Martin O'Malley Defends Policing Record as Baltimore Mayor

Martin O'Malley, who served two terms as Baltimore's mayor and two terms as Maryland governor, defended his record Thursday amid criticism that his crackdown on crime has fueled the bad feelings between police and black residents.

"This is a setback. It's one of our darkest days," O'Malley said of the rioting that has destroyed businesses and cars in the city in the wake of the death of Freddie Gray, a black man who died of a spinal cord injury after being arrested earlier this month.

The NAACP, the ACLU and the Rev. Al Sharpton's National Action Network all have been critical of O'Malley, who is expected to challenge former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton for the Democratic nomination for president in 2016.

In an interview with CNN's "The Lead with Jake Tapper," O'Malley said he never used the term "aggressive policing" when he was mayor, but simply tried to balance getting drug dealers off the street while allowing avenues for residents to make complaints about police officers.

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