Maryland declares emergency as riots follow man’s death

Hogan activated the National Guard and condemned those responsible for attacks against civilians, businesses and law enforcement officers, according to Bloomberg. "Today's looting and acts of violence in Baltimore will not be tolerated," the governor said in a statement. "There is a significant difference between protesting and violence and those committing these acts will be prosecuted under the fullest extent of the law." The Baltimore violence, in response to the April 19 death of Freddie Gray, 25, follows protests in other cities where blacks have died in encounters with law enforcement. In Baltimore, protesters throwing bricks and other debris injured 15 officers, said Darryl De Sousa of the city's police department. Police made 27 arrests, he said. The rioting followed Gray's funeral on Monday. The city is "deploying every resource possible to gain control of this situation," Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake said at a news conference. She ordered a citywide curfew beginning Tuesday that would require residents to remain within their homes between 10 p.m. and 5 a.m. Rawlings-Blake said the restrictions would last for at least one week, and that juveniles were already subject to a curfew. Obama Briefing "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," Rawlings-Blake said. President Barack Obama was briefed earlier Monday on the situation in Baltimore by newly sworn-in Attorney General Loretta Lynch, who said the Justice Department is poised to provide any needed assistance to local authorities, according to a White House statement. Obama also spoke with Rawlings-Blake about the city's efforts to maintain order. The Justice Department has opened a preliminary civil-rights inquiry into Gray's death, as the Obama administration scrutinizes law enforcement practices nationwide. The department said last week it will investigate whether any "prosecutable civil-rights violation occurred" when Baltimore city police officers arrested Gray on April 12. Gray suffered severe spinal-cord injuries while in police custody, and he died at a local hospital. Police Tensions The investigation is among efforts by the Justice Department to ease tensions between local police and the communities they serve. Last month, the agency sharply criticized the civil-rights record of police in Ferguson, Missouri, in the aftermath of a fatal shooting of an unarmed black teenager by an officer in the St. Louis suburb. The shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson on Aug. 9 and several other incidents around the U.S., including the death of an unarmed black man after he was placed in a chokehold by a white New York City police officer, sparked widespread protests. In Baltimore, six police officers have been suspended as authorities investigate the circumstances of Gray's arrest and whether criminal charges are warranted.