Washington Area Police Departments Send Officers to Baltimore

Dozens of officers of Washington-area police departments are being dispatched to Baltimore to aid with the response to continued unrest there after a 25-year-old black man’s fatal encounter with police. The officers were sent after Maryland Governor Larry Hogan asked governments across the mid-Atlantic region for help in responding to ongoing protests and riots in the wake of the death of Freddie Gray, who died April 19.

DC’s Police Department has sent 34 officers, according to a press release from Hogan’s office. Montgomery County Police are also sending 45 officers, which should not affect its normal staffing levels, the department says. Thirty officers from Prince George’s County have been in Baltimore since Monday afternoon, when two of them were struck with debris flung by demonstrators who turned violent. “Fortunately, they’re fine,” says Prince George’s Police Department spokeswoman Julie Parker.

The Arlington Police Department has not responded to questions about whether it was answering Hogan’s call for support, while the Alexandria Police Department says it was not sending anyone. A spokesman for the Fairfax County Police Department says officials there are still deciding if they will send any personnel to Baltimore.

Baltimore officials tallied 15 building fires, 144 vehicle fires, 235 arrests, and 20 police officers injured on Monday, according to the Baltimore Sun. There is no count of how many civilians have been hurt.

Besides the Washington-area cops, several hundred officers from Pennsylvania and New Jersey have flocked to Baltimore, where Hogan declared a state of emergency Monday night. The Maryland National Guard is also patrolling the streets, with 500 soldiers to start and another 1,500 being activated by the end of the day.

Benjamin Freed

Staff Writer

Benjamin Freed joined Washingtonian in August 2013 and covers politics, business, and media. He was previously the editor of DCist and has also written for Washington City Paper, the New York Times, the New Republic, Slate, and BuzzFeed. He lives in Adams Morgan.