BALTIMORE - The Maryland National Guard will be deployed in the riot-hit US city of Baltimore, the mayor said, as she declared an overnight curfew.
Police officers carry an injured colleague as they clash with protesters in the streets near Mondawmin Mall, in Baltimore, Maryland, on April 27, 2015
"Too many people have spent generations building up this city for it to be destroyed by thugs," Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake told reporters on Monday.
The mayor said state Governor Larry Hogan had agreed to deploy National Guardsmen "as soon as they are available" and that a curfew would begin from 10:00 pm on Tuesday (0200 GMT Wednesday).
"Again, there will be a city wide curfew, 10:00 pm to 5:00 am," she said. "This preliminary curfew will last for one week and be extended as it is necessary."
Standing by her side, Baltimore police chief of patrol Colonel Darryl De Sousa vowed to seize back control of the streets after clashes that left 15 of his officers injured.
Police said they had arrested about 27 people.
"Right now we're seeing unprecedented type of violence throughout the city. Mainly towards the west side of Baltimore," De Sousa said.
"We're not going to tolerate that. The police department is not going to stand for that. We're fully deployed at this point," he added.
"We canceled leave for all of our police officers, so they're deployed on the streets as we speak."
Trouble broke out after the funeral of Freddie Gray, a 25-year-old black man who died of severe spinal injuries on April 19, a week after he was arrested by Baltimore police.