Does this mean they won’t issue another stand down order?
Via Baltimore Sun
Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake said Wednesday that Baltimore police will be equipped with new riot gear before verdicts in the Freddie Gray trials come down.
The pledge was made after Rawlings-Blake acknowledged that officers did not have enough shields or body armor during the April riots, when about 160 officers were injured.
“We hope to never have such unrest again in our city, but if we do, we need to make sure our officers are equipped for whatever situation they encounter,” Rawlings-Blake said during a news conference at City Hall. “Specifically, I want to make sure our officers are prepared should there be additional unrest following the verdicts in the Freddie Gray case.”[…]
Over the past two months, officers have said Rawlings-Blake, Police Commissioner Anthony W. Batts and his command staff ordered them not to engage looters and those throwing rocks. They say that order left them vulnerable to attacks.
Batts and his top commanders say officers were told at times to “hold the line” but the orders were given for officer safety because there was not enough backup or support for officers to engage mobs. Commanders said officers were sometimes asked to forgo arresting looters and arsonists because they were about to be redeployed to locations where officers or civilians had reported injuries or attacks.[…]
Rawlings-Blake said police are installing video cameras with the ability to record in every transport van.
The police transport van that carried Gray had a video camera that was broken, police say. Even if it had been functioning, police say, the camera did not record and only allowed the driver to check on prisoners.