A former Baltimore cop who served with the six officers charged in the death of Freddie Gray told Fox News’ Megyn Kelly that in the wake of the Freddie Gray controversy, the Baltimore Police Department is “losing officers left and right.”
The officer, who went by “Mike” and whose identity was protected, joined Kelly on “The Kelly File” Wednesday to discuss the the hung jury in the case of Officer William Porter, as the city braces for more protests.
Mike, who speaks with Porter and the other officers involved regularly, said they are “in good spirits and ready for this stuff to be over with.”
The cop told Kelly that he had no doubt that that Baltimore state’s attorney, Marilyn Mosby, would pursue a new trial because she’s on a “witch hunt.”
U.S. Rep. Elijah Cummings, D-Md., announced in a statement last night that prosecutors will indeed retry the 26 year old on manslaughter, assault, misconduct and reckless endangerment charges.
Asked by Kelly why he left the force, Mike explained that it was because the political environment was making his job more difficult and dangerous.
“You can’t go in to work in Baltimore and be a be a progressive officer where you’re stopping these violent offenders,” he said, “because if a pure accident happens — something outside of your control like what happened with these officers — you can see exactly where the city is going and which side they’re taking.”
“It goes beyond the police administration and the police leadership,” Mike continued. “This is a bigger problem within Baltimore city that, unfortunately, I don’t think [is] going to be cured any time soon.”
“You’re not going to see that officer going out and being as proactive or using the same tactics that were used prior to the Freddie Gray incident,” he explained. “The city has proven that…if something happens… the city doesn’t have your back.”
“They’re losing officers left and right,” he added. “The Baltimore Police Department can’t keep police officers. They’re so desperate for officers they’re actually trying to get retirees to consider coming back to their department.”
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Since the Freddie Gray unrest, violent crime has spiked in Baltimore — with no end in sight, Fox News reported in October.
Baltimore’s bloody summer ended with a barrage of bangs, as the rate of homicides and gun crimes continued to spike in the wake of the racially charged case of Freddie Gray, whose death in police custody left citizens angry and cops demoralized.
For September, homicides were up 39 percent and non-fatal shootings nearly doubled over the same month in 2014, continuing a disturbing trend that has gripped the Charm City since Gray’s death in April and the rioting that followed. For the year, murders are up 52 percent and non-fatal shootings 80 percent over last year.
For the year, the 246 homicides recorded through Sept. 26 put Baltimore dangerously close to the record pace of 1993, when 353 people were victims of homicide. The fact that the spike occurred after April 19 bodes even worse: Before the unrest following the Gray arrest, Baltimore had recorded 65 homicides for the year. A four-decade high of 42 homicides in May was topped in July when 45 people were killed in homicides, making Baltimore the second deadliest city in America on a per capita basis, trailing only St. Louis.
So the top two cities for murder and mayhem this year are St. Louis and Baltimore, where the “Black Lives Matter” movement has been actively agitating against the police. Gosh, I wonder if there’s some kind of a connection there.
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