On Monday, April 27, 2015, huge cadres of Baltimore City Police collected at the Mondawin Mall in West, Baltimore, Maryland, stopped bus services, and corralled local youth, who were just getting out of school, based on a “tip” they received that civil disobedience was being planned in response to the death of Freddie Gray, who was killed by police on April 19, 2015.
What followed was the unrest police had predicted, and the now famous Baltimore riots of 2015.
The Baltimore Sun has since twice requested the city government to release video footage of that day, which it possesses, through PIA requests. The most recent of these requests was denied last week.
“The Sun asked for any footage within a certain time frame showing emergency personnel inside the Mondawmin Metro station or crowds of police or civilians or bus activity outside the station,” reported the paper.
However, the MTA denied the request because of “Homeland Security concerns.” The Sun would have to get permission from the federal Transportation Security Administration.
“But if The Sun were to get that permission, it said, the MTA still would deny the footage based on its belief that the footage ‘would reveal the facility's safety and support systems, surveillance techniques, and security systems and technologies,’ as well as ‘jeopardize the security of the facility; facilitate the planning of a terrorist attack; and endanger the life or physical safety of the public,’” wrote The Sun.
