Judge approves lawsuit against Baltimore for letting anarchists destroy property, businesses during riots
BALTIMORE, MD Sept 4 2021– A federal judge ruled that there is enough evidence in a lawsuit brought by small business owners affected by the 2015 unrest following the death of Freddie Gray when police were ordered to stand down by the city.
The lawsuit, brought by 70 plaintiffs, mostly small business owners, has been stuck in the courts for four years, but Thursday’s ruling by U.S. District Judge Stephane Gallagher has cleared the way for the case to go in front of a jury.
The judge said the Maryland Riot Act obligates the city to protect residents and businesses during the unrest. In the ruling, she said the act requires the city to take action to prevent “theft, damage or destruction.”
Gallagher wrote:
“The City may ultimately be right that it acted reasonably as a matter of overall policy and prioritization, and a reasonable juror could certainly agree.
“However, a reasonable juror could also (and perhaps simultaneously) conclude that the City remains liable for the ensuing property damage arguably attributable to the ‘trade-off’ between more traditional anti-riot measures and the City’s policy decisions in April of 2015.”
Riots broke out in Baltimore following the in-custody death of Freddie Gray on April 19, 2015. City leaders argued that they did a good job controlling the riots and claimed the plaintiffs were “Monday morning quarterbacking.”
In the lawsuit complaint, the city denied there was a riot, but rather:
“Individuals opportunistically taking advantage of unrest in order to commit crimes and property destruction.”
The city also argued that police did a good job of suppressing the violence:
“Despite being under-equipped and understaffed as a result of the State and other jurisdictions refusing its requests for assistance in the days leading up to the funeral, BPD managed to suppress the unrest in approximately twelve hours, with no loss of civilian or officer life.”
City attorneys said the city performed well compared to other cities in similar situations:
“The violence that has erupted nationwide both before (Ferguson) and after (following the 2020 death of George Floyd), and even the last time Baltimore experienced rioting in 1968.”
The plaintiffs argued that police were ordered to stand by as their businesses were burned and vandalized. They claimed police stood by as many of them were attacked and injured during the riot.
The plaintiffs said in the complaint:
“Even in locations where BCPD officers were present, business owners helplessly watched their stores being looted and destroyed as BCPD officers also simply watched and/or turned away and let the destruction of property continue.”
Judge Gallagher said the city coordinated with police and ordered them to protect the First Amendment rights of rioters over any other duties:
“The City instructed the BPD that it did not want the BPD’s response to appear ‘overly aggressive,’ and that the BPD should prioritize protecting the protesters and their First Amendment rights.
“In the lead-up to the April 25th protests, the City remained focused on ensuring that the BPD not ‘silence’ protesters or ‘interfere with their First Amendment rights.’”
On April 12, 2015, Baltimore police arrested Gray, a 25-year-old black man. While in a police transport vehicle, his neck and spine were injured, and he fell into a coma. He died of his injuries on July 19, 2015.
Rioting broke out in protest of Gray’s death while in police custody, leading to the injuries of at least 20 police officers, the arrest of at least 250 people, and between 285b and 350 businesses damaged.
There were 150 vehicles set ablaze, 60 structure fires, and 27 drugstores looted in the chaos.
Thousands of police and the Maryland National guard responded to quell the violence and a state of emergency was declared. The state of emergency remained until May 6, 2015.
On May 1, 2015, the medical examiner ruled Gray’s death a homicide, and six officers were charged with various crimes for their involvement.
Three of the officers were acquitted of their charges, and in July 2016, Baltimore State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby dropped charges against the remaining three officers.
