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2015 Baltimore curfew

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Further information: 2015 Baltimore riots

On Monday, April 27, 2015, in response to a series of violent riots that occurred following the death of Freddie Gray, the city of Baltimore announced a curfew that would begin the following evening and apply to all persons within the city's boundaries. The curfew, which was originally planned for one week, was scheduled for the hours of 10:00 p.m. to 5:00 a.m. every night, with the threat of arrest imposed on any violators. Exemptions were given to those traveling to and from work in possession of a letter from their employer stating their need to travel during these hours, those traveling on Interstate 95 through the city, and for medical emergencies.

For minors, the curfew was all day. The only exceptions included those traveling to and from school or school-related activities and those accompanied by parents.[1]

Though announced to the public on Monday, the curfew did not officially take effect until the following night (Tuesday) because time was needed to inform the public.

The curfew was lifted on Sunday, May 3 by Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake after being in place for just five days. Rawlings-Blake stated that she did not wish to have the curfew in place a day longer than was necessary.[2] She and Maryland Governor Larry Hogan agreed that the curfew had outlived its purpose two days ahead of time. She said after a tour of Mondawmin Mall that the unrest had been settled.[3]

Arrests

While the word of the law allowed for police to arrest anyone outside in the city after 10 PM, police mostly arrested those who were out in guarded areas.

Numbers of violators arrested each day

  • Tuesday night, April 28: 35[4]
  • Wednesday night, April 29: 18[5]
  • Thursday night, April 30:
  • Friday night, May 1: 40[6]
  • Saturday night, May 2: 46[7]

Responses

Citizens

Many citizens complained about the curfew, though most respected it.[8]

Public officials

Baltimore Police Commissioner Anthony Batts stated it was necessary to keep the curfew in place to restore order. While there were calls to lift the curfew prior to the weekend due to the fact that the situation had calmed down, Batts stated that he wished to keep it in place for the weekend as more protests were expected during that time, including some from out-of-town visitors.

Governor Hogan said the curfew should continue after things had calmed down because there was the potential for more violence to erupt.[9]

ACLU

The legal director of the Maryland ACLU said after three nights that the curfew was no longer serving its purpose.[9]

Impact

Economy

The curfew impacted local economy by forcing non-essential businesses that traditionally operate during the night to close early, often as early as 9 PM, in order to allow customers to be home by 10. Though employees of the businesses had an exemption to travel home from work, this was not granted to customers in order to patronize businesses after hours.[10]

The curfew also hurt employees of these businesses whose hours were cut short due to the early closures, resulting in smaller paychecks.[10]

Clubs and other venues on The Block were hurt by the curfew with businesses losing tens of thousands of dollar of business and strippers losing $400-900 in tips for the week. Nearby hotels which consider The Block vital to their economy were also concerned about how this would hurt their business.[11]

Cancellations

The curfew led to the cancellation of many evening events around the city.

For example, a Tuesday night lecture series with Dan Rather at the Meyerhoff Symphony Hall was canceled. Area business owners complained this hurt their business by taking away would-be customers from the event.[12]

Changes of plans

Many events scheduled before the riots had to be modified due to the riots and curfew.

The Baltimore Orioles could not play any home games. The first two games in a three game series against the Chicago White Sox were postponed by several weeks to be played as a doubleheader and the third game was played earlier in the day than scheduled in a performance that was not open to the public. This was the first such occurrence in the history of Major League Baseball.[13] The following three games originally scheduled in Baltimore were moved to St. Petersburg, Florida, home of the Tampa Bay Rays, the team they were playing.

Some weddings, proms, and other events traditionally held in the evening were rescheduled for the day time, moved to other locations outside the city, or postponed.[13]

Criticism

The curfew was criticized by many people and groups, including residents, business owners, and the American Civil Liberties Union for the infringement on freedom, cost to businesses, and uneven enforcement.[3]

Infringement on freedom

The ACLU criticized the curfew as infringing on the freedom of citizens to protest. Sonia Kumar, a juvenile justice attorney for the Maryland ACLU, criticized the curfew as unnecessary on the Rachel Maddow show.[14]

Language in current Baltimore City law gives the mayor full discretion in the decision to implement a curfew. Though the public does not have the right to challenge, businesses could sue the city if the curfew has too much of an impact on business. The city already has a permanent curfew for minors.[10]

Effect on businesses

Business owners in the city complained that the curfew required establishments with later hours to close their doors early, thereby costing them revenue from later hours customers and hurting their employees by forcing them to work fewer hours.[15][16] Some businesses complained that the curfew cost them as much as $50,000.[17] While those with night jobs were given an exemption to be allowed to travel to work, early closing hours continued to cost employees work hours[4]

Selective enforcement

The curfew was criticized because law enforcement only enforced it in the areas affected by the riots and did not bother those outside for reasons not covered in the list of exemptions in other parts of town. Numerous comments were found on social media of people in unaffected areas running about their business late at night, walking their dogs, and doing other activities not included in the exemption list.[18]

Maddow criticized the selective enforcement, pointing out that Baltimore is a city of over 80 square miles and 600,000 people, and the curfew was only put in place to control unrest in small parts of the city.[14]

In Hampden, a group of mostly white protesters received a warning from police. Following this warning, the group dispersed.[3]

References

  1. ^ http://www.wusa9.com/story/news/local/maryland/2015/04/28/baltimore-curfew-rules-regulations/26545683/
  2. ^ "Maryland Governor Draws Down National Guard As Baltimore Mayor Lifts Citywide Curfew". m.huffpost.com. Retrieved 2015-05-04.
  3. ^ a b c http://touch.baltimoresun.com/#section/-1/article/p2p-83449452/
  4. ^ a b "Second Night of Baltimore Curfew Arrives Quietly | Al Jazeera America". america.aljazeera.com. Retrieved 2015-05-04.
  5. ^ "Protests Resume in Baltimore With Hundreds Marching on City Hall - WSJ". wsj.com. Retrieved 2015-05-04.
  6. ^ "After 'Victory Rally,' Arrests Made of Violators of Baltimore Curfew - ABC News". abcnews.go.com. Retrieved 2015-05-04.
  7. ^ "As Baltimore curfew ends, celebratory crowds peacefully gather - LA Times". latimes.com. Retrieved 2015-05-04.
  8. ^ http://abcnews.go.com/US/baltimore-mayor-lifts-citywide-curfew/story?id=30769616
  9. ^ a b http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/groups-calling-baltimore-curfew-peaceful-protests-article-1.2206288
  10. ^ a b c http://america.aljazeera.com/articles/2015/4/30/baltimores-curfew-law-puts-full-faith-in-mayor.html
  11. ^ http://touch.latimes.com/#section/-1/article/p2p-83412358/
  12. ^ "With Baltimore curfew in place, bars and restaurant owners brace for economic impact - Baltimore Sun". baltimoresun.com. Retrieved 2015-05-04.
  13. ^ a b http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-32507375
  14. ^ a b "Baltimore curfew criticized as unnecessary | MSNBC". msnbc.com. Retrieved 2015-05-04.
  15. ^ "How Baltimore's Mandatory Curfew Is Affecting Area Restaurants and Bars - Eater". eater.com. Retrieved 2015-05-04.
  16. ^ "Baltimore’s curfew takes a toll on city businesses". rawstory.com. Retrieved 2015-05-04.
  17. ^ http://touch.baltimoresun.com/#section/-1/article/p2p-83444190/
  18. ^ "Hampden, other areas tell different story of Baltimore curfew - ABC2News.com". abc2news.com. Retrieved 2015-05-04.

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