Members of the Baltimore Uprising began shouting from the upper gallery of a conference room as city council subcommittee prepared to vote for Kevin Davis as permanent commissioner.
Advertisement
About 30 protesters stayed inside the City Hall until at least 12:30 a.m. and refused to leave after the meeting ended, the Associated Press (AP) reported.
“The protest remains non-violent”, said T.J. Smith, a police spokesman.
Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake called the behavior of the sergeant who allegedly spit on a suspect “disgusting”.
Davis was appointed interim chief to replace Anthony Batts.
A City Council subcommittee voted Thursday to make Davis the permanent police commissioner.
The death of Freddie Gray, which came after months of protests over police use of force in the United States and allegations of racial bias by law enforcement officials, sparked the worst rioting seen in Baltimore in half a century. They demand that police officers wear badges and name tags at all times, and for media and legal observers to be allowed to “do their jobs freely”. The mayor has said she fired Batts in part because questions about his handling of the unrest had become a distraction. It also objected to the arrests of several protesters during recent hearings in the Gray case, saying police tactical decisions forced protesters into the street – where they were then arrested “under the charge of impeding traffic”. Tensions escalate before police tell people to move back.
Davis said he doesn’t know what led to the encounter. Davis also emphasized his commitment to “respect and fight for the right for Americans to assemble and peacefully protest”.
“We have serious concerns about it”, Davis said.
“We are out here trying to demand greater accountability and transparency in the Baltimore Police Department and the city government as a whole”, said activist Tre Murphy of the Balitmore Bloc and the Baltimore Agenda Project in a video posted to YouTube.
The Baltimore Sun reports Davis spoke to both audiences at the council meeting and told them that police departments across the nation are “changing their warrior mentality”.
Advertisement
According to Davis’ contract, which runs until 2020, he would be paid $200,000 a year and if he is fired without any cause, a $150,000 buyout would be triggered, CBS Baltimore reported.
