6 Baltimore Police Officers Charged in Freddie Gray Death

BALTIMORE — Baltimore’s chief prosecutor charged six police officers on Friday with crimes including murder and manslaughter in the arrest and fatal injury of Freddie Gray, a striking and surprisingly swift turn in a case that has drawn national attention to police conduct.

The state’s attorney for Baltimore, Marilyn J. Mosby, filed the charges almost as soon as she received a medical examiner’s report that ruled Mr. Gray’s death a homicide, and a day after the police concluded their initial investigation and handed over their findings. Officials had cautioned that it could take considerable time for her office to complete its own investigation and decide whether to prosecute.

Five of the six officers are in custody, Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake said later.

In a city rocked by unrest this week, and now under curfew and patrolled by National Guard troops, Ms. Mosby’s announcement on the steps of the War Memorial downtown drew cheers from the assembled crowd, while a cordon of officers in riot gear looked on stonily. As word spread, people in parts of the city took to the streets in celebration. The death of Mr. Gray brought to a boil long-simmering tensions between the police and poor neighborhoods in this majority-black city, culminating in rioting Monday, with more peaceful demonstrations continuing through the week.

President Obama declined to comment on the charges directly, but said that what matters is for the justice system to work properly. “What I think the people of Baltimore want more than anything else is the truth,” he said. “That’s what people around the country expect.”

Ms. Mosby said that Mr. Gray suffered a fatal spinal injury on April 12 while being transported in a police van — and not earlier, while being arrested — and pointed to the failure of the police to put a seatbelt on him as a crucial factor. “Mr. Gray suffered a critical neck injury as a result of being handcuffed, shackled by his feet and unrestrained inside the BPD wagon,” she said, referring to the police van.

Despite repeated stops to check on Mr. Gray, the van driver, Officer Caesar R. Goodson Jr., and other officers never belted him in, she said, at times leaving him facedown on the van floor with his hands behind him. Though there has been speculation that the police intentionally gave Mr. Gray a “rough ride,” intended to slam him against the metal walls of the van, Ms. Mosby did not refer to that possibility. She charged only Officer Goodson with second-degree murder, the most serious crime facing the six officers; he was also accused of manslaughter, assault and misconduct in office.

Mr. Gray’s condition deteriorated, she said, as officers repeatedly ignored his pleas for medical attention and ignored obvious signs that he was in distress. At one point, she said, when officers attempted to check on him, Mr. Gray was completely unresponsive — yet no action was taken. He died of his injuries a week later.

Read More HERE