Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake is guilty of "political malpractice" for making statements that gave rioters free rein to loot, destroy property and injure dozens, says David Swerdlick, an assistant editor at The Washington Post.
The rioting occurred Monday after thousands mourned the death of Freddie Gray, an African American man who died from a severe spinal injury he suffered after being placed under police custody.
Critics say Rawlings-Blake essentially gave her blessing to rioters to engage in violence when she said the city "gave to those who wished to destroy space to do that...." Some say those words, in effect, told police to stand down.
"I've listened to that quote several times very carefully and this is what I think. Clearly, it was political malpractice," Swerdlick said Tuesday on "The Steve Malzberg Show" on
Newsmax TV.
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"Clearly, it was the wrong thing to say in that moment.... It was a mistake for her to say it and she's probably going to pay the political price for it.
"In terms of the destruction of property, in terms of their decision on timing and when to have the police try and restore order, that is a decision she and the police chief are going to have to live with."
Swerdlick also believes that the riots in Baltimore are not the same as those in Ferguson, Missouri, last summer, after a black teenager was shot dead by a white police officer.
"This is not Ferguson. There is a black city infrastructure, the police chief, the counsel, the mayor," he said.
"There is a racial component to it, but … this is not exactly the same as Ferguson."
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