Over the course of the last few weeks there has been a lot of controversy in Baltimore, Maryland. On April 12, 2015, a 25 year old black man, named Freddie Gray, was arrested in west Baltimore. There is no evidence supporting why he was arrested. Gray made eye contact with a police officer then took off running, so naturally the officer pursued. There was no reason as to why Gray would have been in trouble with the police, because there were no charges against him.
The reserve sheriff's deputy in Tulsa, Oklahoma pleaded not guilty to second degree manslaughter charge in the death of the man he shot. He claims the shooting happened while trying to tase the man, but as made clear by the riots, some people disagree. They say that the death was discriminatory, as the victim was black.
Somehow Gray sustained injuries to his spinal cord, and larynx. The cause of the injuries is unclear, but some eyewitnesses claim police used unnecessary force. So, if there was no serious reason to arrest him other than him running, why would the police feel the need to use force at all? After his death on April 19th, protests against the police turned into large and devastating riots. Rocks were hurled at police, patrol cars were destroyed, store windows were smashed, and buildings were torched. More than a dozen officers were injured, six of them seriously. On top of that, more than a dozen arrests were made. The Orioles postponed their Monday night game because of the violence, as it was taking place only three miles away from the stadium.
All of these events have fallen under the highly publicized discrimination of blacks, and people's efforts to help create equality.
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