Prince George’s County Police deployed some of its officers to Baltimore on Monday to assist amid violent demonstrations, looting and arson across the city.
The protests stem from citywide unrest after the arrest of 25-year-old Freddie Gray on April 12. Gray suffered severe spinal injuries while in police custody and died April 19. He was buried Monday.
The Baltimore Police Department received information stating gang members entered into an agreement to “take out law enforcement officers,” according to a Baltimore Police news release Monday morning.
County police deployed 30 to 35 officers to the city, which police spokesman Harry Bond said should not affect operations within the county.
“We would never compromise the citizens of Prince George’s County,” Bond said.
Police officers near Mondawmin Mall were hit with rocks and suffered minor injuries, which are being treated, according to a tweet from Baltimore Police. At least 15 officers were injured during the protests, according to Associated Press reports Monday.
University Police are dissuading students, faculty and staff from traveling to Baltimore because of highly congested traffic from the protests, according to a UMD alert sent to the campus community.
The riots prompted Gov. Larry Hogan to sign an executive order Monday declaring a state of emergency and activating the state’s National Guard. Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake declared a weeklong curfew from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. starting Tuesday.
University Police spokeswoman Sgt. Rosanne Hoaas advised the community to pay attention to local news coverage of the protests for updates on further developments.
“The attempt with sending out [the alert] is to give a heads-up to those who might be going into the city,” Hoaas said. “If they are commuting or live in the area and work at the university, or a commuting student, we just want to give them a heads-up.”
