement by saying, “We responded very quickly to a very difficult situation. It’s understandable to armchair quarterback and second-guess, but there is a very delicate balancing act that you have to do in order to respond but not over-respond.”
A curfew was set on the city and it was enforced with the help of 3,000 additional police officers and National Guardsmen. Between Monday and Tuesday the damage to the city included:
- 245 people arrested, 34 of which were juveniles
- 19 buildings set on fire
- 21 police officers injured
- 144 vehicles burned
Tensions remain high in the city as the leaders try to return things to normal.
“While things are way better than they are it’s not over yet,” said Governor Larry Hogan. “We still have concerns of possible unrest.”
Governor Hogan, along with Mayor Rawlings-Blake and other officials have been making appearances throughout the day, making promises to restore balance and pride back to their city
