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The streets of Baltimore were mostly quiet Wednesday morning, as a force of roughly 3,000 National Guard members and police enforced the city’s 10 p.m. curfew and cleared all the protesters.
Baltimore Police Chief Anthony Batts announced to national media: “The biggest thing is that citizens are safe and the city is stable. We hope to maintain it that way.”
Batts said one officer was injured overnight by a thrown brick, adding to the list of about 20 who were hurt during the last 24 hours of clashes with protesters.
Various media outlets reported 235 were arrested, though the specific charges aren’t known.
The imposed 10 p.m. curfew got off to a rocky start, with 200 or so protesters refusing to leave the streets, despite the heavy police presence and the blared messages from overhead helicopters to go home, the Associated Press reported. Some threw water bottles and blocked the streets with their bodies. But police didn’t hesitate to fire off tear gas to disperse the crowed, and within minutes, the crowd of 200 had whittled to just a few, AP said.
The curfew ended at 5 a.m.
Fox News reported officials aren’t declaring an outright end to the turbulence that’s rocked the city for days, shortly after Freddie Gray died from injuries many believe he suffered while in police custody.
The city is still on edge, expecting riots to surge again on Friday when the medical report on Gray’s death is due for public release, and officials may announce the fate of the police officers who handled the man’s arrest.
