Steve Burns
WMAL.com

BALTIMORE – (WMAL) One year ago today, Freddie Gray was arrested and put in the back of a police van, eventually leading to his death, rioting, and an entirely new path for the city of Baltimore.

“For the city as a whole, the biggest change in the last year is that there’s no talking around the issue anymore,” Baltimore Sun reporter Kevin Rector told WMAL. “Everybody seems to be of the same mind that the police-community relationship needs to improve.”

After a record spike in homicides following Gray’s death, Police Commissioner Anthony Batts was fired and new Commissioner Kevin Davis was brought in.

“The new commissioner has constantly stressed the need to improve relationships through what he calls ‘community policing,'” Rector said. “They’ve taken a look at training for officers. They are emphasizing foot patrols. They’re trying to send officers to schools to get earlier interactions with kids.”

“Leadership is trying very hard to get the police force to be trained in how they communicate with people in the streets,” NAACP Baltimore President Tessa Hill-Aston told WMAL. “Police have to do do their job by showing that they can be different in how they handle the community, talk, and engage people.”

She gave a good review so far for Davis’ initiatives, but said nothing will change overnight. She is hopeful, however, thanks to a “brand new City Hall.” Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake is not running for re-election, and 19 candidates are vying to succeed her, along with a handful of new City Council candidates.

“Everybody’s talking about (police reform), but now we’re going to hold them to the fire and say ‘you’d better do it,'” Hill-Aston said.

“A lot of the most prominent candidates have focused heavily on not just bringing down violent crime, but doing so in a way that’s considered smart policing,” Rector said. “They have stressed police reform, diverting individuals with drug addiction into treatment rather than jails.”

More ingrained issues, however, will take more time.

“Poor quality in housing, lead paint, vacant buildings, the lack of job opportunities,” Rector said. “There have been promises to address some of those systemic root issues, but things take time.

“I think there’s some frustration in the community. You ask them what has changed, and they might tell you, ‘not much.'”

Copyright 2016 by WMAL.com. All Rights Reserved. (Courtroom sketch by Bill Hennesy)