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Freddie Gray Death: Last Charged Dropped against Police

Three of the officers charged in his arrest and death are black, and three are white.

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Mr Gray, 25, died in April 2015 a week after sustaining a spinal injury while in the back of a police van. He was acquitted last month by Judge Barry Williams after an eight-day bench trial.

Gray’s death set off a series of sometimes violent protests that rocked the city and prompted Black Lives Matter demonstrations across the nation. All officers will soon be equipped with body-worn cameras, and the U.S. Justice Department has launched an investigation into allegations of widespread abuse and unlawful arrests by police.

All charges against the last Baltimore police officers facing trial over the death of black detainee Freddie Gray have been dropped.

She walked to the lectern as people chanted “we’re with you”, and her remarks were punctuated by shouts of support.

Williams also called out this “law and order” mentality in subsequent tweets.

“This system is in need of reform”, she said.

“We are pissed about the decision of the trials and the outcome of all the trials that have happened here in the city”. “It’s something that I’ve been grappling with for some time”, she said although she revealed that she is standing by the medical examiner’s report that Freddie Gray’s death was a homicide.

“We are deeply disappointed with the outcome of the Freddie Gray murder trials”. He said officers were justified in pursuing Gray.

Attorneys for the officers said justice had been served, and they praised the Police Department’s investigation.

Instead, Mosby blamed the lack of convictions on police who were uncooperative through the course of the investigation. “For over a year, my office has been forced to remain silent in all six of the cases pertaining to and surrounding the death of Freddie Gray, despite being physically and professionally threatened, mocked, ridiculed, harassed and even sued”, she said.

“Unlike with other cases, where prosecutors work closely with the police to investigate what actually occurred, what we realized very early on in this case was that police investigating police, whether their friends or merely there colleagues, was problematic”, Mosby said.

HARI SREENIVASAN: After she spoke, the head of the police union in Baltimore called Ms. Mosby’s comments – quote – “outrageous”. “It is the Baltimore City attorney’s office that has denied justice to the Gray family and denied justice to these officers”.

Angel Selah (left) and local artist PFK Boom gather to remember Freddie Gray and all victims of police violence during a rally outside city hall in Baltimore, Maryland, US, July 27, 2016. Somewhere between running from the police and the seven stops the police van made before calling a medic, Gray’s spine was fatally damaged.

“Justice is always worth the price of pursuit”, Mosby said Wednesday after the charges were dismissed. “It gets it right”, he said.

An attorney for two of the officers said Wednesday that there were ulterior motives in charging the officers.

Lt. Brian Rice and Officers Edward Nero and Caesar Goodson were acquitted.

The decision to drop charges against Officer Garrett Miller, Officer William Porter and Sergeant Alicia White was announced by Chief Deputy State’s Attorney Michael Schatzow during Miller’s pre-trial hearing on Wednesday.

Given the string of embarrassments suffered by the prosecutors in the case, I expected Mosby to drop the charges while exhibiting some minimal degree of grace and humility. He was handcuffed and shackled when he was hurt.

During his arrest, officers placed Gray in the back of a police van, which made several stops.

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But the city’s top prosecutor didn’t quite see it that way. Gray’s death drew outrage from protesters in Baltimore and across the country at a time when police use of force was coming under heavy scrutiny.

Marilyn Mosby speaks to press in Baltimore