Freddie Gray's Death Ruled a Homicide; 6 Officers Charged!

originally posted by: xuenchen
TV comments;

The police union is saying that none of the officers are responsible for Gray's death.

The conflicts from within are going to be plenty.

The arraignments should be interesting.

LOL

I wonder how the union rep is going to explain the head of the police department stating clearly:

"Our officers did not attend to Mr. Gray in the appropriate time frame and did not provide him with the necessary emergency care."

Unions are hilarious.

~Tenth

a reply to: windword

Don't underestimate what those "rabble rousers" accomplished.

Happened over here in 2011...
London was on fire.

The protests didn't work until it got a little hot and the police knew they couldn't contain every disenfranchised youth in the country.


Young lad was shot...
Protests happened...
Girl was assaulted by police at a protest...
Riots broke out...
Not enough police...
They sent more in from north of the country...
Then the north of the country went up in flames as well...
They had no answer...

Haven't had much police brutality since.

a reply to: windword

Anyone else feel this is all being done to ease Baltimore tension rather than seek justice?

Absolutely. No way charges would be brought if the same evidence/lack of evidence was available for a low profile case. Don't misunderstand me, I think at least one of the officers violated Gray's civil rights which lead to his death for sure...but unless one of the police testifies against another/others they really don't have enough to make charges stick. Too much room for "reasonable doubt" IMO. And good luck getting an impartial jury in the city!

Yes, this sweeping announcement of ALL 6 officers being charged is an attempt to appease the uneasy citizens...it won't work. Nothing will appease the people who are furious at this point.

originally posted by: CharlieSpeirs
Anyone else feel this is all being done to ease Baltimore tension rather than seek justice?

Yep, as implied by my reply on page 1.

I would like to add this to the thread, for the record.

The key observation from the prosecutor I alluded to in an earlier thread. She said Freddy was put in leg irons and placed headfirst into the van. That goes hand-in-hand with the rough ride procedure police do. They slam the brakes on with the intention to drive your face (in Freddys case head) first into the partition separating the rear and the front compartments of the vehicle. A dime will get you a dollar the injuries resulted from compression fractures to his spine/larynx from sliding head first after a break job from Officer Chavez .

That is why Chavez Goodson ( The van driver) is the only officer charged with second-degree murder. I would also be willing to bet he is the one officer that didn't give a statement and ask for a lawyer.

a reply to: Sublimecraft

Funny (not haha funny) but that's just an incomplete TV headline...I'm sure the report read more like "Gray sustained head trauma but no bodily injury such as broken bones..."

The State's Attorney's speech was powerful.

I think the Mayor also needs to be investigated for her 'Stand Down' order. This entire episode needs to be followed through with...on every level.

a reply to: CharlieSpeirs

Don't underestimate what those "rabble rousers" accomplished.

Oh, I don't! It was their voice, their actions....that got the attention of the AMERICAN PEOPLE.

originally posted by: UnBreakable

originally posted by: CharlieSpeirs
Anyone else feel this is all being done to ease Baltimore tension rather than seek justice?

Yep, as implied by my reply on page 1.

Not alone then.
Does appear that way imo.

Also the amount of charges seems to imply as much pandering to the community as possible.


& you may well be right, they'll probably all walk.


Edit: Hope I'm wrong on all counts.

a reply to: bullcat

It's amazing that you don't recognize that this and so many other cases like this, has EVERYTHING to do with the Constitution.

originally posted by: windword
a reply to: CharlieSpeirs

Don't underestimate what those "rabble rousers" accomplished.

Oh, I don't! It was their voice, their actions....that got the attention of the AMERICAN PEOPLE.

Oh without a doubt I get you now my friend.

If you don't grab the people's attention with a protest turned riot then that's an uphill battle against apathy.


Shows that the States is still alive and kicking when it comes to justice.

a reply to: RedParrotHead

No way charges would be brought if the same evidence/lack of evidence was available for a low profile case.

Agreed. We've seen officers murder people in cold blood and walk, all too often.

Last year, Nickel Rides became notorious in Philadelphia, after a court case revealed that police were using this tactic as a witness-free way to punish unruly, uncooperative, or arrogant suspects – without ever laying a hand on them. For rogue police, it was a literal way to deliver “street justice.”

The practice was exposed through the lawsuit of a man named James McKenna, who was awarded $490,000 after he was able to prove in court that he was intentionally injured during his ride in a police van.

Baltimore itself also has a dark history of police van torture. In fact, Baltimore Police have paid out millions of dollars in settlements to victims who were critically injured during rides in police vans. In 2012, a woman from Baltimore named Christine Abbott sued police after she was badly injured during a bumpy ride in the back of a police van.

That same year, the death of Anthony Anderson was ruled a homicide, he too died of injuries sustained while riding in a police van.
Read more at thefreethoughtproject.com...

Freddie Grey was the "straw that broke the camel's back".

originally posted by: Kali74
a reply to: bullcat

It's amazing that you don't recognize that this and so many other cases like this, has EVERYTHING to do with the Constitution.

yes it has, however, how many white people have died with the same effect? Yes it IS a race issue, because America is a deeply racist society and divided with hate. This is it bubbling up.

How many people does it take to die to wake you all up? The right answer should be ZERO, NONE!

Will this change anything, NO.

I see that one of the charged officer's is a woman. I wonder if they are all Caucasian. I believe 44% of the Baltimore police Dept. is made made up of minority officers.

Baltimore police release names of 6 officers suspended after man dies after arrest

BALTIMORE – Baltimore police have released the names of six officers who have been suspended with pay after the death of a man who was critically injured during an arrest.

Police identified the officers Tuesday as:

— Lt. Brian Rice, who has been with the department since 1997.

— Sgt. Alicia White, who has been with the department since 2010.

— Officer Caesar Goodson, who has been there since 1999.

— Officers William Porter, Garrett Miller and Edward Nero, who all joined the department in 2012.

The officers were involved in the arrest and the van transport of 25-year-old Freddie Gray, who died a week after suffering a spinal injury while in police custody.

www.foxnews.com...

Here are the specific charges, vis-a-vis each officer charged:

Mosby announced the charges as follows:

- Lt. Brian Rice, 41, has been a member of the Baltimore Police Department since 1997, the supervisor on April 12: Charged with involuntary manslaughter, second-degree assault, misconduct in office, false imprisonment

- Sgt. Alicia White, 30, has been a member of the Baltimore Police Department since 2010: Charged with involuntary manslaughter, second-degree assault, misconduct in office

- Police Officer William Porter, 25, has been a member of the Baltimore Police Department since 2012: Charged with involuntary manslaughter, second-degree assault, misconduct in office

- Police Officer Garrett Miller, 26, has been a member of the Baltimore Police Department since 2012: Charged with second-degree assault intentional, second-degree assault negligent, misconduct in office and false imprisonment

- Police Officer Edward Nero, 29, has been a member of the Baltimore Police Department since 2012: Charged with false imprisonment and second-degree assault intentional, second-degree assault negligent, misconduct in office, false imprisonment

- Police Officer Caesar Goodson, 45, has been a member of the Baltimore Police Department since 1999, the driver of the prisoner transport van: Charged with second-degree depraved-heart murder; involuntary manslaughter; second-degree negligent assault; manslaughter by vehicle by means of gross negligence; manslaughter by vehicle by means of criminal negligence; misconduct in office for failure to secure a prisoner, failure to render aid.

www.wbaltv.com...

originally posted by: IAMTAT
Here are the specific charges, vis-a-vis each officer charged:

Mosby announced the charges as follows:

- Lt. Brian Rice, 41, has been a member of the Baltimore Police Department since 1997, the supervisor on April 12: Charged with involuntary manslaughter, second-degree assault, misconduct in office, false imprisonment

- Sgt. Alicia White, 30, has been a member of the Baltimore Police Department since 2010: Charged with involuntary manslaughter, second-degree assault, misconduct in office

- Police Officer William Porter, 25, has been a member of the Baltimore Police Department since 2012: Charged with involuntary manslaughter, second-degree assault, misconduct in office

- Police Officer Garrett Miller, 26, has been a member of the Baltimore Police Department since 2012: Charged with second-degree assault intentional, second-degree assault negligent, misconduct in office and false imprisonment

- Police Officer Edward Nero, 29, has been a member of the Baltimore Police Department since 2012: Charged with false imprisonment and second-degree assault intentional, second-degree assault negligent, misconduct in office, false imprisonment

- Police Officer Caesar Goodson, 45, has been a member of the Baltimore Police Department since 1999, the driver of the prisoner transport van: Charged with second-degree depraved-heart murder; involuntary manslaughter; second-degree negligent assault; manslaughter by vehicle by means of gross negligence; manslaughter by vehicle by means of criminal negligence; misconduct in office for failure to secure a prisoner, failure to render aid.

www.wbaltv.com...

Isn't all public charged cases, the peoples addresses are public too? They are here.

If the public (state) is charging people, then full disclosure is required.

We also need to take into account, these peoples past record.

a reply to: windword
Here is an article regarding the same subject, but from Baltimore:
FoxNews

People in Baltimore and other cities accuse police of sometimes giving prisoners an extra-rough "nickel ride" — a reference to amusement rides that once cost a nickel. Now, the safety of people in Baltimore's police vans is under scrutiny because of a past death and a new fatal injury, one that came after police failed to put a seat belt on a passenger. One of those, Dondi Johnson, died of a fractured spine in 2005 two weeks after he was arrested for urinating in a public street and transported by van. Johnson's family won a $7.4 million judgment that was reduced to $200,000, the legal cap for such cases. Family lawyer Kerry D. Staton said Johnson was seated alone in the van with his hands cuffed behind him and no seat belt to restrain him. It is police policy that all arrestees must be buckled in during transport. The policy, updated just nine days before Freddie Gray was injured, states "all passengers, regardless of age and location, shall be restrained by seat belts or other authorized restraining devices."

Notice what Dondi Johnson died of? A fractured spine.

originally posted by: CharlieSpeirs

originally posted by: UnBreakable

originally posted by: CharlieSpeirs
Anyone else feel this is all being done to ease Baltimore tension rather than seek justice?

Yep, as implied by my reply on page 1.

Not alone then.
Does appear that way imo.

Also the amount of charges seems to imply as much pandering to the community as possible.


& you may well be right, they'll probably all walk.


Edit: Hope I'm wrong on all counts.

I have to ask, why does the amount of charges imply pandering to the community? Couldn't the amount of charges actually indicate the seriousness and level these officers took it with Mr. Gray?