A Baltimore law enforcement whistleblower has told the Daily Mail that police officers are fuming because they were not given the proper protective equipment to handle the riots earlier this week. Yet both the mayor and the police commissioner sent out these unprotected officers out there which resulted in 98 injuries among officers:
DAILY MAIL – Police officers dodging rocks, bottles and bricks on the frontline of the Baltimore riots were ‘sitting ducks’ because complacent city chiefs failed to give them proper protective equipment, Daily Mail Online can reveal.
Rank and file officers are ‘absolutely furious’ that Police Commissioner Anthony Batts and Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake deployed them against rampaging mobs with nothing but standard-issue uniforms and helmets.
Without proper protective gear they say they were unable to stand their ground or stem the looting that devastated businesses and homes in the wake of Freddie Gray’s funeral Monday.
Shields, riot batons – which are longer than regular issue ones – chest protectors, shoulder pads, groin, forearm and shin guards were finally distributed Wednesday – two days after the worst of the rioting which has left 98 officers hurt.
It can also revealed that one of the most serious injuries during Monday’s unrest came when a rock smashed straight through the plastic visor of an officer’s helmet, causing serious facial injuries.
Frontline cops who were equipped with police department-issue shields also told Daily Mail Online they were so flimsy that one direct hit from a large projectile was enough to break them.
They also revealed that in some cases the injured had to be ferried to hospitals in police vans because there were so few medics on hand.
‘We were sitting ducks out there,’ a law enforcement source told Daily Mail Online.
‘They were pelting us with rocks, bottles and bricks. We were taking hits to the body, the legs, knees and chin.
‘The situation was infuriating. Had we had the head-to-toe protection we needed, we could have stood our ground and potentially stopped some of the looting.
‘The injuries could have been drastically reduced. Instead we were just expected to stand there and take it.
‘The protective equipment finally started reaching us Wednesday but a lot of the guys still don’t have the full kit.
‘We’re praying we get it before it gets dicey again.’