National Guard can’t account for ammunition

The Maryland National Guard cannot account for hundreds of rounds of ammunition that, at least on paper, were distributed during the unrest in Baltimore in 2015, guard officials have acknowledged. They aren’t sure whether the 1,500 missing M4 rounds actually disappeared or are the result of an “accounting error” materializing on their books, said Col. Charles Kohler, a guard spokesman. But they know procedures weren’t followed and have revamped protocols for tracking ammunition and other equipment during state emergencies as a result, he said. “We didn’t follow established procedures in issuing the ammunition and that’s how we were unable to account for the ammunition,” Kohler said. “Since then, we have modified our procedures for bringing on soldiers on state active duty and also withdrawing them from state active duty.” The changes are among many others the guard implemented based on lessons learned from the April 2015 unrest, when rioting, looting and arson in the city led Gov. Larry Hogan to declare a state of emergency. The missing ammunition was first reported by WBAL on Wednesday. The unrest followed widespread protests against police brutality after the death of 25-year-old Freddie Gray, who suffered severe spinal cord injuries while in police custody in April 2015. week, nearly two months beyond the deadline to file such reports, showing it had raised just $5,235. Joshua Insley, a spokesman for the group, said the state’s attorney’s race wasn’t generating enough money for donors to give to the PAC — which by law can’t support a particular candidate — as well as to Mosby’s challengers. “It became pretty clear early that kind of money wasn’t in this race,” Insley said. Insley is supporting defense attorney Ivan Bates. As of January, attorney Thiru Vignarajah led the fundraising race, with $412,000 cash on hand that includes a $250,000 loan he made to the campaign. Mosby reported about $285,000 on hand after raising about $330,000 over the past year. Bates had $184,000 to campaign on after raising $250,000.