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Baltimore Police Want State Prosecutor To Turn A Blind Eye: Freddie Gray Was Intentionally Killed By Heartless Cops

The Baltimore Fraternal Order of Police along with attorneys for six city officers who were charged with the death of Freddie Gray, have called for Baltimore’s top prosecutor Marilyn Mosby to recuse herself from handling the high profile case surrounding the death of a young black man who sustained serious injury while in police custody, and subsequently died as a result of complications  from a spinal cord injury. Supporters of the subject officers have argued a volume of concerns pertaining to Mosby’s handling of the case. Defense counsel for the accused officers cite the prosecutor’s close ties with an attorney for the Gray family, her marriage to a city councilman that represents the district that encompasses the neighborhood where Freddie Gray was arrested, and lawyers for the cops have even produced documents in which Mosby herself had written communications to top police brass about more stringent policing in the Gilmore homes section of the city due to high drug crime activity.

All of those rationalizations pointing to why the accused cops believe Mosby shouldn’t handle the criminal case of these six city police officers are a stretch at best. If the complete absurdity of police requesting their own prosecutor to be removed the case isn’t enough to raise eyebrows, the argument over attorney William “Billy” Murphy being a conflict because of his campaign donation to support her election bid is nonsense. The Fraternal Order of Police (F.O.P.) donated to Mosby’s campaign also. Although the cops union gave just under a thousand dollars fewer, it was a donation non the less, and just as Murphy had contributed to the young attorney’s run for the city’s top prosecutor’s post.

The documents attorneys produce depicting Mosby’s request for more policing in the Penn North section of the city doesn’t trump the fact that a man sustained serious physical injury while in police custody. To even offer communications to police brass regarding policing in high crime areas in the city, as some how justifying what happened to Freddie Gray is incomprehensible. It’s not unusual for city officials to contact police administrators regarding criminal activity within the community. One of the major sources of providing police with information regarding criminal activity comes from constituents of city officials who complain about low or no police visibility within their perspective communities. Mosby’s communication to police brass requesting stringent policing in the Gilmore Homes area isn’t out of the ordinary, and it certainly doesn’t mean that cops have a license to conduct themselves in such a fashion that results in the death of criminal suspects without justification for such level of force.

The claim of a conflict of interest related to prosecutor Mosby’s marriage to city councilman Nick Mosby is simply absurd. No one had an issue with her marriage to a city councilman until city police officers came under fire for the death of Freddie Gray. To make such an assertion is petty, immature, and has no merit what so ever. Attorneys for the accused cops claim that the councilman serves to benefit from successful prosecution of police who are charged with the murder of a constituent within his district. Looking at the arrest record of Freddie Gray (a volume of petty crimes), I doubt very seriously if he even held a voter’s card. All of the purported conflicts of interest that have been offered so far by defense council of accused city cops, is nothing more than a failed attempt to deflect from what actually happened to Freddie Gray.

While the cellphone video of Gray being taken into custody by police is not confirmation that Gray was in fact severely injured, it gives the appearance of him in pain, and considering that cops who handled him during his arrest admitted that he requested medical assistance multiple times, its demonstrative of complete neglect on the part of police who appeared to ignore his pleas for help. One of the major errors that’s often made by authority figures, is the careless mindset of drawing conclusions that a person is putting on an act, and isn’t really in need of medical assistance. That’s not an officer’s job to determine whether or not an arrestee of suspects is injured or not. A cop isn’t a medical professional and its not their job to make such a call. Regardless how the entire Freddie Gray case plays out, all of the officers who interacted with him were negligent in the course of their duty for failure to render assistance, at the very minimum.

So, all of the posturing by the cops and their attorneys is simply an exacerbation of various factors unrelated to the case, for the purpose of grand standing in the media. It’s clear that something happened to Freddie after he was taken into custody. You don’t have to be a rocket scientist to conclude that his hollering while being drag to the paddy wagon is a drastic turn of events compared to him being rendered unconscious and unresponsive just a short time later. The culture of policing in Baltimore that typically overshadows and condones cases like this, where a person actually dies from being in police custody, has been a long standing practice within Baltimore’s unwritten police policies. The prosecutor’s office usually isn’t inclined to go against city police when officer misconduct is alleged, because the prosecutor’s office is dependent upon city police officers to provide valuable information such as evidence, witness testimony, and other data to aid in the successful prosecution of criminal defendants.

Therefore, its an expectation that the prosecutor would error on the side of city police. In other words, even if the officers were wrong (clearly they were wrong in the Gray case) the prosecutor’s role in accordance with Baltimore’s policing culture, isn’t suppose to be from a posture where she comes after one of her own. The fact that Freddie Gray was even stopped in the first place is the very premise from which Mosby derived criminal charges against the arresting officers. Police supporters cite federal law which allows for police to pursue potential suspects who flee from the onset of visual contact with police, for no apparent reason as grounds for city officer’s engagement with Freddie Gray. Whether Gray was actively engaging in criminal activity or not when police began to chase him, it’s highly likely based on the number of times Gray had been arrested, he more likely than not would have began running anyway at the very sight of cops who knew him, and who had arrested him several times previously.

In fact, there is a very strong possibility that police who pursued and arrested Freddie Gray may have been acting out of “contempt of cop,” which is a phrase utilized to describe police intent on arresting a suspect for something substantial, after multiple previous arrest for the same crime fails to successfully incarcerate the suspect for a period of time. The video captured by a citizen within the community doesn’t show the take down and actual arrest of  Gray, but his appearance while being dragged to the transport vehicle is troubling and very disturbing to watch especially considering that Gray died a few days later. The dispute over whether the knife Gray had in his possession upon his arrest is legal to carry or not creates another argument. The arresting officers believe that the knife was illegal to carry by Maryland law, but prosecutor Mosby has argued that the knife was not illegal, and declared Gray’s arrest to be unlawful.

However, we have to utilize common sense here. Baltimore police officers aren’t typically going to arrest a man for a small pocket knife (spring action or not) and make the long trek all the way down town to the crowded, and often times busy central booking. Most police officers would simply confiscate the item. The paperwork alone would be such a hassle. Forms would have to be filled out, chain of custody documents signed, and a trip would have to be made to the city’s evidence room. Those of us who know how Baltimore police operate, know that writing a report for anything is essentially the very last task that Baltimore cops want to concern themselves with. I’m inclined to believe that a supervisor would even chastise an officer for involving them with such a cumbersome task. The fact that they arrested Freddie Gray for a questionable weapon illustrates that they were looking for anything to lock Gray up for, and wanted him off the streets.

When we look at the extremely troubling facts surrounding Gray’s death it becomes clear that he was a person that the police wanted to punish, regardless if he cried out for medical care or not, and that’s why the second degree murder charge, with a depraved heart is completely justified in this case:

1. Police pursuit of Gray seems to lack merit, even though he ran.

2. Police appear to pursue Gray out of “contempt of cop.”

3. The legality of the knife Gray had in his possession is questionable, and cops didn’t retrieve it until after he was stop (Note It couldn’t have been the      premise for them stopping him, although a police report indicates that an officer saw  the knife and was the reason he was pursued).

4. Gray appeared to be injured and could barely support his own weight at the time of his arrest.

5. Gray cried out in pain and requested medical attention multiple times, only to fall upon death ears of police who ignored his pleas.

6. Gray was placed inside the police transport vehicle handcuffed from behind and wasn’t properly restrained pure a Baltimore City Police General      Order.

7. The police transport vehicle driver made an unrecorded stop, parked the vehicle at Mosher and Fremont, opened the wagon, and went inside (for        some unknown reason and failed to disclose the stop to police investigators).

8. The transport vehicle stopped a second time just blocks away from his arrest. Gray was taken out of the vehicle while he appeared to be              unconscious, had leg restraints put on him, and place back inside the wagon. Police still didn’t find it necessary to seek medical care for Gray.

9. The transport vehicle stopped a third stop at Druid Hill and Dolphin streets after the driver called for assistance with his prisoner. Looking at a map of the city, the transport vehicle appeared to be headed toward central booking. Police failed to seek medical care for Gray at this stop also.

10. The transport vehicle changed course and went back toward the area where Gray was arrested to make a fourth stop to pick up another arrestee at     North and Pennsylvania Avenues.

11. Sgt. Alicia White was dispatched by KGA (police dispatch) to North and Penn to check on the condition of Gray after repeated calls to 911 by         citizens who were concerned about Gray’s physical condition. White calls Gray name touches the back of his head, and even though he is               unresponsive, she allows the transport vehicle to leave without requesting medical assistance for Gray.

12. A fifth stop was made back at Mount and Riggs Avenue at the Western District police station, nearly one and half hours later is when police finally radioed for an EMS to transport Gray to the hospital.

Take a look at a map of the stops highlighted in light blue (the pink arrow and pink box shows Central Booking’s location where the transport vehicle appeared to be initially heading upon Gray’s arrest) here:  Map detailing police transport vehicle route after Freddie Gray was arrested

Now, after digesting these basic facts pertaining to how Baltimore police treated Freddie Gray once he was taken into custody, an argument could be easily be made that police intentionally denied Gray medical care, and even while he appeared to be unconscious and unresponsive. Clearly Gray was a suspect that cops wasn’t to fond of, and acted callously caring for Gray while he was in their custody. Baltimore Sun news reporter Justin Fenton recently disclosed the Medical Examiners finding which how Gray’s death was ruled a homicide. You can view his commentary on the report here. Freddie Gray Autopsy Report

Although the Examiner allegedly concluded that it was a high impact injury that caused the severe spinal injury to Gray and more than likely occurred when the transport vehicle either accelerated or decelerated while Gray had apparently propped himself up, coupled with him not being properly secured in the vehicle per police policy, and various officers including a supervisor failure to render aid to Freddie Gray is it believe to be why his death was ruled a homicide. I am sure that a passenger transported in a vehicle in the fashion Gray was. with his hands and feet shackled could sustain a high impact injury that reports allegedly describe Gray’s injury, but for the vertebrae to incur multiple fractures, the manner in which the examiner’s report describes how the injury occurred had to have happened more than once. This would almost certainly infer that the transport vehicle was being driven in a reckless manner intentionally.

However, there is still the matter of the second stop the transport vehicle driver made at Mosher and Freemont Avenues where he parked the vehicle, opened the paddy wagon door, and went inside for some unknown reason. The transport driver Ofc. Cesar Goodson also failed to disclose the stop to police investigators within the Baltimore City police department. Prosecutor Mosby had ordered a parallel investigation be conducted by the Baltimore City Sheriffs Department, an entirely separate and independent police agency from Baltimore Police. The Sheriff’s department investigation uncovered private security surveillance footage that depicts Goodson stopping the transport vehicle and going inside. The high impact injury that Gray sustained could also have come from being stomped in the back of the neck. Police reports indicate that Gray was highly agitated, and Goo0dson may have instituted some old fashion Baltimore police “act right” (use of force) tactics on Gray in an effort to check his diruptive behavior.

My latter argument may simply be a hunch, but it does raise serious questions why Goodson made that extra stop and didn’t tell police brass about it. Even if Gray’s injuries occurred in the fashion that the medical Examiner’s report indicates, a police officer’s failure to render aid or simply call for an EMS for an arrestee/prisoner in their custody is just simply heartless and inhumane. Given the scenario and factors leading up to the death of Freddie Gray, it’s clear that police intentionally refused to help him as their duty requires them to do, solely because he was seen as a pest and a person who wasn’t deserving of medical care whatsoever. Why else would six officers including two supervisors ignore an arrestees pleas for medical care? The untimely demise of Freddie Gray looks more and more like he died a victim of “contempt of cop” by by Baltimore City’s finest.

 

 

The People’s Champion

I’m Crime Blogger David Adams

 

David Adams

A Self proclaimed geek, Sympathizer for the homeless, Social Change Advocate, Crime Blogger, Promoter of Awareness for Missing and Exploited Children, and a mobile technology enthusiast. A recognized Journalist and Human Interest Writer championing the plight of the masses whom are without a voice of their own.

More Posts - Website

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The Baltimore Fraternal Order of Police along with attorneys for six city officers who were charged with the death of Freddie Gray, have called for Baltimore’s top prosecutor Marilyn Mosby to recuse herself from handling the high profile case surrounding the death of a young black man who sustained serious injury while in police custody, and subsequently died as a result of complications  from a spinal cord injury. Supporters of the subject officers have argued a volume of concerns pertaining to Mosby’s handling of the case. Defense counsel for the accused officers cite the prosecutor’s close ties with an attorney for the Gray family, her marriage to a city councilman that represents the district that encompasses the neighborhood where Freddie Gray was arrested, and lawyers for the cops have even produced documents in which Mosby herself had written communications to top police brass about more stringent policing in the Gilmore homes section of the city due to high drug crime activity.

All of those rationalizations pointing to why the accused cops believe Mosby shouldn’t handle the criminal case of these six city police officers are a stretch at best. If the complete absurdity of police requesting their own prosecutor to be removed the case isn’t enough to raise eyebrows, the argument over attorney William “Billy” Murphy being a conflict because of his campaign donation to support her election bid is nonsense. The Fraternal Order of Police (F.O.P.) donated to Mosby’s campaign also. Although the cops union gave just under a thousand dollars fewer, it was a donation non the less, and just as Murphy had contributed to the young attorney’s run for the city’s top prosecutor’s post.

The documents attorneys produce depicting Mosby’s request for more policing in the Penn North section of the city doesn’t trump the fact that a man sustained serious physical injury while in police custody. To even offer communications to police brass regarding policing in high crime areas in the city, as some how justifying what happened to Freddie Gray is incomprehensible. It’s not unusual for city officials to contact police administrators regarding criminal activity within the community. One of the major sources of providing police with information regarding criminal activity comes from constituents of city officials who complain about low or no police visibility within their perspective communities. Mosby’s communication to police brass requesting stringent policing in the Gilmore Homes area isn’t out of the ordinary, and it certainly doesn’t mean that cops have a license to conduct themselves in such a fashion that results in the death of criminal suspects without justification for such level of force.

The claim of a conflict of interest related to prosecutor Mosby’s marriage to city councilman Nick Mosby is simply absurd. No one had an issue with her marriage to a city councilman until city police officers came under fire for the death of Freddie Gray. To make such an assertion is petty, immature, and has no merit what so ever. Attorneys for the accused cops claim that the councilman serves to benefit from successful prosecution of police who are charged with the murder of a constituent within his district. Looking at the arrest record of Freddie Gray (a volume of petty crimes), I doubt very seriously if he even held a voter’s card. All of the purported conflicts of interest that have been offered so far by defense council of accused city cops, is nothing more than a failed attempt to deflect from what actually happened to Freddie Gray.

While the cellphone video of Gray being taken into custody by police is not confirmation that Gray was in fact severely injured, it gives the appearance of him in pain, and considering that cops who handled him during his arrest admitted that he requested medical assistance multiple times, its demonstrative of complete neglect on the part of police who appeared to ignore his pleas for help. One of the major errors that’s often made by authority figures, is the careless mindset of drawing conclusions that a person is putting on an act, and isn’t really in need of medical assistance. That’s not an officer’s job to determine whether or not an arrestee of suspects is injured or not. A cop isn’t a medical professional and its not their job to make such a call. Regardless how the entire Freddie Gray case plays out, all of the officers who interacted with him were negligent in the course of their duty for failure to render assistance, at the very minimum.

So, all of the posturing by the cops and their attorneys is simply an exacerbation of various factors unrelated to the case, for the purpose of grand standing in the media. It’s clear that something happened to Freddie after he was taken into custody. You don’t have to be a rocket scientist to conclude that his hollering while being drag to the paddy wagon is a drastic turn of events compared to him being rendered unconscious and unresponsive just a short time later. The culture of policing in Baltimore that typically overshadows and condones cases like this, where a person actually dies from being in police custody, has been a long standing practice within Baltimore’s unwritten police policies. The prosecutor’s office usually isn’t inclined to go against city police when officer misconduct is alleged, because the prosecutor’s office is dependent upon city police officers to provide valuable information such as evidence, witness testimony, and other data to aid in the successful prosecution of criminal defendants.

Therefore, its an expectation that the prosecutor would error on the side of city police. In other words, even if the officers were wrong (clearly they were wrong in the Gray case) the prosecutor’s role in accordance with Baltimore’s policing culture, isn’t suppose to be from a posture where she comes after one of her own. The fact that Freddie Gray was even stopped in the first place is the very premise from which Mosby derived criminal charges against the arresting officers. Police supporters cite federal law which allows for police to pursue potential suspects who flee from the onset of visual contact with police, for no apparent reason as grounds for city officer’s engagement with Freddie Gray. Whether Gray was actively engaging in criminal activity or not when police began to chase him, it’s highly likely based on the number of times Gray had been arrested, he more likely than not would have began running anyway at the very sight of cops who knew him, and who had arrested him several times previously.

In fact, there is a very strong possibility that police who pursued and arrested Freddie Gray may have been acting out of “contempt of cop,” which is a phrase utilized to describe police intent on arresting a suspect for something substantial, after multiple previous arrest for the same crime fails to successfully incarcerate the suspect for a period of time. The video captured by a citizen within the community doesn’t show the take down and actual arrest of  Gray, but his appearance while being dragged to the transport vehicle is troubling and very disturbing to watch especially considering that Gray died a few days later. The dispute over whether the knife Gray had in his possession upon his arrest is legal to carry or not creates another argument. The arresting officers believe that the knife was illegal to carry by Maryland law, but prosecutor Mosby has argued that the knife was not illegal, and declared Gray’s arrest to be unlawful.

However, we have to utilize common sense here. Baltimore police officers aren’t typically going to arrest a man for a small pocket knife (spring action or not) and make the long trek all the way down town to the crowded, and often times busy central booking. Most police officers would simply confiscate the item. The paperwork alone would be such a hassle. Forms would have to be filled out, chain of custody documents signed, and a trip would have to be made to the city’s evidence room. Those of us who know how Baltimore police operate, know that writing a report for anything is essentially the very last task that Baltimore cops want to concern themselves with. I’m inclined to believe that a supervisor would even chastise an officer for involving them with such a cumbersome task. The fact that they arrested Freddie Gray for a questionable weapon illustrates that they were looking for anything to lock Gray up for, and wanted him off the streets.

When we look at the extremely troubling facts surrounding Gray’s death it becomes clear that he was a person that the police wanted to punish, regardless if he cried out for medical care or not, and that’s why the second degree murder charge, with a depraved heart is completely justified in this case:

1. Police pursuit of Gray seems to lack merit, even though he ran.

2. Police appear to pursue Gray out of “contempt of cop.”

3. The legality of the knife Gray had in his possession is questionable, and cops didn’t retrieve it until after he was stop (Note It couldn’t have been the      premise for them stopping him, although a police report indicates that an officer saw  the knife and was the reason he was pursued).

4. Gray appeared to be injured and could barely support his own weight at the time of his arrest.

5. Gray cried out in pain and requested medical attention multiple times, only to fall upon death ears of police who ignored his pleas.

6. Gray was placed inside the police transport vehicle handcuffed from behind and wasn’t properly restrained pure a Baltimore City Police General      Order.

7. The police transport vehicle driver made an unrecorded stop, parked the vehicle at Mosher and Fremont, opened the wagon, and went inside (for        some unknown reason and failed to disclose the stop to police investigators).

8. The transport vehicle stopped a second time just blocks away from his arrest. Gray was taken out of the vehicle while he appeared to be              unconscious, had leg restraints put on him, and place back inside the wagon. Police still didn’t find it necessary to seek medical care for Gray.

9. The transport vehicle stopped a third stop at Druid Hill and Dolphin streets after the driver called for assistance with his prisoner. Looking at a map of the city, the transport vehicle appeared to be headed toward central booking. Police failed to seek medical care for Gray at this stop also.

10. The transport vehicle changed course and went back toward the area where Gray was arrested to make a fourth stop to pick up another arrestee at     North and Pennsylvania Avenues.

11. Sgt. Alicia White was dispatched by KGA (police dispatch) to North and Penn to check on the condition of Gray after repeated calls to 911 by         citizens who were concerned about Gray’s physical condition. White calls Gray name touches the back of his head, and even though he is               unresponsive, she allows the transport vehicle to leave without requesting medical assistance for Gray.

12. A fifth stop was made back at Mount and Riggs Avenue at the Western District police station, nearly one and half hours later is when police finally radioed for an EMS to transport Gray to the hospital.

Take a look at a map of the stops highlighted in light blue (the pink arrow and pink box shows Central Booking’s location where the transport vehicle appeared to be initially heading upon Gray’s arrest) here:  Map detailing police transport vehicle route after Freddie Gray was arrested

Now, after digesting these basic facts pertaining to how Baltimore police treated Freddie Gray once he was taken into custody, an argument could be easily be made that police intentionally denied Gray medical care, and even while he appeared to be unconscious and unresponsive. Clearly Gray was a suspect that cops wasn’t to fond of, and acted callously caring for Gray while he was in their custody. Baltimore Sun news reporter Justin Fenton recently disclosed the Medical Examiners finding which how Gray’s death was ruled a homicide. You can view his commentary on the report here. Freddie Gray Autopsy Report

Although the Examiner allegedly concluded that it was a high impact injury that caused the severe spinal injury to Gray and more than likely occurred when the transport vehicle either accelerated or decelerated while Gray had apparently propped himself up, coupled with him not being properly secured in the vehicle per police policy, and various officers including a supervisor failure to render aid to Freddie Gray is it believe to be why his death was ruled a homicide. I am sure that a passenger transported in a vehicle in the fashion Gray was. with his hands and feet shackled could sustain a high impact injury that reports allegedly describe Gray’s injury, but for the vertebrae to incur multiple fractures, the manner in which the examiner’s report describes how the injury occurred had to have happened more than once. This would almost certainly infer that the transport vehicle was being driven in a reckless manner intentionally.

However, there is still the matter of the second stop the transport vehicle driver made at Mosher and Freemont Avenues where he parked the vehicle, opened the paddy wagon door, and went inside for some unknown reason. The transport driver Ofc. Cesar Goodson also failed to disclose the stop to police investigators within the Baltimore City police department. Prosecutor Mosby had ordered a parallel investigation be conducted by the Baltimore City Sheriffs Department, an entirely separate and independent police agency from Baltimore Police. The Sheriff’s department investigation uncovered private security surveillance footage that depicts Goodson stopping the transport vehicle and going inside. The high impact injury that Gray sustained could also have come from being stomped in the back of the neck. Police reports indicate that Gray was highly agitated, and Goo0dson may have instituted some old fashion Baltimore police “act right” (use of force) tactics on Gray in an effort to check his diruptive behavior.

My latter argument may simply be a hunch, but it does raise serious questions why Goodson made that extra stop and didn’t tell police brass about it. Even if Gray’s injuries occurred in the fashion that the medical Examiner’s report indicates, a police officer’s failure to render aid or simply call for an EMS for an arrestee/prisoner in their custody is just simply heartless and inhumane. Given the scenario and factors leading up to the death of Freddie Gray, it’s clear that police intentionally refused to help him as their duty requires them to do, solely because he was seen as a pest and a person who wasn’t deserving of medical care whatsoever. Why else would six officers including two supervisors ignore an arrestees pleas for medical care? The untimely demise of Freddie Gray looks more and more like he died a victim of “contempt of cop” by by Baltimore City’s finest.

 

 

The People’s Champion

I’m Crime Blogger David Adams

 

David Adams

A Self proclaimed geek, Sympathizer for the homeless, Social Change Advocate, Crime Blogger, Promoter of Awareness for Missing and Exploited Children, and a mobile technology enthusiast. A recognized Journalist and Human Interest Writer championing the plight of the masses whom are without a voice of their own.

More Posts - Website

Follow Me:
TwitterFacebookLinkedInGoogle Plus

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