USA: Twelve BLM activists arrested after occupying Baltimore City Hall

Twelve 'Black Lives Matter' activists were arrested after occupying Baltimore City Hall, Thursday, as the city council were voting to appoint Kevin Davis as the city's new police commissioner. The protesters disrupted the vote, calling on the city council to abandon it, but the council carried on with the vote and Davis was appointed Baltimore police commissioner. According to the activists, Davis has shown a more aggressive approach to protesters than his predecessor Anthony Batts. Several activists have pointed to inforation reportedly taken from civil court records from 1994 that Davis took part in racially motivated aggressive behaviour while he was an officer in Prince George's County. Baltimore Police Department (BDP) later issued a statement, saying that protesters disrupted the vote and did not leave City Hall even after the council meeting had been brought to an end. The BDP added that the demonstrators were consequently arrested and charged with trespassing. The full city council is yet to decide on appointing Davis as the city's permanent police commissioner. Baltimore had witnessed much unrest following the death of Freddie Gray in police custody on April 19, 2015. Six police officers have been charged in relation to Gray's death, with Maryland State Attorney Marilyn Mosby announcing on May 2 that the officers involved in Gray's case had been suspended and arrested on charges ranging from second-degree murder to assault. Maryland Governor Larry Hogan declared a state-of-emergency in Baltimore following clashes between protesters and police over the police killing of Gray.