Barely 24 hours after the city she leads was engulfed in a spasm of violent riots, Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake defended her handling of the crisis in an interview with TIME.
“I’m not green to these types of issues. I’ve been mayor for five years. I’ve led a city. And directed a police department. I know how to use resources. We’ve done it and we responded to protests,” she said Tuesday evening, hours before police began enforcing the first night of a week-long 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. curfew. “I’m comfortable with how we’ve responded in very, very challenging times.”
As Rawlings-Blake spoke inside City Hall, some of the 2,000 National Guard troops mobilized by Maryland Governor Larry Hogan were stationed outside the building. Hogan deployed the soldiers Monday night after rioting broke out following the funeral of Freddie Gray, 25, who died on April 19 after sustaining an injury in police custody. But Hogan made clear that he was ready to do so earlier had the mayor requested, and implied that Rawlings-Blake was unreachable during a critical stretch as the riots were escalating. The remarks were among a series of incidences that highlighted the frosty relationship between the Republican governor and the Democratic mayor.
Rawlings-Blake fired back at Hogan on Tuesday. The governor “didn’t have a full understanding of all things that were being put in place,” she told TIME. “When we are in the midst of dealing with an issue, you have to be very judicious about the use of the National Guard. They’re viewed by the community as a sign of militarization. They’re viewed by many as a sign of escalation of an incident.”
Rawlings-Blake said she asked Hogan to activate the Guard only when the situation was more than city police and their reinforcements from other neighboring agencies could handle. “When it was very clear that the situation was changing and changing fast and we needed people that had the authority to hold ground while we went into do the enforcement,” she said, “that’s when we called them.”
See the Clashes in Baltimore After Freddie Gray's Funeral
A rioter stands atop a burning car as another man pours fuel onto the fire while Baltimore firefighters behind them fight fires in multiple burning buildings set ablaze by rioters during clashes in Baltimore on April 27, 2015.Jim Bourg—ReutersFirefighters battle a blaze after riots in Baltimore on April 27, 2015.Jerry Jackson—TNS /LandovTwo cars burn in the middle of an intersection during riots near New Shiloh Baptist Church in Baltimore on April 27, 2015.Andrew Burton—Getty ImagesProtestors and pedestrians walk down Pennsylvania Avenue as smoke from a nearby CVS on fire covers the area in Baltimore on April 27, 2015. Noah Scialom—EPAA demonstrator raises his fist as police stand in formation as a store burns during unrest following the funeral of Freddie Gray in Baltimore on Monday, April 27, 2015.Patrick Semansky—APDemonstrators climb on a destroyed Baltimore Police car in the street near the corner of Pennsylvania and North avenues during violent protests following the funeral of Freddie Gray in Baltimore on April 27, 2015.Chip Somodevilla—Getty ImagesPolice carry an injured officer from the streets near Mondawmin Mall in Baltimore on April 27, 2015.Brendan Smialowski—AFP/Getty ImagesA demonstrator looks up after being sprayed with pepper spray during clashes in Baltimore on April 27, 2015.Shannon Stapleton—ReutersA man walks past a burning police vehicle in Baltimore on April 27, 2015.Patrick Semansky—APPolice put out a fire while responding to people protesting after the funeral of Freddie Gray in Baltimore on April 27, 2015. Michael Reynolds—EPAPolice officers arrest a man near Mondawmin Mall in Baltimore on April 27, 2015.Drew Angerer—Getty ImagesPolice officers use pepper spray against demonstrators after the funeral of Freddie Gray in Baltimore on April 27, 2015.Jose Luis Magana—APBaltimore police officers tackle and arrest looters after they emerged from a "Deals" store with merchandise during clashes between rioters and police in Baltimore on April 27, 2015.Jim Bourg—ReutersA protestor unrolls police caution tape on North Avenue and Fulton Street during a protest for the death of Freddie Gray in Baltimore on April 27, 2015. Noah Scialom—EPAA man hurls a rock at Baltimore police officers outside the Mondawmin Mall following the funeral of Freddie Gray in Baltimore on April 27, 2015.Chip Somodevilla—Getty ImagesPolice officers walk in formation on Reisterstown Road near Mondawmin Mall in Baltimore on April 27, 2015 .Drew Angerer—Getty ImagesBaltimore police officers form a line in front of protesters near Mondawmin Mall in Baltimore on April 27, 2015.Brendan Smialowski—AFP/Getty ImagesA woman cries as demonstrators throw rocks at police officers during clashes in Baltimore on April 27, 2015.Shannon Stapleton—ReutersProtesters surround a police officer near Mondawmin Mall in Baltimore on April 27, 2015.Drew Angerer—Getty ImagesFriends and relatives say their last goodbyes to Freddie Gray as his casket is lowered into his grave at the Woodland Cemetery in Baltimore on April 27, 2015.Chip Somodevilla—Getty ImagesA pillow depicts the image of Freddie Gray inside his open casket during the funeral at New Shiloh Baptist Church in Baltimore on April 27, 2015. Michael Reynolds—EPAGloria Darden, mother of Freddie Gray, is comforted as she embraces his body before his funeral at New Shiloh Baptist Church in Baltimore on April 27, 2015.Patrick Semansky—APGloria Darden, mother of Freddie Gray, is embraced before her son's funeral at New Shiloh Baptist Church in Baltimore on April 27, 2015.Brendan Smialowski—AFP/Getty Images
