Police Riot Response review to begin This Week

A law enforcement research and advocacy group is set to begin its review Wednesday of the police response to the riots of April 27, officials said.

Officials said the review by the Police Executive Research Forum, or PERF, will start with a roundtable discussion involving law enforcement agencies from across the region that assisted Baltimore police in handling the unrest.
The city erupted in riots, arson and looting on the day of Freddie Gray’s funeral. The 25-year-old West Baltimore man died after suffering a severe spinal cord injury while in police custody. About 160 police officers were injured in the unrest, officials said.

“PERF will conduct the review to assess what went right and what needs to improve with how the Baltimore Police Department responded to the civil unrest,” police said in a statement. “This request comes as the organization completes its own internal review of the incident, which will be turned over to the Police Executive Research Forum.”

Police had said that both PERF and the International Association of Chiefs of Police would be involved in the review.

Also Wednesday, the police union is scheduled to release its own after-action review of the police response to the riots.