Should Have Allen Bullock Surrendered To Police?

Eighteen-year-old Allen Bullock became a defining image of the Baltimore uprisings when he was photographed smashing a police car with a traffic cone on Monday, reports The Guardian.

His mother and stepfather urged him to surrender to police in an effort to teach him about taking responsibility for his actions during protests that turned violent Monday after the funeral ofFreddie Gray, who died on April 19 after receiving a spinal injury during an arrest a week earlier.

Now, Bullock is being held on $500,000 bail, which his parents say they cannot afford. As a result, the teen is learning a harsh lesson about life behind bars.

From The Guardian:

Allen Bullock was charged with eight criminal counts, including rioting and malicious destruction of property, after arriving at Baltimore’s juvenile justice centre with his stepfather, Maurice Hawkins, who said he saw television footage of Bullock’s actions on Saturday.

Hawkins, 44, said Bullock had agreed to surrender to the police after being told by his stepfather the police would “find him, knock down our door and beat him” if he did not.

“By turning himself in he also let me know he was growing as a man and he recognised what he did was wrong,” Hawkins said on Wednesday at his home in a low-income block in south Baltimore. “But they are making an example of him and it is not right.”

Should Bullock’s bail be lowered, or should he remain behind bars until his family can pay? Sound off in the comments.

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