:umad


BALTIMORE - Six Baltimore police officers have been charged, including one with murder, in the death of a black man who was arrested and suffered a fatal neck injury while riding in a moving police van, the city's chief prosecutor said on Friday.

Prosecutor Marilyn Mosby said Freddie Gray, who died a week after his April 12 arrest, was in handcuffs and shackles but otherwise was not restrained inside the van. The officers failed to provide medical attention to Gray even though he asked for help on at least two occasions.

The death of 25-year-old Gray has become the latest flashpoint in a national outcry over the treatment of African-Americans and other minority groups by U.S. law enforcement.

After a night of rioting in Baltimore on Monday following Gray's funeral, protests spread to other major cities in a reprise of demonstrations set off by police killings last year of unarmed black men in Ferguson, Missouri, New York and elsewhere.

Six Baltimore police officers who were involved in arresting Gray were charged with crimes ranging from second-degree murder to manslaughter to assault and misconduct in office. Only one, Officer Caesar R. Goodson Jr., the driver of the police vehicle, was charged with second-degree murder.

The charge carries a maximum penalty of 30 years imprisonment and the other offenses carry prison terms of between three years to 10 years.

"To the people of Baltimore and the demonstrators across America, I heard your call for 'no justice, no peace.' Your peace is sincerely needed as I work to deliver justice on behalf of this young man," Mosby said at a dramatic news conference on the steps of the War Memorial Building in Baltimore a day after the police department handed over findings from its internal investigation.

The decision to bring charges and the speed at which Mosby made the announcement was greeted with jubilation on the streets of Baltimore, where angry young people looted, burned cars and clashed with police only four nights ago.

"I am shocked that they were charged but I am happy they were charged," said James Crump, 46, a medical technician. "People are happy and celebrating, and it's not even New Year's Eve."

More demonstrations have been planned in cities coast to coast for the weekend, although the Baltimore prosecutor's announcement will likely change the tone of rallies. In Ferguson and New York last year, grand juries decided against charging officers who were involved in the deaths of two unarmed black men. The news triggered rioting in the St. Louis suburb and days of protest marches in New York and other cities.

The union representing the officers, the Fraternal Order of Police, Baltimore City Lodge No. 3, in a letter to Mosby on Friday asked for a special prosecutor to be appointed. It said the officers were not responsible for Gray's death.

At the news conference, Mosby said a special prosecutor would not be as accountable as the people of Baltimore as she would be.

Representatives of Gray's family were not immediately available for comment.

MEDICAL EXAMINER RULES DEATH A HOMICIDE

Mosby said the Maryland chief medical examiner ruled Gray's death a homicide. Gray was no longer breathing when he was finally removed from the van, Mosby said. Gray died in hospital on April 19.

Goodson, the officer who was driving the van, is charged with murder and involuntary manslaughter. Three others are also charged with involuntary manslaughter: Sgt. Alicia D. White, Officer William G. Porter and Lt. Brian Rice. All six are facing lesser charges as well, including Officer Edward M. Nero and Officer Garrett E. Miller.

A crowd of people who gathered to listen to the prosecutor's announcement broke into applause and drivers honked their car horns after she finished speaking.

Some of the onlookers chanted: "Justice!" "Justice for Freddie!" "Thank you Ms Mosby."

"The people of America give me hope. People like this district attorney give me hope," said Jay Morrison, a youth leader who attended the news conference.

Mosby, a 35-year-old African-American who took office in January, said her office had been conducting a parallel investigation while awaiting the findings of the internal police probe.

"I thought it was very important to have an independent analysis as to what took place and transpired from the very beginning," Mosby said.

Who cares

Did they set a court date? Just want to be prepared for the inevitable riots a couple of weeks later. :2thumbs

Pretty sure everyone here condemned the South Carolina cop.

So yeah...

Although I'll wait to see what facts come out before I make my final judgment

YP is in favor of riots and anarchy

When people cried for justice, why didn't LOLtimore simply bus in a new crack dealer? :dunno Aside from the occasional robbery, it doesn't seem like this guy had time for much else.

it really is a shame that this guy is being made out to be some type of martyr and hes a fucking crack dealer.....

not saying he deserved the police brutality, but common logic says he probably brought it upon himself

hes been busted over 12 times for narcotics people.....


most people would be up river for 30+ for that many drug charges.... and we arent talking simple possession like a drug head would get

this guy was distributing and manufacturing

What he did before doesn't matter. I would say he didn't deserve to die because our country doesn't kill for those crimes. If our country did then sure. He has ruined plenty of lives by being a drug pusher so getting his life ruined yeah, but as I said as of today we treat people who do that with jail and not death. Therefor he should've been in jail/prison and stayed locked up.

There's nothing you can show me that I can think of that would change my mind that shows me he deserved to be killed IFFFFF he was killed on purpose..

However there's no evidence so far that he was killed on purpose.

I will wait and see what comes out and if there is concrete proof that they killed him on purpose then :wave

If accidental killed then manslaughter


If he was injuring himself then free the police

Sounds like they'll get convicted of negligence, at worst. Then... resume the riots! :chaingun

What if they were able to prove several people ODed and died as direct result from cocaine he sold them? I'm pretty sure under the law he could be tried for murder and possibly executed especially if he was selling over state lines and it was a federal case

Dead Maryland fux just means more crab cakes for the rest of us. :drool

As I said I could justify the death of plenty of people in my own mind. As you said if he caused te OD or even to myself if he was the cause of ruining kids lives then I don't give a damn. However this pussy country does not put people to death for that. You can barely get them to kill legit murderers so yeah

If 6 thugs killed a cop would they face the same charges?



:thought

I heat ya, his previous crimes dont mean he deserved to die

But he shouldnt be treated like a martyr either

Only the ignorant dumbasses are doing that. Sadly there are many of them.

I have seen some of the protestors talk the truth. Fox had some protestors on there that said that he wasn't a saint. They said he wasn't a good guy for the community but that he didn't need to die for that. Also said they just wanted to know what happened, if he died by injuring himself they wanted to know. They wanted transparency, but if he died because of the cops mistakes or on purpose then they wanted to know and wanted the cops to pay for their due crimes.


That is justifiable for me.

Again though. I would bet everything I have that those are the minority that think that way and have an open mind.

The one they interviews befor that the question they asked was why are you marching he kept saying

We want justice, justice for Freddie gray. To get justice. Black lives matter. All of that stuff. He wouldn't give an answer to the questions and sounded retarded. It was a Starkk contrast between the two.