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[h=4]Baltimore braces as protests heat up again[/h]The governor of Maryland declared a state of emergency Monday after the streets of Baltimore erupted in violence after the funeral for an African-American man who died of injuries he sustained while in police custody.
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As the sun came up in Baltimore Tuesday morning, the damage left behind by violent riots could be clearly seen. Buildings were burned and stores were destroyed. Protests started over the death of a black man, Freddie Gray, in police custody. VPC
Volunteers clean up trash and shattered glass in front of a looted business in Baltimore on April 28, 2015.(Photo: Noah Scialom, European Pressphoto Agency)
BALTIMORE — Tense protests and a massive cleanup were underway Tuesday as the city braced for whatever comes next after a long night of violence.
The governor and mayor promised increased security. The baseball team canceled Tuesday's game and announced it will play Wednesday in an empty stadium. And President Obama promised a thorough investigation into the death in police custody of Freddie Gray.
Schools were closed, the National Guard was on the streets and wreckage was everywhere. Across from a burned and looted CVS, tensions began to rise again Tuesday afternoon.
Several people threw water bottles at police officers who stood in riot gear. At times protesters argued among themselves, some pleading for a peaceful event and others arguing that the police officers needed to feel the pain they have inflicted on the community.
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James Brown, 27, an event planner, said he believes the situation will worsen. "This is not going to end," he said. "Black men feel like we don't have rights. We are not being heard."
Earlier, a solemn Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake toured the destruction.
"We will not let these deplorable and cowardly acts of violence ruin our city," she tweeted. "I sincerely want to thank all those out there cleaning up streets and sharing their love for #OurCity. Thank you, Baltimore!"
Rawlings-Blake walked back comments she made about "thugs" trying to tear down the city.
"I wanted to say something that was on my heart … We don't have thugs in Baltimore. Sometimes my little anger interpreter gets the best of me," she said, pointing to her head. "We have a lot of kids that are acting out, a lot of people in our community that are acting out."
She dismissed claims that she waited too long to send in a heavy police and National Guard presence. She cited a "delicate balancing act" between managing the problem and making it worse.
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USA TODAY's Rem Rieder and Michael Wolff discuss the responsibility of the media when covering a polarizing story like the riots in Baltimore, Maryland. (USA NEWS, USA TODAY)
"It is very important that we respond to the situation as it is on the ground," she said. "There are always going to be armchair quarterbacks who have never sat in my seat."
Police Capt. John Kowalczyk said the relatively light initial police presence was because authorities were preparing for a protest of high schoolers. A heavy police presence and automatic weapons would not have been appropriate, he said. Kowalczyk said police made more than 200 arrests — only 34 of them juveniles.
During the mayhem, social media was alive with "#purge," an apparent allusion to the film The Purge, which featured a 12-hour period in which all crime is legal.
Gray, 25, died April 19, one week after being arrested and suffering a severe spinal injury. After Gray's funeral Monday, protests ostensibly against police violence quickly deteriorated into devastating riots. Bands of looters, some armed with crowbars, roamed the city, hurling rocks at police, destroying patrol cars, smashing store windows and torching buildings.
More than 20 police officers were injured, Kowalczyk said. About 20 businesses and more than 140 cars burned as the mayhem spilled into Tuesday's early hours. From 1 a.m. to 5 a.m., the city's Office of Emergency Management reported 10 major blazes.
"Please allow members of the fire department to respond to their calls for service," the police tweeted at 2 a.m. "We are still hearing reports of them being assaulted."
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The governor declared a state of emergency, and authorities ordered 10 p.m. curfews for the rest of the week.
On Tuesday, residents swept glass and debris from battered sidewalks and streets while National Guard members stood sentry.
Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan also toured parts of the city Tuesday. He said the violence began at about 3 p.m. Monday, but added that the National Guard did not enter the fray until asked by the mayor three hours later.
He said a "couple thousand" guard members and city police were patrolling the city, and that another 1,000 guard members would be in the city by Tuesday night.
"The vast majority of the people in Baltimore who were protesting did so in a peaceful way, but unfortunately a smaller group of people acted out in a violent way," Hogan said. "What happened last night is not going to happen tonight."
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Many businesses, wary of a resurgence of violence that had overwhelmed police and fire fighters, closed on Tuesday.
The list included Security Square Mall with more than 100 stores in western Baltimore. Many downtown businesses were closed, and mutual fund houses T. Rowe Price and Legg Mason announced that most employees were working from home.
Jamal Bryant, a local activist and pastor of Empowerment Temple AME Church, opened his church to teens with no place to go due to the school closures. He promised to conduct training on how to protest without destroying the city.
Bryant tweeted: "We're also gonna take HS students to go clean up OUR neighborhoods. We must rise from the ashes. Meet at @EmpowermentTem2 at 10"
Obama also said economic and cultural problems must be addressed to fully solve the problem of violence on streets here and across the nation. Still, he stressed, that's no excuse for the violence.
"When individuals get crowbars and start opening doors to loot, they're not protesting," Obama said in response to a query at a White House news conference. "They're not making a statement. They are stealing. When they burn down a building they are committing arson. And they are destroying and undermining businesses and opportunities in their own communities."
Bacon reported from McLean, Va. Contributing: Donna Leinwand Leger, William M. Welch
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