Curfew Goes Into Effect In Baltimore
By David Spunt
BALTIMORE (CBS) -- Tensions continue to run high in Baltimore since the death of Freddie Gray.
Those tensions erupted in violence Monday night and now civic leaders are hoping to keep the peace.
COMPLETE COVERAGE: CBS BALTIMORE
A general curfew for Baltimore went into effect at 10 p.m. Tuesday. It goes until 5 a.m. Wednesday.
City leaders say 3,000 members of the National Guard and police officers are on patrol.
Officers fired smoke grenades into the crowd 20 minutes after the mandatory 10 p.m. started Tuesday night. Eyewitness News spoke to residents who begged demonstrators to leave.
"Because I don't want them (police) to use lethal force and I do know that they now have the right to do that," said a resident.
Tuesday night was still a far cry from 24 hours earlier when buildings went up in flames, cars were destroyed and police officers were rushed to the hospital.
The crowd spent all day and most of the night at the corner of Pennsylvania and North. CBS 3 Eyewitness News spotted Philadelphia Bishop Terrence Priester who drove down for a front row seat to witness the demonstrations.
"After so many times of knocking, usually what comes next is people kick in the door. And this is what we have," he said.
Priester met with demonstrators and he preached a positive, non-violence message to as many people as possible.
"Violence is never the proper channel to go. Communication is vital, respect on both sides is vital," he said.
Police and National Guard troops were out in full force all day and tonight. Neighbors and other volunteers spent hours cleaning out the remains of a CVS pharmacy store burned during Monday's violence.
The threat of more violence lead Major League Baseball to make an unprecedented decision. It announced that no fans would be allowed inside Camden Yards when the Orioles and White Sox play on Wednesday.
"Justice needs to be brought for the police officers that broke that young man's spine," said Philadelphia resident Tyreice Washington.
But Washington says images like this make him sick.
"It's a disgrace tearing up your own community. It's sad," he said.
The overnight curfew is in effect until 5 a.m. Wednesday. If people don't follow it, police say they will be ready.
The Baltimore Police Commissioner says officers made 10 arrests since the curfew went into effect at 10 p.m.
Baltimore is approximately 100 miles south of Philadelphia.
