Why is Baltimore Burning?

Riots have broken out in Baltimore in response to the death of Freddie Gray, who died due to injuries he received while being transported in a police van. Gray was not buckled in, but was in handcuffs and leg irons, and may have been given a “rough ride,” meaning the police van was driven with the intent of causing Gray injury. The six police officers involved have been suspended pending an investigation of their conduct during the arrest.

Abuses of police power against minorities seem sadly commonplace across our country. The rise in citizens’ capacity to record police behavior and the tide of anger created in response to such abuses have become major news in the past year. Heightened awareness that police seem to be above the law’s requirements, and that minority populations are often not provided with the protections of law to the same extent as white citizens, has…