Charges Dropped Against All Officers In Freddie Gray Case
The lack of charges against the officers implicated in Freddie Gray"s death weighed heavily on the minds of Black Lives Matter co-founderAlicia Garza and others participating in a Rock the Vote panel today (July 27) in Philadelphia.
"Police are allowed to be judge, jury and executioner," Garza said during panel, which was focused on the militarization of police. "Marilyn Mosby came out today and said that"s what happened with the aquittal of all officers in the murder of Freddie Gray. We have really bad a*s policy and organizingthat"s being moved, which tells me that there"s something so deeply corrupt about the system that we"re trying to temper with, that we might want to start over again."
JournalistErica Williams(Time, Upworthy)moderated the panel, which also featured journalist Chris Hedges (Truth Dig), Justice League NYC co-founder Carmen Perez,former NAACP presidentBen Jealousandactor Kendrick Sampson ("How to Get Away with Murder"). Panelists also addressed the profit-driven underpinnings of agresssive policing, with Hedges criticizing the "forces of capitalism and neoliberalism"s" role in fostering the demonizedunderground economy.
Perez also shared personal experiences with police: "I think about the way in which they dealt with my family, when we were having weddings and maybe there was a fight or a gun brandished," said Perez. "There would be tanks, [police] would come in and hold our family at gunpoint."
The panel, like a Melissa Harris-Perry-moderated one we covered yesterday,was part of Rock the Vote"s Truth to Power event series and pop-up art exhibit. Presented parallel to the Democratic National Convention (DNC) in Philadelphia this week, the series concludestoday.
Check out our livestream of Garza and Perez"s opening remarks below.
Megyn Kelly and DeRay Mckesson had a heated exchange Monday over a trial related to the death of Freddie Gray.
The Kelly File host asked the gay Black Lives Matter activist whether the acquittal of police officer Edward Nero was biased and racist to the core, as Kelly quoted one of the trials critics.
Gray, an African-American, died of a broken spine while in the custody of the Baltimore Police Department in 2015. Mckesson, echoing the criticism of many activists, advocated for systemic change that would prevent future fatalities from occurring.
We need to make the laws so that they can hold police officers accountable, Mckesson said.
What did [Nero] do that was wrong? pressed Kelly.
The Fox News host noted that Nero had virtually no interaction with Gray at the time of his arrest April 12 of last year, which was for alleged possession of a switchblade. Gray suffered a spinal injury while riding in a police van without a seat belt, and he fell into a coma in the van and died a week later. The death was ruled a homicide. The state"s attorney"s office filed charges against six officers involved in the arrest.
Freddie Gray should not have been stopped, Mckesson told Kelly. He was no threat to the officers. The officers were a threat to Freddie Gray."
Dont you see the danger to the community if we start locking up cops for making a bad judgment call?Kelly asked in response.
Do you think Freddie Gray should be dead, Megan? Mckesson shot back, adding, I will never agree that an officers role is to kill unarmed citizens.
The interview with Mckesson, a Baltimore mayoral candidate who was interviewed by Janet Mock inThe Advocate"s recent cover story, was then cut short by Kelly.
Police Officer Edward Nero Found Not Guilty in Freddie Gray Case, "View" Reacts | The View
After two trials and no convictions, Baltimore"s top prosecutor is facing criticism that she moved too quickly to file charges against six officers in the death of Freddie Gray without first ensuring there was enough evidence to bring them to bear.
Even the judge overseeing the cases in his verdict Monday acquitting the latest officer to stand trial in the death of the African-American man said the state failed to prove its case on any of the charges.
Baltimore Circuit Judge Barry Williams acquitted Officer Edward Nero of the assault, misconduct in office and reckless endangerment charges in connection with Gray"s arrest last year outside a West Baltimore housing complex.
Gray died on April 19, 2015, a week after his neck was broken while handcuffed, shackled, but left unrestrained by a seat belt in the back of a police van. The circumstances of his arrest and his subsequent death triggered protests demanding justice for Gray. On the day of his funeral, rioting and looting broke out. The National Guard responded, and a curfew was imposed.
Williams delivered his verdict in the racially charged case before a packed courtroom Monday. Nero"s parents and his brother sat in the front row; a few rows away, Gray"s stepfather. Noticeably absent, however, was State"s Attorney Marilyn Mosby, who was present when Williams declared a mistrial in the trial for Officer William Porter in December.
After announcing charges against the officers last May one day after receiving the police department"s investigation while a tense city was still under curfew Mosby did not shy from the spotlight. She posed for magazine photos, sat for TV interviews and even appeared onstage at a Prince concert in Gray"s honor.
After the acquittal, Nero"s lawyers sought to send a strong message to her.
"Officer Edward Nero, his wife and family are elated that this nightmare is finally over," wrote Marc Zayon and Allison Levine in a statement. "The state"s attorney for Baltimore city rushed to charge him, as well as the other five officers, completely disregarding the facts of the case and the applicable law. His hope is that the state"s attorney will reevaluate the remaining five officers" cases and dismiss their charges."
Mosby spokeswoman Rochelle Ritchie, citing a gag order in the case, declined comment Monday.
David Weinstein, a Florida attorney and former federal civil rights prosecutor, said the verdict will probably serve as a "wake-up call" for prosecutors.
"This speaks to the notion a lot of people had when this first happened, which is that it was a rush to judgment," Weinstein said. "The state"s attorney was trying to balance what she had with the public outcry and call to action given the climate in Baltimore and across the U.S. concerning policing, and I think she was overreaching."
Harvard University professor Alan Dershowitz said he believed the judge"s verdict was an example of the legal system looking at the facts of the case without being influenced by race or community pressure. He said he "absolutely" believed Mosby overreached in bringing charges against the six officers.
"There"s no question she acted irresponsibly," Dershowitz said in a telephone interview. "She acted politically. She acted too quickly, and the public ought to make her pay a price for seeking to distort justice."
Although the judge"s ruling referred specifically to Nero"s case the other officers will be tried separately for their alleged roles he rejected nearly every claim the state made at trial, repeatedly telling prosecutors they"d failed to prove any of the counts beyond a reasonable doubt.
Prosecutors had argued that Nero and colleague Garrett Miller illegally detained and arrested Gray without probable cause, and that Nero was reckless when he failed to buckle Gray into a seat belt during the van"s second stop blocks from the arrest. Zayon argued Nero wasn"t involved in Gray"s arrest, having only arrived after the 25-year-old man black man was in handcuffs. As for the seat belt, Zayon said not only was Nero unaware of a newly revised policy requiring officers to buckle in prisoners the previous policy gave officers discretion based on circumstances but that it was the van driver"s responsibility to make sure Gray was safe.
In his verdict, Williams said he believed Miller, who took the stand as the state"s principal witness and testified that he alone detained and handcuffed Gray. The judge told prosecutors they failed to prove Nero did anything wrong. In terms of the arrest that the state alleged was an assault, Williams ruled Nero wasn"t involved. As for his failure the buckle Gray in, Williams said there was no proof Nero knew he had a duty to belt the prisoner in, or that he failed to do so on purpose.
"The state"s theory from the beginning has been one of negligence, recklessness, and disregard for duty and orders by this defendant," Williams said. "There has been no information presented at this trial that the defendant intended for any crime to happen."
Nero, who is white, was the second of six officers charged to stand trial. The manslaughter case against Porter ended in a mistrial in December when the jury deadlocked. Prosecutors plan to retry him in September.
Warren Brown, a Baltimore attorney who observed much of Nero"s trial, said the verdict proved how thin the state"s cases are against the officers.
"It was clearly a case where the state decided that come h**l or high water they were going to prosecute Nero and Miller, and I think that the ridiculous prosecution was borne out," Brown said. "This thing may extend on and on, quite frankly. It"s the prosecution that keeps on giving."
Trial No. 3 that of van driver Caesar Goodson, who prosecutors believe is most culpable in Gray"s death is set to begin in two weeks. He is charged with second-degree murder.
Associated Press writers Brian Witte in Baltimore and David Dishneau in Hagerstown, Maryland, contributed to this report.
New video shows arrest of Freddie Gray in Baltimore
BALTIMORE (AP) - The events following the April 12, 2015, arrest of Freddie Gray, a 25-year-old black man who was injured in the custody of the Baltimore Police Department and died a week later. Six officers involved in the arrest were charged.
April 12 - Freddie Gray is arrested after police make eye contact with him and another man, and the pair run. Officers put Gray in a transport van. He says several times that he needs medical care during the approximately 44-minute ride to a police district station. An ambulance takes him to a hospital in critical condition.
April 19 - Gray dies at a hospital.
SEE ALSO: Baltimore officer found not guilty in death of Freddie Gray
April 21 - The U.S. Department of Justice opens a civil rights investigation into Grays death.
April 25 - A peaceful march ends downtown, then some people smash police car windows and storefronts. Fans at a Baltimore Orioles-Boston Red Sox baseball game are told to stay inside Oriole Park at Camden Yards temporarily because of public safety concerns.
April 27 - Grays family, religious and political leaders attend his funeral. In the afternoon, rioting, looting and arson break out and continue through the night. More than 200 people are arrested. The Maryland National Guard is called up, the first time for a civil disturbance in the state since 1968. A nightly curfew is imposed.
April 29 - The Orioles play the Chicago White Sox in a stadium without fans after officials close the game to the public.
May 1 - Baltimore States Attorney Marilyn Mosby announces charges against the officers, saying no one is above the law.
May 8 - U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch announces a civil rights investigation of the Baltimore police force as a whole, looking for patterns of excessive force and improper stops and searches.
Sept. 8 - Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake announces a tentative $6.4 million settlement between Grays parents and the city of Baltimore.
Dec. 16 - A mistrial is declared in Officer William Porters case after the jury cant reach a unanimous decision after three days of deliberations.
March 8 - The Court of Appeals rules that Porter must testify against his colleagues while he awaits retrial.
May 23 __ Baltimore Police Officer Edward Nero is acquitted of assault and other charges in connection to Grays arrest.
