The astronomical increase in shootings and homicides in Baltimore is easy to explain. The criminal element is now in charge — no more police to hassle them and take their guns. They feel protected by the powers that be, and they are. They are shooting and killing each other because they are angry? No, they are shooting each other because there are no police to stop them ("With arrests down in Baltimore, mayor 'examining' increase in killings," May 27).
The police absence is called de-policing. With guns pointed at their chest and back and persecution by their mayor and prosecutor, the police can not and will not go in the middle of a firefight of thugs and get killed or be accused of police brutality.
It is a rough and dangerous job to be a cop, and cops can't control crime by being loving and caring. Baltimore's mayor and its chief prosecutor want the police to wear kid gloves and be gentle when dealing with hardened criminals. They want cops to treat thugs with respect, but the thugs do not respect them or the laws.
Maybe the mayor can go out in the "hood" and stop the thugs from killing each other. They would not hurt her, or would they?
Don't blame the police for the crime spree and stop justifying it by evoking Freddie Gray.
If the big shots in local government don't want the police to do their job, they should ask for the National Guard to be deployed with fixed bayonets and live ammo.
Louis Ginesi Dominguez, Warrenton, Va.