Protesters angered at Martin O’Malley’s zero tolerance policing policy as mayor of Baltimore heckled the Irish-American politician during his presidential campaign launch in Baltimore on Saturday.
A small but vocal group of protesters shouted “black lives matter” and whistled, arguing that Mr O’Malley’s aggressive policing during his time as mayor from 1999 to 2007 were to blame for last month’s rioting after the funeral a black man who died while in police custody.
The politician addressed the civil unrest in his speech in front of several hundred people in Federal Hill Park, an upmarket neighbourhood overlooking downtown Baltimore.
“Last month, television sets around the world were filled with the anger and rage, and the flames of some of the humblest and hardest hit neighbourhoods of Baltimore,” he told mostly supporters at the event.
“For all of us who have given so much of our energies to making our city a safer, fairer, more just and more prosperous place, it was a heartbreaking night for all of us.”
The former two-term governor of Maryland blamed the violence that ravaged the city after the death of man Freddie Gray on a bigger problem, not on his own past policies as mayor of Baltimore but on "conditions of extreme and growing poverty" across the United States.
“There is something to be learned from that night, and there is something to be offered to our country from those flames,” he said.
“For what took place here was not only about race, not only about policing in America. It’s about everything it is supposed to mean to be an American.”
Mr O'Malley is a long-shot candidate for the president. A poll by Quinnipiac University on Thursday put support for the Maryland politician at 1 per cent compared with 57 per cent for the Democratic frontrunner Hillary Clinton.
Casting himself as a bona fide liberal against the former secretary of state, Mr O’Malley talked about “rebuilding the American Dream,” using his launch speech to rail against income inequality and to call for equal rights for the LGBT community and undocumented immigrants.
“For the sake of our country’s security, and our country’s well-being, and our country’s economic growth, we must also bring 11 million of our neighbours out of the shadows by passing comprehensive immigration reform,” he said.
“Because the enduring symbol of our nation is not the barbed wire fence; it is the Statue of Liberty.”
Demanding the break-up of big banks, he took a swipe at Clinton and another leading presidential contender, Republican Jeb Bush, the former Florida governor, over the support they enjoy from Wall Street.
“Goldman Sachs is one of the biggest repeat-offending investment banks in America. Recently, the CEO of Goldman Sachs let his employees know that he’d be just fine with either Bush or Clinton. I bet he would,” said Mr O’Malley to laughs from the crowd.
“Well, I’ve got news for the bullies of Wall Street. The presidency is not some crown to be passed back and forth by you between two royal families. It is a sacred trust to be earned from the people of the United States and exercised on behalf of the people of the United States.”
The only way to rebuild the American Dream, he said, was to “re-take control of our own American government.”
Rallying supporters, the 52-year-old politician concluded his speech saying that the “story of our country’s best days is not found in a history book because this generation is about to write it,” speaking over shouts from protesters behind a raised podium of media cameras.
“And that is why today, to you and to all who can hear my voice, I declare that I am a candidate for president of the United States, and I’m running for you,” he said.
Mr O'Malley, who was in Ireland last Sunday for a paid speech in Dublin, appeared unfazed by the protests during his address.
Megan Kenny, holding a sign saying “Stop Killer Cops,” shouted “black lives matter” and criticised Mr O’Malley’s data-driven crackdown on crime as mayor of the majority African-American city.
“Crime statistics, arrest data is not a measure of police behaviour, not civilian behaviour,” the Baltimore resident told reporters.
“Zero tolerance policies do not work, punishment does not work.”
Mr O’Malley’s supporters distanced his policies as mayor before 2007 and the recent unrest in Baltimore following Gray’s death which has led to the criminal charges being brought against six police officers.
“There have been other policies in place since then. I can’t necessarily directly attribute to what happened four weeks ago to when he was here,” said Eric Andersen (35), a Maryland resident.
Departing the stage to U2 anthem Pride, Mr O'Malley left for his first official presidential campaign events in Iowa, the first state in the country to pick presidential nominees.
The great grandson of an Irish immigrant from Maam, Co Galway, Mr O'Malley is a regular visitor to Ireland and is well-known for his love of Irish music and his Celtic rock band O'Malley's March.
