Former Orioles catcher Rick Dempsey says he's not upset about minor damage done to his popular Camden Yards restaurant during Saturday's protests over the death of 25-year-old Freddie Gray, who died April 19 under suspicious circumstances while in the custody of Baltimore police.
“Overall, you kind of understand. Everybody’s all fired up and it just happened to be in our area, so, cracked window, we got away with that,'' Dempsey told The Baltimore Sun. "I’m happy it wasn’t worse than that and that nobody got hurt.
“It’s just one of those kind of things that happened. I’m not too upset about it, really. A lot more damage could have been done. We got away with a cracked window. Somebody kicked the door and cracked the window. I guess it was a little bit scary for the people that were in there at the time."
Protesters, who were predominantly peaceful from noon until about 6 p.m. ET, marched in support of Gray and descended on Camden Yards Saturday night before and during the Orioles' 5-4 win over the Red Sox. Some brawled with fans at a restaurant while others blocked an intersection near the stadium and broke windows in police cars and storefronts. In total, approximately 34 people were arrested.
Dempsey's Brew Pub & Restaurant, located in the B&O Warehouse at Oriole Park at Camden Yards, is a popular spot for fans.
"My manager called me on the phone and said, ‘It’s getting a little scary out here right now. I just wanted to know if we were still open for business,'" Dempsey said. "I said, ‘Yeah, see if they want to buy a hamburger or something while they’re throwing things around. They might get hungry.”
Dempsey, the 1983 World Series MVP and a member of the Orioles Hall of Fame, works as a studio analyst for MASN.