By The trial of Officer William Porter, one of six officers charged in the murder of 25 year-old Freddie Gray, has Baltimore residents uneasy about the possibility of the city erupting in violence if there is no conviction at the end of the trial.
Some city officials believe that the future of Baltimore rests in the hands of the jurors in the trials of the six police officers, but in reality the outcomes that transpire after these trials will only be a small piece to a much larger problem in the city of Baltimore.
Baltimore’s inner cities are rich in violence and poverty, and deficient in peace and optimism.
In the month of November following the riots in Baltimore, the city surpassed a record high of 300 murders in one year, the first time since 1999, according to the Washington Post.
This vast amount of violence has prompted the city to dispatch several dozens police officers to the impacted communities, but little recourse was taken due to the capricious relationship formed between the police and the residents of the communities that they patrol.
Prior to the Freddie Gray incident, residents of Baltimore’s inner city areas were already wary of the police, citing constant harassment and excessive force from patrolling officers.
Residents have also claimed that the police have a bad habit of being negligent to crimes that are taking place in the most deadly areas of Baltimore.
Baltimore Police Captain Robert Jackson reported that the drug-infested areas of Baltimore host up to 40 heroin and cocaine markets, creating a toxic environment of drugs and violence.
“A citizen complained about a corner, and we swept in, made arrests and the corner was clear for the day,” Jackson said in a Washington Post article. “But it was a short-term fix. The next day, the dealers were back.”
Jackson even went as far as acknowledging that the efforts by the police are lackluster to say the least and have not contributed to deterring drugs or violence in the communities.
“It doesn’t take much to know this isn’t working,” Jackson said.
In addition to the turbulent relationship between the Baltimore community and the police, the burden of poverty has inner-city residents weary and impatient for empty promises.
In an interview with the Christian Science Monitor, Police Commissioner Kevin Davis is also pessimistic about the fate of the city if there are no convictions in the trials that will take place.
“Everything is at stake,” Davis said. “The future of the city is at stake.”
Instead of the politicians and other state officials wondering what will happen after the trial, more focus should be directed towards what the city can do for the residents right now, who have nearly lost all optimism in the light of the morbid conditions they have been forced to live in long before Freddie Gray’s untimely death.
