Thread by @bmoreconnected

Mayor Pugh reached out to me today to express that she believed her words had been distorted. While it was not clear from the Facebook DM’s she sent me, I gleaned that she felt anger was motivating this “distortion” and that I and others should be more generous and less angry

I watched the video of her statement and I stand by the claim I made here last night. She didn’t mean to say she was too busy to follow the #GTTFtrial but SHE DID SAY it.

Undeniable is that prior to expressing concern and surprise she made multiple excuses for not following the trail as closely as the reporter seemed to suggest she should be.

People are angry because for years they have been expressing fear, concern and hopelessness about the corruption and violence of the police department. When I was on multiple campaign trails in 2016 I heard many people express things this Trial is confirming.

I can’t imagine that the mayor has not heard these things too. She has been an elected official representing some of the communities most terrorized by the police for years and years.

I can’t believe she is surprised by this testimony.

You don’t have to believe regular people. The consent decree, which I am sure the mayor is more intimately familiar with than I am makes clear that the @BaltimorePolice have engaged in a pattern and practice of violence above the law behavior.

So when the mayor says she has not been following the testimony and doesn’t have time to read before she says she is troubled, it is not surprising that people would be angry.

We need engaged leaders who convey that they are engaged. It’s gotta be both parts.