Prosecutors Charge 6 Baltimore Officers in Freddie Gray Death
BALTIMORE - Baltimore’s chief prosecutor charged six police officers on Friday with crimes including murder and manslaughter in the arrest and fatal injury of Freddie Gray, a striking and surprisingly swift turn in a case that has drawn national attention to police conduct.
The state’s attorney for Baltimore, Marilyn J. Mosby, filed the charges almost as soon as she received a medical examiner’s report Friday that ruled Mr. Gray’s death a homicide, and a day after the police concluded their initial investigation and handed her their findings. Officials had cautioned that it could take considerable time for her office to complete its own investigation and decide whether to prosecute.
In a city rocked by unrest this week, and now under curfew and patrolled by National Guard troops, Ms. Mosby’s announcement on the steps of the War Memorial downtown drew cheers from the assembled crowd, while a cordon of officers in riot gear looked on stonily. The death of Mr. Gray brought to a boil long-simmering tensions between the police and poor communities in this majority-black city, culminating in rioting Monday in which cars and buildings were set on fire, stores were looted, more than 200 people were arrested and dozens of officers were injured.
Ms. Mosby said that Mr. Gray suffered a fatal spinal injury on April 12 while being transported in a police van - and not earlier, while being arrested - and pointed to the failure of the police to put a seatbelt on him as a crucial factor. “Mr. Gray suffered a critical neck injury as a result of being handcuffed, shackled by his feet and unrestrained inside the BPD wagon,” she said, referring to the police van.
Despite repeated stops to check on his condition, the van driver and other officers never belted him in, she said, at times leaving him facedown on the van floor with his hands behind him.
Mr. Gray’s condition deteriorated, she said, as officers repeatedly ignored his pleas for medical attention and ignored obvious signs that he was in distress. At one point, she said, when an officer attempted to check on him, he was completely unresponsive - yet no action was taken. He died of his injuries a week later.
The prosecutor also said that the officers who initially arrested Mr. Gray had done so illegally, without probable cause. Officers charged him with possession of a switchblade, but Ms. Mosby said, “The knife was not a switchblade and is lawful under Maryland law.”
Ms. Mosby did not allege that the van driver, Officer Caesar R. Goodson, Jr., intentionally gave Mr. Gray a “rough ride,” to slam him against the metal walls of the van. But Officer Goodson was charged with second-degree murder, manslaughter, assault and misconduct in office.
Lt. Brian W. Rice was charged with manslaughter, assault, misconduct in office and false imprisonment. Officer William G. Porter and Sgt. Alicia D. White were each charged with manslaughter, assault and misconduct in office. Officers Edward M. Nero and Garrett E. Miller were charged with assault, misconduct in office and false imprisonment.
As Ms. Mosby finished reading her dramatic announcement, the news began to ripple through a crowd of African-American residents and activists who had pooled around her, mingling with reporters. Edward Jenkins, 44, a motivational speaker and musician who goes by the name Voyce, approached and could hardly contain his surprise when he was told of the charges. “Are you serious?” he said.
Mr. Jenkins, a Baltimore resident who grew up in Mr. Gray’s neighborhood, said he thought the announcement might put a damper on further unrest. “I think this will take some of the nervousness off of it, but they’ll still want a guilty verdict,” he said.
He said he hoped this was the beginning of a real effort to address problems of police violence against African-Americans. “It means that we’re absolutely getting a start on justice,” he said. “Maybe now other states and other places can see the start of a change.”
The Baltimore chapter of the Fraternal Order of Police, the officers’ union, defended the officers’ conduct, and called on Ms. Mosby to remove herself from the case and hand it over to a special prosecutor - an idea she dismissed out of hand.
“As tragic as this situation is, none of the officers involved are responsible for the death of Mr. Gray,” Gene Ryan, president of the union chapter, wrote in an open letter to the state’s attorney.
Mr. Ryan argued that Ms. Mosby had conflicts of interest, including the fact that she has been supported politically by William H. Murphy Jr., the lawyer for Mr. Gray’s family. He also noted that her husband is a city councilman, and said his “political future will be directly impacted, for better or worse, by the outcome of your investigation.”
He said he hoped this was the beginning of a real effort to address problems of police violence against African-Americans. “It means that we’re absolutely getting a start on justice,” he said. “Maybe now other states and other places can see the start of a change.”
The Baltimore chapter of the Fraternal Order of Police, the officers’ union, defended the officers’ conduct, and called on Ms. Mosby to remove herself from the case and hand it over to a special prosecutor - an idea she dismissed out of hand.
“As tragic as this situation is, none of the officers involved are responsible for the death of Mr. Gray,” Gene Ryan, president of the union chapter, wrote in an open letter to the state’s attorney.
Mr. Ryan argued that Ms. Mosby had conflicts of interest, including the fact that she has been supported politically by William H. Murphy Jr., the lawyer for Mr. Gray’s family. He also noted that her husband is a city councilman, and said his “political future will be directly impacted, for better or worse, by the outcome of your investigation.”
At the van’s next stop, Officer Goodson met the officers who made the initial arrest, and a sergeant who had arrived on the scene. Opening the van once again, they “observed Mr. Gray unresponsive on the floor of the wagon,” Ms. Mosby said.
The sergeant, she said, spoke to the back of Mr. Gray’s head, but he did not respond. “She made no effort to look, to assess or the determine his condition,” Ms. Mosby said.
When the van finally arrived at the Western District police station, and officers tried to remove him, “Mr. Gray was no longer breathing at all,” she said. A medic was summoned and found Mr. Gray in cardiac arrest. Then he was rushed to a hospital.
Source
See also:
-- The Timeline of Freddie Gray’s Arrest and the Charges Filed
-- Marilyn Mosby, Prosecutor in Freddie Gray Case, Seen as Tough on Police Misconduct
Time will tell what, if anything, comes of these charges. But this is the first step toward justice being done, and as such, it's a very significant (and, I think, encouraging) development.
The state’s attorney for Baltimore, Marilyn J. Mosby, filed the charges almost as soon as she received a medical examiner’s report Friday that ruled Mr. Gray’s death a homicide, and a day after the police concluded their initial investigation and handed her their findings. Officials had cautioned that it could take considerable time for her office to complete its own investigation and decide whether to prosecute.
In a city rocked by unrest this week, and now under curfew and patrolled by National Guard troops, Ms. Mosby’s announcement on the steps of the War Memorial downtown drew cheers from the assembled crowd, while a cordon of officers in riot gear looked on stonily. The death of Mr. Gray brought to a boil long-simmering tensions between the police and poor communities in this majority-black city, culminating in rioting Monday in which cars and buildings were set on fire, stores were looted, more than 200 people were arrested and dozens of officers were injured.
Ms. Mosby said that Mr. Gray suffered a fatal spinal injury on April 12 while being transported in a police van - and not earlier, while being arrested - and pointed to the failure of the police to put a seatbelt on him as a crucial factor. “Mr. Gray suffered a critical neck injury as a result of being handcuffed, shackled by his feet and unrestrained inside the BPD wagon,” she said, referring to the police van.
Despite repeated stops to check on his condition, the van driver and other officers never belted him in, she said, at times leaving him facedown on the van floor with his hands behind him.
Mr. Gray’s condition deteriorated, she said, as officers repeatedly ignored his pleas for medical attention and ignored obvious signs that he was in distress. At one point, she said, when an officer attempted to check on him, he was completely unresponsive - yet no action was taken. He died of his injuries a week later.
The prosecutor also said that the officers who initially arrested Mr. Gray had done so illegally, without probable cause. Officers charged him with possession of a switchblade, but Ms. Mosby said, “The knife was not a switchblade and is lawful under Maryland law.”
Ms. Mosby did not allege that the van driver, Officer Caesar R. Goodson, Jr., intentionally gave Mr. Gray a “rough ride,” to slam him against the metal walls of the van. But Officer Goodson was charged with second-degree murder, manslaughter, assault and misconduct in office.
Lt. Brian W. Rice was charged with manslaughter, assault, misconduct in office and false imprisonment. Officer William G. Porter and Sgt. Alicia D. White were each charged with manslaughter, assault and misconduct in office. Officers Edward M. Nero and Garrett E. Miller were charged with assault, misconduct in office and false imprisonment.
As Ms. Mosby finished reading her dramatic announcement, the news began to ripple through a crowd of African-American residents and activists who had pooled around her, mingling with reporters. Edward Jenkins, 44, a motivational speaker and musician who goes by the name Voyce, approached and could hardly contain his surprise when he was told of the charges. “Are you serious?” he said.
Mr. Jenkins, a Baltimore resident who grew up in Mr. Gray’s neighborhood, said he thought the announcement might put a damper on further unrest. “I think this will take some of the nervousness off of it, but they’ll still want a guilty verdict,” he said.
He said he hoped this was the beginning of a real effort to address problems of police violence against African-Americans. “It means that we’re absolutely getting a start on justice,” he said. “Maybe now other states and other places can see the start of a change.”
The Baltimore chapter of the Fraternal Order of Police, the officers’ union, defended the officers’ conduct, and called on Ms. Mosby to remove herself from the case and hand it over to a special prosecutor - an idea she dismissed out of hand.
“As tragic as this situation is, none of the officers involved are responsible for the death of Mr. Gray,” Gene Ryan, president of the union chapter, wrote in an open letter to the state’s attorney.
Mr. Ryan argued that Ms. Mosby had conflicts of interest, including the fact that she has been supported politically by William H. Murphy Jr., the lawyer for Mr. Gray’s family. He also noted that her husband is a city councilman, and said his “political future will be directly impacted, for better or worse, by the outcome of your investigation.”
He said he hoped this was the beginning of a real effort to address problems of police violence against African-Americans. “It means that we’re absolutely getting a start on justice,” he said. “Maybe now other states and other places can see the start of a change.”
The Baltimore chapter of the Fraternal Order of Police, the officers’ union, defended the officers’ conduct, and called on Ms. Mosby to remove herself from the case and hand it over to a special prosecutor - an idea she dismissed out of hand.
“As tragic as this situation is, none of the officers involved are responsible for the death of Mr. Gray,” Gene Ryan, president of the union chapter, wrote in an open letter to the state’s attorney.
Mr. Ryan argued that Ms. Mosby had conflicts of interest, including the fact that she has been supported politically by William H. Murphy Jr., the lawyer for Mr. Gray’s family. He also noted that her husband is a city councilman, and said his “political future will be directly impacted, for better or worse, by the outcome of your investigation.”
At the van’s next stop, Officer Goodson met the officers who made the initial arrest, and a sergeant who had arrived on the scene. Opening the van once again, they “observed Mr. Gray unresponsive on the floor of the wagon,” Ms. Mosby said.
The sergeant, she said, spoke to the back of Mr. Gray’s head, but he did not respond. “She made no effort to look, to assess or the determine his condition,” Ms. Mosby said.
When the van finally arrived at the Western District police station, and officers tried to remove him, “Mr. Gray was no longer breathing at all,” she said. A medic was summoned and found Mr. Gray in cardiac arrest. Then he was rushed to a hospital.
Source
See also:
-- The Timeline of Freddie Gray’s Arrest and the Charges Filed
-- Marilyn Mosby, Prosecutor in Freddie Gray Case, Seen as Tough on Police Misconduct
Time will tell what, if anything, comes of these charges. But this is the first step toward justice being done, and as such, it's a very significant (and, I think, encouraging) development.