BALTIMORE, Maryland – (CNN) – Police in Baltimore are commending a mother for taking charge of her son who was rioting yesterday after the funeral of Freddie Gray.

Cameras were rolling when a mother grabbed her son and smacked him for participating in the riots.

Baltimore Police Commissioner Anthony W. Batts lauded the mother’s efforts to control her son.

“If you saw the scene, you had one mother who grabbed her child who had a hood on his head and she started smacking him on the head because she was so embarrassed,” Batts said. “I wish I had more parents who took charge of their kids out there.”

The governor of Maryland has declared a state of emergency in the city of Baltimore and the National Guard is assisting police. Several officers were injured in the city and dozens of arrests were made during the riots.

Protests began following the funeral of Freddie Gray who died of a spinal injury he was treated for while in police custody.

An investigation into the injury is ongoing.