A very similar scene in Baltimore as that in Ferguson after the no indictment decision was made in the case of Michael Brown. Here we are again, Freddie Gray, another black man dies in police custody.
Gray was arrested on a weapons charge in a high-crime area of Baltimore known for drugs. He "gave up without the use of force," according to Baltimore Deputy Police Commissioner Jerry Rodriguez.
An officer apparently took his Taser out and was prepared to use it on Gray, but he never deployed it, Rodriguez said. And none of the six officers involved in the arrest describe using force against the 25-year-old.
Gray was placed inside a police van and was able to talk, said Rodriguez, who described Gray as upset.
Gray was taken into custody a week before he died of a spinal injury.
"And when Mr. Gray was taken out of that van, he could not talk, and he could not breathe," according to Rodriguez.
It's unknown what caused the spinal cord injury that led to his death a week after the arrest, and it's also unknown what, if anything, happened inside the van.
Court documents allege that Baltimore Police Department Officer Garrett Miller arrested Gray after finding a switchblade in his pocket. The Gray family attorney called the allegation a "sideshow." Gray was carrying a "pocket knife of legal size," attorney William Murphy told CNN.
Police never saw the knife and chased Gray only after he ran from them, the attorney said.
The court documents also say that Gray "fled unprovoked upon noticing police presence."
"The officer noticed a knife clipped to the inside of his front right pants pocket. The defendant was arrested without force or incident," the documents say. "The knife was recovered by this officer and found to be a spring-assisted, one-hand-operated knife."
Maryland law makes it illegal to "wear or carry a dangerous weapon of any kind" -- including switchblades -- "concealed on or about the person."
It's not clear that simply having a knife is a crime, said Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake. "It is not necessarily probable cause to chase someone. So, we still have questions," she said.
Segments of cell phone video shot from two different positions appear to begin after Gray has been arrested and show officers dragging Gray, who is handcuffed, to a van. He can be heard screaming.Freddie Gray was laid to rest and the city was turned upside down in protest and riots. People throwing bricks and rocks at the police and the police fighting back. So far several police officers have been injured and a State of Emergency has been declared for the city of Baltimore. Curfews have also been enforced.
"He was dragged a bit," said Rawlings-Blake, "but then you see him using his legs to get into the van, so he was able-bodied when he was in the van. And we know that when he was finally taken out of the van, he was unresponsive."
Officers placed more restraints on Gray inside the van, police said, while surveillance video recorded him conscious and talking. That was at 8:54 a.m.
At 9:24 a.m., police called an ambulance for Gray. Police say Gray requested medical attention, including an inhaler, and an ambulance later took him to the University of Maryland Medical Center's Shock Trauma Center.
Baltimore's mayor, for one, thinks the arresting officers made "a mistake" by not requesting medical attention immediately after Gray asked for it.
Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake thinks police made a mistake by not requesting medical help sooner.
What we don't know: It's unknown why Gray screamed, and the video doesn't capture the entire incident, start to end. It's unclear what happened between 8:54 a.m. and 9:24 a.m. And it's unclear why police didn't call for an ambulance sooner.
Streets in Baltimore looked like a war zone Tuesday morning after a night of riots, fires and heartbreak.Here are a few pics of the aftermath. You can check the full gallery over at CNN! Please keep Baltimore in your prayers!!!!
"Too many people have spent generations building up this city for it to be destroyed by thugs who -- in a very senseless way -- are trying to tear down what so many have fought for," Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake said.
Buildings and cars across the city were engulfed in flames. About a dozen businesses were looted or damaged. At least 15 officers were wounded, six of them seriously, the police commissioner said.
All this came just hours after the funeral for Freddie Gray, who died of a severe spinal cord injury while in police custody.
The destruction across Baltimore brought more agony to the grieving family.
"I want y'all to get justice for my son, but don't do it like this here," Gray's mother, Gloria Darden, pleaded Monday night.
Gray's twin sister, Fredericka, said the chaos was no way to honor her brother.
"I don't think that's for Freddie," she said. "I think the violence is wrong."
The destruction was so bad that children can't go to school Tuesday. Baltimore City Public Schools canceled classes for the day.
