UPDATE: 150 New Jersey State Troopers Headed To Baltimore In Riot Aftermath

New Jersey will send 150 state troopers to help deal with rioting in Baltimore, Maryland Governor Larry Hogan said during a news conference on Tuesday.

“We’re asking for volunteers and donations,” Hogan said. “We’ve been in communication with other states to bring in resources. Governor Christie in New Jersey has agreed to send in 150 New Jersey State Troopers and assets to help us.”

The Governor’s Office confirmed the deployment on Twitter.

“I spoke directly with Maryland Governor Larry Hogan last night and let him know that New Jersey is offering our full support and solidarity in their efforts to protect the lives and well-being of the people in the City of Baltimore while calm and order are being restored....There will be a full deployment of 150 New Jersey State Police and personnel, and 100 of those troopers will provide operational support. Approximately 50 enlisted and civilian personnel will provide investigative and logistical support. New Jersey State Police will be on the ground for an initial term of 72 hours, per the request from Maryland.”

An assessment team of command-level troops arrived in Baltimore on Monday night to help prepare for the full deployment, State Police said Tuesday evening. They met with State and local officials.

Baltimore has been under a State of Emergency since Monday.

The request was made through the the Emergency Management Assistance Compact (EMAC), a mutual aid agreement.

“We have assisted other state law enforcement in the past and been, in turn, supported by outside states for our peacekeeping mission in the wake of the Superstorm Sandy devastation. Mutual aid makes all of our agencies stronger as we lean on each other when challenges strike,” Colonel Rick Fuentes, Superintendent of the New Jersey State Police and Director of the State Office of Emergency Management, said.

State Police compared the deployment to deployments to New Orleans following Hurricane Katrina and Gustav. New Jersey State Police also aided in the manhunt for Eric Frein in Pennsylvania last year.

“No one wants to see communities ripped apart,” Acting Attorney General John J. Hoffman said. “We feel we can lend a hand in helping restore the peace.”

There are already 500 members of the National Guard in the city, with about 1,000 more expected to come in on Tuesday, Hogan said.

The riots came in the aftermath of the April 19 death of Freddie Gray. The 25-year-old Baltimore man died in police custody from a mysterious spinal injury, which has prompted a week of demonstrations.

On Monday, Baltimore Police warned that some of the most dangerous gangs in the country were coming together to target police departments nationwide.

The riots began hours after Gray’s funeral on Monday.

For more of Patch’s coverage of the riots, click here.