Tuesday, June 03, 2014

Baltimore Police dispatch officers to head off racial tensions at schools - baltimoresun.com

Baltimore Police dispatch officers to head off racial tensions at schools - baltimoresun.com: Baltimore police plan to deploy officers around city schools until the school year ends to ensure student safety amid recent racial tensions, while school officials joined civil rights leaders to urge students of different races to peacefully resolve differences.

The actions followed recent threats and violent attacks on Latino students as well as the Memorial Day robbery and murder of a 15-year-old Mexican student who had dropped out of high school to help his family.

Black and Hispanic leaders called for peace at a news conference Monday afternoon, before police deployed several officers to Federal Hill near Digital Harbor High School to deter groups of students from fighting in the streets.

"We demand and we ask for everyone to stop the violence going on in our city, especially in our schools," Missael Garcia, a board member of Casa de Maryland, a Latino advocacy group, said at a news conference Monday with members of the NAACP, National Urban League and other groups.