Gloucester Township Police Remain Vigilant in Face of 'Credible Threat' Against Law Enforcement Nationwide

Primary reporting by ELIZABETH JANNEY (Patch Staff)

The Gloucester Township Police Department has warned its officers to remain vigilant after Baltimore Police said some of the country’s most ruthless gangs say they are banding together to put ”hits” out on police officers nationwide.

“We are aware of the credible threats made by gangs against law enforcement coming from the Baltimore, MD Police Department,” Gloucester Township Police Deputy Chief David J. Harkins said. “We are unaware of specific threats in our area, however we have asked our officers to remain vigilant and to be aware of the situation in Baltimore.”

“The Baltimore Police Department/Criminal Intelligence Unit has received credible information that members of various gangs including the Black Guerilla Family, Bloods and Crips have entered into a partnership to ’take-out’ law enforcement officers,” according to a statement from Baltimore Police.

The threats come after one of several high-profile cases around the country involving law enforcement accused of misconduct.

Baltimore Police called for backup over the weekend, when a national rally against police brutality took place in the city 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.

Over the weekend, the Nation of Islam facilitated a truce between rival gangs the Bloods and the Crips, who united in the rally against police brutality, according to The Daily Beast.

The protests in Baltimore on Saturday had started peaceful—and Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake said 95 percent of them were in that spirit—but by Sunday morning, 34 people had been arrested and six police officers injured. Storefronts and police vehicles were also damaged. Images captured on social media of the violence included video of a man smashing a patrol car window with a trash can and angry protesters yelling directly in the face of officers.

Both peaceful protests and the acts of violence follow other high-profile cases of police-involved deaths in the past two years.

In 2014, Michael Brown was fatally shot by a police officer in Ferguson, Mo. The officer involved was not charged because he argued he was defending himself from the unarmed Brown. Also in 2014, an unarmed Eric Garner died after a police officer put the large man in a choke hold during an arrest for allegedly selling illegal cigarettes.

Earlier this month, a North Charleston, S.C., police officer fatally shot Walter Scott, an unarmed black man who was running away. The officer had claimed self defense until a video surfaced showing the officer shooting Brown multiple times in the back as the victim tried to run away. The officer in that case, Michael Slager, has been charged with murder.