Freddie Gray's death from injuries obtained while in police custody in April fanned the smoldering anger and frustration with police practices in Baltimore into a conflagration of protesting, rioting, and looting.
For the next twelve months, WYPR's Mary Rose Madden will explore those practices and the culture of policing in Baltimore. She'll look at how the relationship between officers and citizens reached that tipping point and report on racial and class tensions, the documented instances of excessive use of force and probe how complaints against officers are handled.
She'll look at past attempts at police reform in the city, how they compare with other cities with the same problems and how police officers are responding to calls for community-oriented policing.
It will all be in
On the Watch: Fixing the Fractured Relationship Between Baltimore's Police and Its Communities .On the Watch will air during
Morning Edition and
All Things Considered.This special series is supported by grants from the Bendit Family Foundation, Sig and Barbara Shapiro, The Zanvyl and Isabelle Krieger Fund, and Open Society Institute-Baltimore.