Prosecutors dropped the remaining charges Wednesday against three Baltimore police officers awaiting trial in the death of Freddie Gray, bringing an end to the case without a conviction.
Gray was a black man whose neck was broken while he was handcuffed and shackled but left unrestrained in the back of a police van in April 2015. His death added fuel to the growing Black Lives Matter movement and caused turmoil in Baltimore, including large protests and the worst riots the city had seen in decades.
The decision by prosecutors comes after a judge had already acquitted three of the six officers charged in the case, including the van driver and another officer who was the highest-ranking of the group.
A fourth officer had his case heard by a jury, who deadlocked and the judge declared a mistrial.
Prosecutors had said Gray was illegally arrested after he ran away from a bike patrol officer and the officers failed to buckle Gray into a seat belt or call a medic when he indicated he wanted to go to a hospital.
(AP)
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4 Responses
Poor Democrats. They now have egg on their face. Where is the race baiter, Ms. Lynch? Where is, “the police acted stupidly”, Mr. Obama? Where are the loving BLM crowd?
I was not privy to the evidence. I cannot say who was responsible.
But; the coroner wrote that ” …the manner of death is best certified as Homicide.”
Freddie was restrained with both wrist and ankle cuffs. And when he was detained by the police and in custody of the police, he died.
Who should be responsible? I don’t know … but the killer is still at large.
The coroner was told to give a politically correct “homicide” ruling rather than the “accidental” death that was the apparent initial determination. The officers will get back pay, and probably have their attorney’s fees paid, but some will probably be fired for not following policy (even if they did nothing criminal, they were supposed to do a more competent job of transporting a prisoner).
They probably should use this case as an argument for wearing a seatbelt. Of course, if you believe the prosecution, parents who don’t force their roudy kids to wear seatbelts should be thrown in prison and their kids put up for adoption.
#2:
Do you think that possibly the coroner should be investigated?