The study, “Recommendations for Enhancing Baltimore City’s Preparedness and Response to Mass Demonstration Events,” evaluates the city’s handling of last April’s crisis, while outlining reforms for improving policies across city agencies—not only the city police department.

Among its findings, the report offers a dramatic and comprehensive timeline of the events of April 27 when 33 building fires and 55 vehicle fires were set, and looting broke out across the city.

The report also tackles several ongoing controversies around the city’s response as these events unfolded, including the decision to halt bus service at Mondawmin Mall. That decision, on the same day as Gray’s viewing at New Shiloh Baptist Church, has widely been viewed as providing a spark to the ensuing crisis as high school students gathered at the transportation hub without the means to get home. According to Hopkins’ findings, this was a joint decision by the Baltimore Police Department, Baltimore City School Police, and Maryland Transit Administration police “to ensure MTA personnel safety” and “minimize the risk of event escalation and risk to passengers” following intelligence about a potential uprising.

As far as the assertion by the Baltimore City Fraternal Order of Police Lodge #3 that an order was sent to officers to “stand down” during the unrest, the report found that no such order was given by Rawlings-Blake or police leadership. The report also praised some of the actions of several agencies, including the police and fire departments, the transportation and health departments, the emergency management office, and public works department.

The report’s timeline, “intended to highlight the scope and complexity of events leading up to and including the civil unrest that followed the arrest and death of Freddie Gray in the spring of 2015,” begins with the shooting of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin in Florida and runs through Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake rescinding the citywide curfew on May 3.

A sample of the timeline as the crisis began on Monday, April 17, after schools let out for the day and bus service at Mondawmin Mall was stopped:

4:15 pm: Local and national media report hundreds of youth congregated around the Mondawmin Mall area clashing violently with BPD throwing rocks, bricks, and bottles at police officers.

4:15 pm: The Police Commissioner and Emergency Manager request the postponement of the Orioles game to make available law enforcement resources dedicated to the game.

4:24 pm: BPD unit B31, at Fulton Ave. and Retreat St. reports that his car windows have just been broken out. He is advised by WD Sergeant and Lieutenant to get out of the area.

4:27 pm: Rioters surround several law enforcement vehicles in the 1700 block. of North Ave. 1 MTAP cruiser and 1 MTAP van are set on fire and quickly become fully engulfed.

4:27 pm: Watch Center reports to Command that a BPD patrol car is being assaulted on North Ave.

4:27 pm: BPD unit B32 reports he is sheltering for his safety in the Fresh Buy grocery store. The door does not lock. B10 requests an extraction team.

4:33 pm: BPD bearcat extricates officer from the grocery store.

4:44 pm: Individuals break into the CVS Pharmacy at 2509 Pennsylvania Ave., which closed at 3:00 pm, and begin looting the store.

The Hopkins report, according to a statement from Rawlings-Blake, comes after “a comprehensive review of communications, personal interviews, media reports, and official documents was completed by the Mayor’s Office of Emergency Management and other city agencies to provide the most accurate accounting of events as they unfolded.” The press release also notes that the timeline should be considered “a summary of activity and not intended to be an account of every single action and occurrence during this time period.”

The report’s recommendations, from the Mayor’s Office press release include:

“If implemented fully, we believe these recommendations will substantially improve the city’s preparedness and capacity to manage mass demonstrations and will mitigate the risk of event escalation,” said the report’s authors, led by Dr. Jonathan Links, Johns Hopkins University professor of health policy & management, emergency medicine, public safety leadership, civil engineering, and the university’s vice provost and chief risk and compliance officer. “However, we do not believe, with any set of recommendations, it is possible to completely eliminate the possibility of a riot in any major urban environment.”

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“As I prepared to engage in a vigorous mayoral campaign and participated in planning meetings with my campaign team and volunteers, I came to the realization that every moment that I spend running for mayor would take away from the urgent responsibilities to the city that I love,” Rawlings-Blake said in a statement. “Over the next 15 months, my time would be best spent focused on continuing to move the city forward and building upon our progress, without the distraction of campaign politics.”

Coming a day after the second pre-trial motions hearing in the Freddie Gray cases, Rawlings-Blake’s announcement Friday came as a major surprise to political observers and shakes up a suddenly wide-open Democratic race for mayor with the primary still seven months away.

In making the announcement, Rawlings-Blake stressed her decision was not made out of a fear of losing the upcoming election and highlighted her accomplishments while in office, including reforming the city’s pension system, improving Baltimore’s bond rating and overall financial picture, reducing property taxes, prioritizing the Vacants to Value initiative, and helping secure more than $1 billion for school construction.

“I haven’t lost a race since middle school,” Rawlings-Blake said, jokingly noting that the opponent who beat her then—a boy named Anthony Watson—isn’t among the current field of candidates.

She said she has no immediate plans to run again for political office, but did not rule out doing so in the future. Part of the reason that the decision not to run for re-election comes as a surprise is that Rawlings-Blake seemed on firmer political ground in recent weeks after firing former police commissioner Anthony Batts and naming interim commissioner Kevin Davis to take over. That move that appeared to be supported by the Baltimore City Fraternal Order of Police leadership, from whom Rawlings-Blake has taken a great deal of heat since the April unrest, and seemed to be steadying the ship at the police department, at least publicly, and in terms of managing the more recent protests around the courthouse.

“Much work remains to be done, and I will spend the remaining 15 months of my term as Mayor continuing to be focused on our city’s future and moving this city forward,” Rawlings-Blake said. “I will continue efforts to improve police-community relations and decrease violent crime. I will continue to fight for City Council approval of my ambitious plan to invest $136 million in recreation centers for our communities. I will continue to create opportunities for new jobs and attack neighborhood blight.”

Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan, a Republican who has clashed with Rawlings-Blake at times over the response to the protests and riots after Gray’s death from injuries suffered while in police custody and his decision to cancel Baltimore’s Red Line mass transit project, released the following statement: “It takes courage and strength to lead one of America’s great cities, and Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake stood up and has served the city she loves over the course of two decades. I value my working relationship with the mayor and thank her for her service. Our administrations will continue working together to make Baltimore a better and stronger city.”

Rawlings-Blake said a decision not to seek re-election had been percolating for several months as her administration prepared for the legal issues surrounding the Gray case. The announcement follows by two days her administration’s agreement—and the City’s Board of Estimates approval—of a controversial $6.4 million wrongful death settlement with Gray’s family that accepted all civil liability, but expressly did not acknowledge guilt by the police officers charged in the case.

Rawlings-Blake’s decision obviously opens up space for April’s Democratic primary contestants, a field which includes former mayor Sheila Dixon—who announced she was running in July—and state Sen. Catherine Pugh and City Councilman Carl Stokes, who both announced Tuesday that they were entering the fray.

Dixon, in a statement, commended Rawlings-Blake, a former City Council member who rose to City Council president when Dixon became mayor. “She and her family have made many sacrifices and I think earned the right to pursue other goals.”

Rawlings-Blake was initially appointed mayor in 2010 when Dixon was forced to resign as part of a plea deal after stealing gift cards intended for the poor. Rawlings-Blake, whose father, Howard P. “Pete” Rawlings, was a widely respected state delegate from Baltimore City, was elected in her own right in 2011.

Stokes, near his City Hall office, said he was surprised by the mayor’s announcement, but praised Rawlings-Blake’s decision to place managing the city through its current struggles over running a re-election campaign.

“I know it’s a hard decision for her,” Stokes said.

By stepping aside, Stokes added, the mayor, City Council, and various City departments should be able to address and communicate about issues more directly, without worrying about how they will play out or be spun in the context of a political campaign.

City Councilman Brandon Scott, who got his start in politics as a community outreach worker for Rawlings-Blake and is also considering a bid for mayor, said he respected the mayor’s decision. “She came into the City Council when she was 25 and is leaving at 45, 46 [when her term expires]. She gave the prime of her life to the city,” Scott said. “History will look back and see the mayor did some great things.”

Other potential contenders for mayor include businessman and best-selling author Wes Moore, who is said to be considering a bid; state Del. Jill P. Carter, whose supporters have launched a Facebook page with almost 2,700 followers encouraging her to run; and City Councilman Nick J. Mosby, who represents West Baltimore and is married to City State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby.

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