Following a deadly 24 hours, the Baltimore Police Department is enacting 12-hour shifts, increasing its presence to respond to what the commissioner called an unconscionable level of violence.
"I expect people to be upset. I expect people to want a better Baltimore. To want a sense of peace and tranquility that when they leave their home or go to their car or go to the store or go to work or walk in the neighborhood that they don't have to put up with this crap," Police Commissioner Kevin Davis said in a press conference Tuesday.
In what the Commissioner called a spree of violence, six people were killed in a span of just 24 hours.
Drug and gang activity exploded into a quadruple shooting on Bonaparte Avenue in East Baltimore. Two people were killed. Three people were killed in three separate shootings Monday night.
But it was an incident on Boston Street in Canton that puzzled officers. A man was found shot in the roadway early Tuesday morning.
"There is no where for us to run. There is no where for us to hide," Davis said. "We are responsible for public safety in the city of Baltimore and we are going to keep working our hearts out until we get to a safer, better place."
In the short term, officers will be working 12-hour shifts. Administrative and investigative personnel will be in uniform and some squad cars will be doubled up.
"We do want officers out there and they will be out there, they will be visible and they will be accessible to the community," said Chief Osborne Robinson.
The 12-hour shifts will last at least through the weekend. The latest pump of an overall sustained epidemic is fueled in part by the suspended gun sentences of gun offenders, Davis said.
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The department said it's been keeping track of suspended sentences since January of 2016. They said 60 percent of illegal gun convictions end in a suspended sentences. Davis said the system is arming younger, more emboldened criminals with a fearless and untouchable attitude on the city streets.
"They are just viciously ruthless and that is something that has exploded over the last couple of years and I think the only way we get to a better place is if people fear a consequence to their criminal behavior," Davis said.
There are no specifics on how many more officers will be on the streets or how much that might cost the city.
Meanwhile, if you have any information on any of the murders from Monday, call Metro Crime Stoppers at 1-866-7LOCKUP.
