The head of a law school in the Washington, D.C., area told students Tuesday that they would be able to defer an exam if they offer legal advice to protesters in Baltimore.
The Washington Post reported that Dean Shelley Broderick from the David A. Clarke School of Law told the students that many of them have ties to the city and the school would like "to support this activism." She said that the school would help interested students find groups at the protest they could assist.
"The police accountability movement needs and will continue to need the best lawyers that we can train," she wrote.
In widespread protests Wednesday night -- not only in Baltimore, but in several cities including Boston, New York and Washington, D.C. -- it was clear that tensions over the case are far from subsiding. While the demonstrations were mostly peaceful, police made numerous arrests, including 16 in Baltimore and at least 60 in New York.
Freddie Gray's death in police custody was the latest in a series of high-profile cases around the country in which black men have died as the result of encounters with police.
Broderick's decision is not a unique one. Last year, Columbia Law School delayed final exams for students who faced "trauma" following the death of unarmed black men. At around the same time, the University of California-Irvine offered students a similar counseling to help with "healing, grieving and support."
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