At least 12 activists were arrested after refusing to leave Baltimore City Hall early Thursday as they protested the permanent appointment of the city’s interim police commissioner.
Several members of the Baltimore Uprising coalition were shouting from the balcony overlooking the meeting room Wednesday as the city council subcommittee prepared to vote for Kevin Davis as permanent commissioner. The group refused to leave until the commissioner and the Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake met their list of demands, including changes to police tactics and significant investment in education and social services.
More than 30 protesters were still occupying the room after midnight.
Baltimore police officers grouped before dawn outside City Hall and led 12 people into police transport vans and other vehicles. Several people were tied in plastic handcuffs with their hands behind their backs.
Around 25 officers formed a line in front of City Hall and more police were seen with their vehicles out back as the demonstrators were led out. More than a dozen others chanted “It is our duty to fight for our freedom, we have nothing to lose but our shame!”
Kwame Rose, an organizer for the protesters who were occupying the building, told The Associated Press he and others left after police had warned they shouldn’t be in the building after hours. Rose said he was upset Davis hadn’t met with the activists to listen to their demands.
Baltimore police told the Baltimore Sun that after “hours of communication and warnings, a small number of protesters inside of City Hall decided to leave the building.” Police said the remaining protesters were arrested and charged with trespassing.
The subcommittee meeting to discuss Davis’ appointment drew a large crowd with some supporting the decision to name Davis as full-time police commissioner and others blasting the decision.
"All night, all day, we will fight for Freddie Gray!" the activists chanted amid calls to postpone the vote. "No justice, no peace!"
Three of the subcommittee's five members voted in favor of Davis. Councilman Nick Mosby, who is married to State's Attorney Marilyn Mosby, voted against the confirmation, while Carl Stokes, who is running for mayor, abstained. The council’s appointment committee approved the appointment, which will now go to the city council on Monday.
It was Marilyn Mosby who decided to prosecute six officers in connection with Gray's death. All of the officers are currently awaiting trial. In the aftermath of Mosby's decision and the widespread unrest, homicides began to rise and residents in crime-addled neighborhoods accused police officers of abandoning their posts.
Following the subcommittee's vote, Davis called Wednesday night's protest an "act of civil disobedience" that "is just part of this moment."
"It's all part of the healing process," he said. "The fact that this occurred isn't upsetting. It's just part of where the city is right now. I understand where they are. I understand their frustration. ... I promised the citizens of Baltimore and the protesters that I'll be the type of police commissioner that they deserve. This is just part of where the city is right now, and if we're going to get to the other side of this, we have to go through these moments."
Addressing the council subcommittee earlier, Davis said that he remains committed to training officers to actively engage and interact with community members. Davis also emphasized his commitment to "respect and fight for the right for Americans to assemble and peacefully protest."
"2015 is the year that things change," Davis said, referring to the task of repairing the tense relationship between the police and the public in Baltimore.
As the committee began to depart for the night, the protesters refused to go. A member of the group who identified herself as Ralikh Hayes told an Associated Press reporter that 32 protesters were inside and that they "have no access to bathrooms, food or water currently."
"People are sitting, relaxing," she said. "We are waiting to see if we'll get a meeting with anyone tonight. We want to meet with the interim commissioner and the mayor, but that meeting doesn't mean we're leaving. We'll be here."
In addition to a meeting with the mayor and the interim police commissioner, the group also wants police to avoid using military-type equipment such as armored vehicles, and only use riot gear as a last resort to protect officers.
They also want officers to wear name tags and badges and want to be able to protest in larger areas and for longer periods of time than “would normally be tolerated.”
In addition, they are asking police to be "more tolerant of minor law breaking," such as the throwing of water bottles, "when deciding whether to escalate the use of force."
If approved by the full council, Davis will earn $200,000 a year. His contract will run through June of 2020.
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