Posted on 03/30/22
| News Source: FOX Baltimore
Baltimore City will spend $3.5 million to settle a federal lawsuit brought by dozens of businesses that were damaged by fire and looting, sparked by the death of Freddie Gray in 2015.
"We reached what we believe to be a fair settlement for both sides," Baltimore City Solicitor James Shea said.
Gray died in police custody after he was arrested in West Baltimore in April of 2015. His death resulted in massive protests in the city and some of them turned violent on April 27, 2015. It took the Baltimore Police Department days to restore order in West and East Baltimore. During that time, then-Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake talked about giving space to "those who wished to destroy." She later backtracked on those comments, but many believed that the city allowed the destruction of property in certain areas of the city to prevent the situation from escalating further.
The three of the six officers involved in Gray's death were acquitted of charges they caused his death. Charges against the other officers were eventually dropped.
In 2017, nearly 70 businesses filed a lawsuit arguing the city fell short of its obligation to properly protect the businesses, per the Maryland Riot Act.
"The city and the other defendants failed them when they adopted a policy of restraint and issued stand-down orders, caring more about the public perception that they feared would result with increased police presence than preventing what were clearly preventable riots,” attorney Peter K. Hwang told the Maryland Daily Record in 2017.