The Baltimore Sun from Baltimore, Maryland • A10

10 THE BALTIMORE SUN NEWS FRIDAY, JUNE 26, 2015 Explanation sought for police threat report ter, a clearinghouse for police information, wrote at 1:38 p.m. that day that the meaning of "credible" in the Baltimore police response was not clear. It more likely meant that gangs could plausibly attack an officer rather than that the police had specific information, the official wrote. In an email at 5:16 p.m., another official wrote that the FBI officer in Baltimore had interviewed the city Police Department's source and determined the "threat to be non-credible." The day after the rioting, people who said they were members of gangs stood with City Council members to denounce the violence. At the meeting, Young dismissed the Baltimore police's claim as "false." City Councilman Nick Mosby called the Police Department's warning about the threat "problematic at best." "When you put out incendiary statements like that, and you don't have credible information, that's a problem," Mosby said.

"The lack of communication, and communication that was not factual, are really the variables of a disaster." Baltimore Sun reporter Colin Campbell contributed to this article. alisonkbaltsun.com iduncanbaltsun.com REPORT, From page 1 Gray's funeral, two days after protests over his death turned violent Also that day, police were assessing rumors of teenagers planning an after-school "purge" a reference to widespread violence as depicted in a movie of that name. Within hours, the city descended into a night of rioting and looting. Gray, 25, died April 19 after suffering an injury to his neck and spine while riding handcuffed in a police van. Six police officers have been charged in connection with his arrest and death; all have pleaded not guilty.

State Sen. Bill Ferguson, a Baltimore Democrat, said the claim that officers were being targeted by gang members heightened the tension that morning. "When that news was released, apprehension of the moment increased," he said. Police defended their decision to spread word of the threat, arguing that it was "imminent and consistent with previous threats." The department acknowledged that the threat was later determined to be "noncred-ible" but said other threats continued to be received as the unrest went on. "This threat came less than 48 hours after officers were attacked by protesters and a short time before more attacks would take place," police spokesman Capt.

Eric Kowalczyk said in a statement. "Due to the exigency of the circumstances, the credibility of the threat at the time it was received, extraordinary action was taken. "The department acted out of an abundance of caution rather than see an officer injured or killed and would do so again." City Councilman Brandon Scott wrote an email Thursday to police Commissioner Anthony W. Batts and other top leaders in the department, saying that if reports that the FBI discredited the claim were true, "it is extremely unacceptable and put the lives of citizens, officers and others in danger." "Falsifying a threat of this magnitude during a highly tense time should result in the strongest penalty possible," Scott wrote. "If we are going to repair our city, this kind of behavior cannot be tolerated." Shayne Buchwald, an FBI spokeswoman, said Thursday that agents interviewed their gang sources at the request of police and were unable to corroborate the threat.

Neighboring Baltimore County police also told their officers that day that the threat was "uncorroborated," according to internal police emails obtained this week by The Sun under the Maryland Public Information Act. In an email to all sworn officers sent at 4:12 p.m. April 27, a lieutenant wrote that the city "identifies very nonspecific information about a retaliatory threat towards Law Enforcement after today's funeral for Freddy Gray." "Circumstances regarding the source of information and its veracity are still being evaluated," Lt. Matthew Gorman wrote. At the time, amid growing protests in the city over Gray's death, Batts had asked surrounding law enforcement agencies for help in policing the city.

Cpl. John Wachter, a spokesman for county police, said in an interview that the department was never able to corroborate the claim. Vice News reported this week that documents released by the Department of Homeland Security showed that the FBI had interviewed the Baltimore police's source and found that the threat was not credible. Federal investigators also moved quickly to assess the threat, according to the documents released to Vice News, a New York-based news outlet. An official at the Maryland Coordination and Analysis Cen Antietam, other parks drop Confederate flag flag to fly outside the bar and restaurant, along with an American flag.

"I'm here to preserve the heritage of this town, the Battle of Antietam, brother versus brother," he said. "That's what it's about." Jim Kehoe, 68, owner of the Antietam gallery, which sells mostly Confederate Civil War memorabilia, said the South Carolina shooting was a "sickening tragedy," but there are "bigger problems" than people's associations with the flag. "What people need to be worried about is what is happening in downtown Baltimore, what's happening in Chicago," he said. "The emphasis on this is completely misplaced." Kehoe said his business has seen a "significant increase" in Confederate flag sales in the past three days. "I consider it a distinct part of our history," he said.

"I'm proud of it. I'm Southern. I'm not interested in political correctness." Wolfe, too, said there are larger concerns than the flag. "We can't hide from our history. We need to confront it," he said.

"I worry that some people will say 'Well look, we elected a black president twice, we've taken down these symbols. What more do you "My response would be: I want a lot more." The Associated Press contributed to this article. jkandersonbaltsun.com twitter.comjandersS merchandise bearing the flag, a major U.S. flag maker said it would stop manufacturing and selling the flag, and several Southern states have revived long-running debates about taking it down from government buildings. Aides to Gov.

Larry Hogan said he was pursuing steps to stop the state Motor Vehicle Administration from issuing license plates bearing the flag and to recall those now in circulation. The state has issued nearly 500 such tags since the Sons of Confederate Veterans qualified for the specialty plates two decades ago. Antietam, the site of the bloodiest one-day battle in American history, is the best-known of Maryland's Civil War battlefields. Rob Kropp, visiting from Colorado on Thursday, said Confederate flags should remain available in the gift shop. "Ultimately, they were still Americans, and I think there were heroes on both sides," said Kropp, 49.

"It's part of American history. How far do you go? Are you going to start removing statues of General Lee?" Mary Lou Focht, a tourist from Idaho, agreed. "You can't just remove it from the picture because it represents something some people would consider negative," said Focht, 50. The park service announced its plan to limit sales of the flag after the nonprofit association that operates some of its museums and bookstores began to remove items on its own. Jarvis said he asked other associations, partners and vendors to do the same.

Park superintendents and program managers will determine which items are appropriate, he said. Tim Wolfe, a sociologist and professor at Mount St. Mary's University, called the Confederate flag "a sign of oppression and racial terrorism" that is inappropriate for most public spaces, including materials that are not explicitly educational. "People who see it as a sign of Southern pride fail to recognize its history," he said. Wolfe said that removing the flag should not be confused with silencing a conversation.

"We should continue to talk about the Civil War and about segregation and race relations," he said. "We would do ourselves a great disservice if we sweep that history under the rug and stop talking about it. "I think we can use some of these symbols to better understand our history, and I think if we do that, fewer people would be drawn to the flag." Steven Kemmett owns Captain Bender's Tavern in Sharpsburg. When he heard that businesses were cutting ties with Confederate imagery, he said, he bought a battle FLAGS, From page 1 stores." For the Antietam National Battlefield in Sharpsburg, that meant handheld flags and other gift items came off the shelves Thursday morning, but books and educational CDs embossed with the flag remained available. Meaghan Barry, the Antietam Battlefield gift shop manager, said very few items were removed, but customers might miss those products.

"I'm sure at some point someone will say the battle flag should come back, but we'll see how that comes," she said. "Visitors here side with their ancestors of both sides. They might want to have mementos and souvenirs of that family." The flag, which was flown in battle by Confederate troops during the Civil War and adopted by white supremacist groups in the 20th century, has come under more scrutiny since the shooting deaths last week of nine black church members in Charleston, S.C. The suspected shooter, Dylann Roof, appears in photographs online with the flag in one hand and a gun in the other. He has been charged with nine counts of murder in what authorities are describing as a hate crime.

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