The decision by prosecutors in Baltimore concludes the criminal case with zero convictions.
Advertisement
The decision to drop the charges came on the morning of a rare legal hearing to be held in the case of Officer Garrett Miller. His death added fuel to the growing Black Lives Matter movement, set off massive protests and led to the city’s worst riots in decades. The officers also face an internal investigation.
The newly elected Mosby was among the first prosecutors to file charges against officers after an in-custody death, amid complaints elsewhere that authorities were too slow to hold police accountable.
Overall, Schatzow said the criminal case was unable to answer all the questions the public may have about the case. She alleged that lead detectives were slow to provide information and failed to execute search warrants for key text messages. The medical examiner in the case ruled Gray’s death a homicide.
“We do not believe that Freddie Gray killed himself”, said Mosby during a news conference in Gray’s neighborhood in West Baltimore, in front of a mural painted in his honor.
Mosby said, “We stand by the medical examiner’s determination that Freddie Gray’s death was a homicide”.
Gray’s mother, Gloria Darden, was on hand to support the prosecutor, saying police “lied, I know they lied, and they killed him”.
“I know how important it is to the community to have faith and trust in the internal disciplinary system of the Police Department”, Davis said in an interview.
An internal investigation by police and a federal civil rights investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice are still pending.
“She came back with this advertisement in the police headquarters”, he said.
Earlier this year, five of the officers filed defamation lawsuits against Mosby.
Marilyn Mosby, the state’s attorney for Baltimore, argued Wednesday that there is an “inherent bias” whenever “police police themselves”. “She did what she had to do”, said Tessa Hill-Aston, president of the Baltimore City branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.
He said the state’s attorney’s office had a “clean team” that was not exposed to the immunized testimony and a “filter team” ensuring the former wasn’t exposed to any evidence derived from that testimony.
Attorneys and other advocates for the officers have defended the pursuit of Gray, a frequent target of arrests who ran from a high-crime area when he saw an officer.
Gray’s family received a $6.4 million settlement from the city.
Gray’s stepfather, Richard Shipley, stood next to Mosby as she delivered her remarks. They have characterized his death as a tragic accident.
“To the youth of the city: I will seek justice on your behalf”, she said.
Three officers were brought to trial and acquitted; the trial of a fourth ended in a mistrial. At several points, the judge berated them for failing to turn over evidence to the officers’ attorneys. “This case was always a hard one to prove and certainly beyond a reasonable doubt”, said David Jaros, a law professor at the University of Baltimore who closely followed the trials.
The charges included second degree assault, reckless endangerment, and multiple counts of misconduct. He was handcuffed and shackled when he was injured.
The announcement closes the books on the the April 19, 2015 death of Freddie Carlos Gray, Jr., 25, who had been in a coma after being arrested by Baltimore Police the week before following a “rough ride” in a prisoner van. At the time, the tense city was still under a curfew.
“When you quickly want to automatically say that these officers are guilty because they’re the police, then you perpetrate the fear that’s already there”, Bates said.
That evidence was lacking for prosecutors became apparent when they fought to have Porter testify against other officers charged in the case despite awaiting retrial. The victim, judge, top prosecutor and mayor are all African-American. At the time of Gray’s death, the city also had a black police chief.
Advertisement
Information for this article was contributed by Juliet Linderman of The Associated Press; and by Derek Hawkins, Lynh Bui, Peter Hermann and Dana Hedgpeth of The Washington Post.
