AMERICA’S most notorious gangs including the Bloods, Crips and Black Guerilla family have joined forces to “take out” police officers amid riots over the mysterious death of 25-year-old man Freddie Gray in police custody.
The Baltimore Police Department issued a press release saying they have received a “credible threat” from the gangs and warned workers to take appropriate precautions.
Pictures on social media show alleged gang members decked out in red and blue posing together with the caption “Bloods and Crips unite for justice for Freddie Gray”.
A minister at the Nation of Islam told The Daily Beast that the groups have united for “common good” saying: “We can unite and stop killing one another ... and the Bloods and the Crips can help rebuild their community”.
Bloods and Crips unite for justice for Freddie Gray #JusticeOrElse(Photo: Farajii Muhammad)Posted by Million Man March • 20th Anniversary on Saturday, April 25, 2015
The unlikely alliance comes as chaotic scenes fill the streets of Baltimore with angry protesters hurling bricks and looting as police respond with tear gas and pepper spray. Baltimore Sun journalist Carrie Wells said photo editor Chris Assaf was assaulted by a mob, while live-tweeting scenes of stations closed and shops with windows smashed and mannequins strewn outside.
Overnight Maryland governor Larry Hogan declared a state of emergency and ordered the National Guard into the city saying: “Today’s looting and acts of violence in Baltimore will not be tolerated. In response, I have put the Maryland National Guard on alert so they can be in position to deploy rapidly as needed.”
Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake has imposed a curfew for Tuesday night from 10pm to 5am saying people have spent too long building the city for it to be destroyed by “thugs”.
It comes after she met with President Obama to discuss the chaos which echoes scenes in Ferguson, Missouri that exploded into national protests after unarmed teenager Michael Brown was shot in broad daylight by white police officer Darren Wilson. The Ferguson killing was followed by the death of two other men, Eric Harris and Eric Garner while in police custody which have brought race relations in America to boiling point.
A man has his eyes cleaned after being pepper sprayed. Picture: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images/AFP. Source: AFP
The scenes echo those seen on the streets of Ferguson following the death of Michael Brown. Picture: AP Photo/Patrick Semansky. Source: AP
The National Guard has been called in and the Mayor has declared a curfew in Baltimore after riots over the death of another black man in custody. Picture: Drew Angerer/Getty Images/AFP Source: AFP
Cars have been set alight and shops have been looted in the chaos as mystery still remains over how Freddie Gray died. Pictured, a man walks past a burning vehicle. Picture: AP Photo/Patrick Semansky. Source: AP
MYSTERY OVER GRAY DEATH
The Baltimore riots follow the death of Freddie Gray, 25, who was arrested for possessing a switch blade and died on April 19 after 80 per cent of his spinal cord was mysteriously severed while in police custody — the only trauma to his body according to an autopsy which showed no broken bones.
It’s not known what caused Gray’s death but police have revealed he was refused medical attention at the time of his arrest and not given an inhaler immediately.Amateur video shows a limp Gray being hauled into the back of a police van after reportedly being tasered. Police have confirmed he was placed in leg restraints but not buckled in and three stops the van made on the way to the police station remain unexplained.
Six officers — five male and one female — have been suspended with pay pending an investigation and the US Justice Department is also investigating the issue.
His death is the fourth high profile case of a black man dying in police custody. Picture: Drew Angerer/Getty Images/AFP. Source: AFP
Freddie Gray died after his spinal cord was severed in police custody. Source: Supplied
Firefighters put out a fire at a shop that has been attacked. Picture: AP Photo/Patrick Semansky. Source: AP
Seven police were injured in the riots over the weekend which postponed a football came and shut down a university. Picture: Photo/Juliet Linderman. Source: AP
At Gray’s funeral on Monday thousands of supporters filled the church and spilt onto the street where the slogan “Black Lives Matter” was projected onto a wall — the rallying cry adopted by thousands across the US since the Michael Brown shooting.
Gray family lawyer Bill Murphy said the police need to stand up and tell the public what happened to the young man, while civil rights activist Jesse Jackson slammed the “epidemic of violence” across the US.
“We have become too violent, too full of hate,” Jackson said before the service.
“We need training, employment, housing, access to health, a reconstruction project. Poverty is a weapon of mass destruction.”
Thousands of people turned out at Freddie Gray's funeral including the daughter of Eric Garner, who also died in police custody. Picture: AP Photo/Patrick Semansky. Source: AP
The funeral followed a weekend of violence in the city where 34 people were arrested and at least seven police officers suffered broken bones as angry protesters surged onto city streets, looted and set cars on fire.
Baltimore police spokesman Captain Eric Kowalczyk said police would use “appropriate methods” to keep the community safe including tear gas and pepper spray. The riots also shut down a university, postponed a football game and city offices and markets.
Former Baltimore Sun journalist David Simon, who created the hit series The Wirewhich depicts gang and police life in Baltimore also weighed in on the protests, saying the violence is an “affront to that man’s memory”.
“If you can’t seek redress and demand reform without a brick in your hand, you risk losing this moment for all of us in Baltimore. Turn around. Go home. Please,” hewrote on his blog.
Rocks are hurled at Baltimore police department as the city reacts to news Gray died after an injury received in police custody. Picture: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images/AFP Source: AFP
Demonstrators face off with riot police. Picture: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images/AFP. Source: AFP
A man wipes his face after being hit with pepper spray. Picture: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images/AFP. Source: AFP
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