Lexington town official in Baltimore during unrest

A trip to a baseball game in Baltimore had an unexpected twist for Lexington Town Attorney Brad Cunningham.

Riots near Camden Yards proved to be an unexpected occurrence for Cunningham and other fans at the Orioles-Red Sox game.

Cunningham never was in danger but felt “a little uneasy” after an announcement late in the game that fans were to remain inside until told to depart because of an unspecified safety problem, he said Wednesday.

Noise from a commotion outside made it clear “something was happening, although we didn’t have a clue what” at first, he said.

Social media ensured “most of us inside were getting info from our friends at home watching it on the news,” he said. “That is how we figured out what was going on.”

Cunningham was among fans who left at the conclusion of the Orioles’ game under escort of law enforcement officers after protests over the death of a man in police custody turned violent.

He was among a group who settled in at a nearby pub to figure out where to go.

His challenge was finding a way to a train station to return to a hotel in nearby Washington, where he was attending a conference.

With cabs scarce, he settled on his first ride through Uber service and met the driver at a nearby hotel for the trip to the depot.

“The driver said the site where he picked us up was as close as he would dare go to the stadium and the train station had an unusual amount of police in it,” he said. “Some shop owners were closing up and boarding windows as we rode through town.”

Cunningham, an avid baseball fan, attends a few Orioles’ games each year since they are among his favorite teams.

“I don’t have any qualms about going back,” he said.

But the tensions in the Maryland city mean “I’m not going out of my way to go soon,” he said.

This story was originally published April 29, 2015 at 5:38 PM with the headline "Lexington town official in Baltimore during unrest."