Philly Police On Alert After Remaining Charges Are Dropped In Freddie Gray Case
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- A potentially volatile situation in Baltimore has left Philadelphia police on alert.
Violent protests broke out in Baltimore last year when a black man named Freddie Gray suffered a broken spinal cord and died while in police custody.
As of Wednesday, all six Baltimore police officers involved had been cleared of any criminal responsibility in Gray's death, when the city dropped charges against three remaining officers.
Philadelphia Police Commissioner Richard Ross says his officers are mindful of the situation as they patrol protests taking place during the Democratic National Convention.
"When things like that happen around the nation you really have to pay attention," Ross said.
The police commissioner says his officers already have their hands full, but they're on alert for any other kinds of protests.
"In our case in particular, we've got several thousand people here, many of whom are here to protest and demonstrate anyway," Ross said. We would be remiss if we didn't take that into consideration."
Ross adds the protests are fine, but there is no reason to get violent over these issues.
