Murders in Baltimore are up 100% .
Arrests are down 50% .
Six Baltimore officers were charged in the death of Freddie Gray. They are (top row from left) Caesar Goodson Jr., Garrett Miller, Edward Nero and (bottom row from left) William Porter, Brian Rice and Alicia White. (Baltimore Police Department via AP)
Two Baltimore police officers told CNN today that the police are in “reactionary mode” after six officers were indicted for murdering Freddie Gray.
Mediaite reported:
Two Baltimore police officers spoke through voice-altering technology to CNN’s Brooke Baldwin Wednesday morning, telling her that cops are in a “reactionary mode” since the criticism of the department over the death of Freddie Gray while in police custody.
Violence has spiked in Baltimore since a supposed “police slowdown,” in which officers pull back from their duties when they feel a lack of city and community support. The officers said police are still responding to emergency requests, but have stopped initiating policing, instead retreating into a “reactionary mode.”
“Even though you have reasonable suspicion…nine out of 10 times, that officer is going to keep on driving,” one officer said.
Why cops are allowed to do this nobody knows, but the two anonymous officers told CNN that the situation creates a boon for criminals.
“The criminal element feels as though that we’re not going to run the risk of chasing them if they are armed with a gun, and they’re using this opportunity to settle old beefs, or scores, with people that they have conflict with,” the officer said. “I think the public really, really sees that they asked for a softer, less aggressive police department, and we have given them that, and now they are realizing that their way of thinking does not work.”