![]() ![]() Rudolph Bell, 63, a homeless veteran who, police said, attacked them with a knife or bottle, cutting one officer, when they entered a vacant building in August 2012. Sheron Carter Jackson, 21, who wielded a folding knife during a March 2012 domestic disturbance and was shot by the police officer who responded to a 911 call. In fact, Gray is among a handful of African-Americans to die in Baltimore in recent years after a police encounter that involved a knife or an edged weapon. "How's a person supposed to know what the law is, and how are they supposed to know that there's a difference in the law" between jurisdictions, said Jan Billeb, executive director of the American Knife & Tool Institute, which advocates for greater knife rights in the United States.īetween 20, Baltimore averaged four homicides and 183 aggravated assaults "with edged weapons," which would include knives, compared with 23 homicides and 109 aggravated assaults with firearms, according to data posted by the city on its website.ĭuring encounters with police, civil rights activists say, black men tend to fall victim to confusion over knife laws. This mishmash makes it difficult for citizens to comply. Nationwide, knife laws vary in neighboring towns, counties, cities and states. Caught in the middle are people like Gray, who probably have no idea whether carrying a legally purchased knife can lead to criminal charges.Ī conflict between laws about knives is not unique to Maryland. The state of Maryland has one set of laws governing knives. WASHINGTON (AP) - A few miles off in any direction, and the debate about the knife involved in Freddie Gray's arrest by Baltimore police may have been completely different. ![]()
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