Of the four cases that went to trial, one ended in a mistrial and three with acquittals from Judge Barry Williams. For those that believe I’m anti-police, it simply is not the case. The results are expected soon.
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When police are perceived as abusing their authority, as threats rather than allies, it increases the risk for the officers as well – whether it is from someone who deliberately sets out to kill or injure police or someone who doesn’t volunteer needed information to police because of the gulf between them.
Baltimore State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby, right, holds a news conference near the site where Freddie Gray was arrested after her office dropped the remaining charges against three Baltimore police officers awaiting trial in Gray…
She walked up to the podium as people chanted “we’re with you”, and her remarks were punctuated by shouts of support.
“There was a reluctance and an obvious bias consistently exemplified, not by the entire Baltimore police force, but by individuals within the Baltimore Police Department at every stage of the investigation”, Mosby said. “She did a good thing”, Darden said. He also alleged that once an ambulance was called, it was slow to arrive at the scene.
“There are a lot of different ways we can deter police misconduct but hold police officers accountable”, she adds.
Mosby said, “We stand by the medical examiner’s determination that Freddie Gray’s death was a homicide”.
A total of six officers were charged in the death of Freddie Gray, who died days after being arrested for carrying a spring knife and running way from a police officer after making eye-contact.
She announced them with wildly inappropriate rhetoric: “To the people of Baltimore and the demonstrators across America: I heard your call for ‘No justice, no peace.’ Your peace is sincerely needed as I work to deliver justice on behalf of this young man”.
Mosby explained why she and her office made the decision, which she said was a hard one. He rejected Mosby’s accusations that officers involved in the investigation were biased. State’s attorney Marilyn Mosby – who began her prosecution by declaring that she would give voice to rioters’ ultimatum of “no justice, no peace” – has now failed to win a conviction against any of the six policemen charged. “They feel that once again the system is rigged against everyday citizens in that part of Baltimore”. Moreover, the judge was impressed by the argument that the commotion around the police van during Gray’s detention necessitated speed in placing him in the van.
Gray’s family got a $6.4 million settlement from the city after his death.
Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake – who decided not to seek reelection in the aftermath of last spring’s unrest – asked residents to be patient as they absorbed the news.
That’s not to say Mosby – or the state’s attorney – was silent on the Freddie Gray killing.
Police Commissioner Kevin Davis, in a statement, defended the department’s investigation into Gray’s death. A mistrial was declared for a fourth officer when a jury deadlocked.
Gene Ryan, president of the Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 3, said justice was served. Police officers shackled Gray’s hands and feet and put him in the back of a police van without a seatbelt. Charges including involuntary manslaughter were dropped against Officer Garrett Miller, Sgt. Alicia White and Officer William Porter. Now, the Black Lives Matter advocate is speaking out against the judicial system after news broke that all charges in the Freddie Gray case were dropped today (July 27). At the time, the tense city was still under a curfew. She posed for magazine photos, sat for TV interviews and even appeared onstage at a Prince concert in Gray’s honor.
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Gray’s death was a flash point in national debate over the deaths of black men killed while in police custody. Often prosecutors have been able to settle out of court by paying victims’ families due to mistreatment.
