I wanted to write to voice my opinion on the events that led to the death of Freddie Gray along with the protests that turned violent in Baltimore. In police custody, Gray incurred a spinal injury that later resulted in his death. Watching the news coverage of the videos, it is not clear who is at fault. To me, as a bystander, I do not approve of police brutality and hope that the truth comes out to give Gray's family and friends as well as the police involved along with their families peace.
As the protests started turning violent after Gray's funeral, it saddened me to see folks turn on the police as well as all of the vandalism that has happened to the police cars and stores, along with the violence to the police department that are there to serve and protect the very people that are causing harm. Firemen's personal vehicles were vandalized while they were putting out fires, bricks were thrown at the fire trucks as well as hoses were cut. As the news coverage continues as the city braces for another night of possible looting and destruction, I am hoping that people realize that this is not the way to make a point and that they are only hurting themselves as well as their community. Setting a bad example for their children who don't understand why this is happening on there street.
As I talked with my sister last night it made me realize that violence is not the answer. The news outlets that are covering this event need to focus on the protests that are peaceful and not focus on all of the violence. We need to stand together and respect the wishes of Gray's family to stop the violence. We need to let the investigation into the cause of death finish and not jump to conclusions. I hope that we can learn from this event to prevent this type of destruction from happening again.
William Kaelin