Baltimore riots: The story behind the picture of a young boy handing water to police officers

The image is being held as a symbol of hope in a crisis-hit community

A young boy hands out water to police in Baltimore (Facebook: Bishop M Cromartie)

A picture which emerged from the aftermath of the Baltimore riots is being heralded as a symbol of hope amid the anger and violence sparked by the death of another black man while he was being held in police custody.

Freddie Gray was arrested on 12 April and died a week later of a spinal injury he allegedly sustained either while being arrested or while being transported in the police van.

The 25-year-old’s funeral on Monday was followed by riots and looting in the Sandtown-Winchester neighbourhood he grew up in, which spread across the city.

A photograph published by a Baltimore resident during a post-riot clean-up operation shows a young child offering water to police officers dressed in full riot gear lining the streets.

One of many pictures that I captured today in the midst of helping clean up the city and it speaks VOLUMES #baltimore

Posted by Bishop M Cromartie on Tuesday, 28 April 2015

Bishop Cromartie, a senior pastor at Prophetic Deliverance Ministries who was also assisting in the clean-up, posted the image on Facebook, writing: “One of many pictures that I captured today in the midst of helping clean up the city and it speaks volumes.”

He told Bustle the picture was captured as “a way to show that Baltimore is not as bad and that the people who riot are just a handful, that clearly you have, statewide, people who actually care".

Mr Cromartie said the boy was with his family and had tried on numerous occasions to get the attention of police.

"He actually was the only one handing out water. What was so intriguing was he was doing it on his own. It showed that he had a mind of his own that, despite everything that was going on, that he still wanted to make sure the police were okay and he may be realizing that someday he’s going to need the police."

Mr Cromartie said the policeman did not accept the water.

The striking image echoes one of a tearful young demonstrator hugging a police officer during a protest against a grand jury’s decision not to charge white officer Darren Wilsonfor killing unarmed black teen Michael Brown last year.

Thousands of police officers and National Guardsmen were drafted in overnight to prevent a repeat of the violence that rocked the city on Monday evening.

It was the first time since the assassination of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. in 1968 that the National Guard was called out in Baltimore to dispel unrest, according to the Associated Press.