We now have official confirmation that the rioting in Baltimore on Monday was purposely allowed to spiral out of control. Up until now, there had been some unconfirmed reports that police in Baltimore had been ordered to “stand down” during the riots, but nobody had been willing to come forward and go on the record. Now that has all changed. Michael Lewis is the Sheriff of Wicomico County, Maryland and what he has to say is absolutely jaw dropping. When he saw what was happening in Baltimore, he gathered up some of his fellow officers and drove down to the city to help. But when he got there, he says that all of the police were being ordered not to take any action and to let the rioters destroy property. Lewis made this astounding claim during a discussion on a Baltimore radio station…
A Maryland sheriff who traveled to Baltimore to help law enforcement stop Monday’s riots told 105.7 The Fan that he was stunned when officers alerted him of the orders to stand down.
Lewis says that he never heard the mayor give any particular orders, but he is very clear about the fact that the police were being instructed to “stand down” and to “let them destroy property“….
“I was sick to my stomach like everybody else. … This was urban warfare, no question about it. They were coming in absolutely beaten down. The [city officers] got out of their vehicles, thanked us profusely for being there, apologized to us for having to be there. They said we could have handled this, we were very capable of handling this, but we were told to stand down, repeatedly told to stand down,” he said. “I had never heard that order come from anyone — we went right out to our posts as soon as we got there, so I never heard the mayor say that. But repeatedly these guys, and there were many high-ranking officials from the Baltimore City Police Department … andthese guys told me they were essentially neutered from the start. They were spayed from the start. They were told to stand down, you will not take any action, let them destroy property. I couldn’t believe it, I’m a 31-year veteran of law enforcement. … I had never heard anything like this before in my life and these guys obviously aren’t gonna speak out and the more I thought about this, … I had to say a few things. I apologize if I’ve upset people, but I believe in saying it like it is.”