A jury is now deliberating the guilt or innocence of the first of six Baltimore police officers charged in connection with the death of Freddie Gray, which led to days of rioting. City officials, as well as school administrators, are preparing for the worst if a not guilty verdict is handed down.

Police Commissioner Kevin Davis has sent a letter to the Baltimore Police Department asking that the police “fervently resist the low expectations” many in Baltimore have of law enforcement.

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Schools also sent home letters asking parents to assist in making sure their children don’t resort to walkouts, vandalism, civil disorder and violence.

That tweet was sent by Assata’s Syllabus, “a community of guerilla journalists and educators that strive to engage an audience diverse in race, age, gender, sexuality, ability, religion, and class.” What’s the chance they share their name with Assata Shakur, the fugitive cop killer who escaped prison and sought political asylum in Cuba?

In any case, students are already walking out in protest of the school district’s warning that they not walk out.

 

The ACLU of Maryland has written its own letter calling the school’s reaction a missed opportunity “to constructively engage with students.”

“The school system’s letter assumes that students would engage in violent acts, assumes that students only want to express their emotions, not rational views about the conduct of police and lack of accountability, and it misses an opportunity to affirmatively engage students who want to be politically engaged on these issues,” writes the ACLU.

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Tags: BaltimoreFreddie Grayprotestschoolsvandalismverdictviolencewalkout