Mosby blamed a number of Baltimore police officers who she said were “uncooperative” and launched “a counter investigation to disprove the state’s case”, even “creating notes that were drafted after the case was launched”.
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The charges against the three remaining police officers involved in the 2015 killing of Freddie Gray in Baltimore are dropped, resulting in yet another case in which police walk free after committing a homicide and deepening the divide between police and the Black community.
Gray, then 25, died after sustaining a neck injury while in police custody in April 2015. 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.
“You want accountability? Police officers themselves have to start that”, says Charles Wilson, national chairman of the National Association of Black Law Enforcement Officers.
She noted that the decision to drop charges did not reflect her own views. His original trial ended in a hung jury on the charges of involuntary manslaughter, second-degree assault, misconduct in office and reckless endangerment.
She says her team stands by a medical examiner’s conclusion that Freddie Gray’s death was a homicide.
The decision by prosecutors in Baltimore concludes the criminal case with zero convictions.
But legal experts said Mosby may have botched the case by moving too quickly.
Gray’s mother, Gloria Darden, was on hand to support the prosecutor, saying police “lied, I know they lied, and they killed him”.
She referred questions as to why those warrants were not executed to police. Mosby gave only a statement, but had to leave without taking questions because five of the officers in the case have filed lawsuits against her. Others, however, said there wasn’t enough evidence to convict the officers.
Gray’s stepfather Richard Shipley also spoke at the press conference, expressing his disappointment in the lack of convictions, but praising Mosby.
“We’re disappointed in the outcome of the trials, but we’re going to continue to be fighters for Freddie”, he said. But as a prosecutor, she said, “I must consider the dismal likelihood of conviction at this point”.
Ryan said Mosby’s comments earlier in the day were “outrageous and uncalled for and simply untrue”. Before Miller’s trial could proceed, prosecutors were required to show that they had not gleaned any evidence or strategic advantage in Miller’s trial from his immunized testimony.
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. The state’s attorney, Marilyn J. Mosby, helped quell the unrest by announcing the prosecutions and telling protesters that she had heard their calls of “no justice, no peace”.
Also pending is a report from the Justice Department, which has been investigating allegations of widespread abuse and unlawful arrests by Baltimore police as a result of Gray’s death.
Though Mosby lost the most high-profile cases of her career so far, Doug Colbert, a law professor at the University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law, said the case represents, “new ground broken”. “It gets it right”, he said.
“We knew the community would need a transparent assessment from an independent third party”, the commissioner said.
With half the officers brought up on charges already acquitted, State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby this week dropped the charges on the other half.
“Never again should a commanding officer or a rank-and-file officer be able to assert that they are unaware of departmental policies, general orders, or procedures, due to the fact that there is now a software verification and accountability system to ensure their adherence”. Gray later died of a spinal cord injury.
Miller is the fifth officer to stand trial. Trials for officers Alicia White and William Porter had been scheduled for the fall. New prosecutors were expected to take on Miller’s case and Porter’s retrial to maintain the integrity of the immunity offers.
Miller testified against his colleagues at previous trials and will be tried by two prosecutors new to the case.
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All of the officers pleaded not guilty to criminal charges and will now be compelled to cooperate with the administrative reviews.
