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

originally posted by: ISawItFirst

Sounds like his knife was in fact not legal. I'm still curious, although I don't think it matters. They had no probable cause to discover the knife.

Since the States Attorney stated live on TV the knife was indeed legal, I'll go with her take on it.

originally posted by: dr1234
a reply to: IAMTAT

Without the riots would this have happened? That's an important question, and makes the people poo pooing the community pretty silly if the answer is what I think it is; probably not.

So people can judge someone guilty in the court of public opinion, and if the state/city isn't moving fast enough to hang them, you just burn and loot until someone finally acquiesces and throws people in jail? Yeah, that seems SUPER fair.

a reply to: jimmyx

that should have changed the way the Baltimore police did business, it did not. hence, the riot....

people are still responsible for their own actions.......rioting and tearing a city a part and destroying peoples means to provide for their family is never an acceptable action....

Regardless of what happens in this world , we are accountable for what we do in reaction, no one else...

Smart lady. Throw a lot of charges and some may stick.

But the chances of these cops being convicted is small. Remember Rodney King and Amadou Diallo.

Her best bet is to get one of them to make a deal and testify against the others.

Otherwise it’s likely they’ll get off like most cops when they get indicted.

originally posted by: dr1234
a reply to: IAMTAT

Without the riots would this have happened? That's an important question, and makes the people poo pooing the community pretty silly if the answer is what I think it is; probably not.

a pattern I have seen in these recent and not so recent cases, is when liquor stores, check cashing stores, and other small businesses in the area of rioting, the police never go out to those businesses and post some patrolmen to stop the looting. they instead fall back to some location protecting other areas where the rioters ARE NOT located. they allow the businesses in these poverty stricken areas to burn and be looted, as if to say to that community, that they do not deserve to be protected. Too bad there wasn't a way for that area to hold back paying a percentage of their city taxes, because the police deliberately left them alone to defend for themselves.

originally posted by: retiredTxn
Police use this same tactic when piling on charges, and it appears they are getting a taste of their own medicine.

Well whats good for the goose is good for the gander.

a reply to: tothetenthpower

Felons aren't aloud to carry any type of knife or firearm the last I checked. Not sure about Mass though.

originally posted by: retiredTxn

originally posted by: ISawItFirst

Sounds like his knife was in fact not legal. I'm still curious, although I don't think it matters. They had no probable cause to discover the knife.

Since the States Attorney stated live on TV the knife was indeed legal, I'll go with her take on it.

Living here and knowing that most, even lawyers LEOS judges and others who should know better, do not know the law, I'll reserve judgement until I see a pic or hear the make and model of the knife.

I picture a little kershaw wave spring assist. Which would be easy for a SA to say, this little thing is perfectly legal, when it is in fact technically not.

The reverse happens all the time.

originally posted by: Crumbles
a reply to: tothetenthpower

Felons aren't aloud to carry any type of knife or firearm the last I checked. Not sure about Mass though.

Was he a felon? I have never heard that. Nor that felons can't have knives. Both news to me.

a reply to: ISawItFirst

His wrapsheet was littered with felony charges. So one can only assume some of those stuck.

Not surprising... the details of the events kinda made it obvious. now will any of those charges stick??

Well, if they don't stick or if the charges are simply a slap on the wrist... expect the city to burn.

If they do stick and are severe... police have just been taken down a notch in their credibility.

a reply to: Crumbles

Freddie Grey was charged with a felony, but he died before he could stand trial. He wasn't a felon at the time of his arrest. Not sure about weapon laws pertaining to accused felons........

Court records show Gray was arrested more than a dozen times, going back to when he was 18, mostly in Gilmor Homes and mostly on charges of selling or possessing heroin or marijuana. He had a handful of convictions, and his longest stint behind bars was about two years.

He had two pending drug cases when he died. In one, he was charged with a felony, accused of selling heroin by police who said they had witnessed hand-to-hand exchanges and found drugs in a small potato chip bag hidden in a drainpipe.

Last year, he faced a charge that could have put him away for several years, but prosecutors agreed not to pursue the case in exchange for Gray serving 100 hours of community service. His attorney said the police account that Gray was acting as a lookout for a heroin dealer did not match images caught on a surveillance video.
www.washingtonpost.com...

Honestly, doesn't matter what they are charged with, if the prosecutor doesn't prosecute. The way the prosecutors handle the grand jury differently when it's the police being charged is a bit of a joke.

a reply to: Crumbles

No laws against a felon carrying a legal knife in MD.


Maryland Limits on Carry

- You can not conceal carry a throwing star, dirk, switchblade, gravity knife, or bowie knife.
- You can not open carry a throwing star, dirk, switchblade, gravity knife, or bowie knife with the intent to harm someone.
- You can open or conceal carry any sized pocket knife you wish.
If a knife is not listed above, it is most likely to be legal for concealed or open carry.


So, while he had an illegal knife (which is my guess as to why he ran) the cops didn't know it until after searching him (which is why they chased him). Once searched his arrest become lawful...but getting to that point, well...

CNN interviewing Congressman Cummings and they are praising lawyers like himself and the State's Attorney Mosby.

In the background and in 2nd window .... National Guard with M16s.

Precious.

a reply to: RedParrotHead

Yeah there are a plethora of different knives. I knew bowie was one. Wth is a gravity knife.

a reply to: Crumbles
A knife that you can "easily flick open" one handed. If a cop finds a pocket knife on you, he can wiggle around the blade to loosen it, and viola, you have a "gravity knife".

Originally I had some doubts about the 2nd° murder charge and whether it had merit or not. So I looked it up under The Maryland criminal code. And that charge does have some legs, to be convicted of 2nd° murder it neither has to be willful or deliberate.

Second degree murder, covered under Maryland Criminal Code § 2-204, makes it illegal to commit any murder, even if it was not premeditated, willful, or deliberate.

And it has a 30 year maximum sentence.

originally posted by: ISawItFirst


Living here and knowing that most, even lawyers LEOS judges and others who should know better, do not know the law, I'll reserve judgement until I see a pic or hear the make and model of the knife.

I picture a little kershaw wave spring assist. Which would be easy for a SA to say, this little thing is perfectly legal, when it is in fact technically not.

The reverse happens all the time.

I highly doubt the SA would go on national TV and make that statement, after such an exhaustive investigation. But, you are welcome to wait for a picture of something that has no bearing on this incident. Good luck.

a reply to: windword

If he served 2 years on a felony drug charge, that would qualify him as a felon. Unless the time was spent in jail awaiting trial.