It's the same song but with different lyrics: But you know them: Trayvon Martin shot while killer is freed; Michael Brown, gunned down by a police officer who is exonerated; Walter Scott shot by an officer while resisting arrest; and now Freddie Gray, arrested for having a penknife dies in police custody.
We'll begin by discussing the comments of the politicos in the Freddie Gray case. The rioting, looting, and destruction of property that followed his death were, in their singular opinion, justified reactions to police misconduct. Then we'll review the facts related to Gray's bizarre demise. We'll see that the two---opinion and fact---keep poor company. Last, we'll consider the fallout.
The Politicians.
President Obama: “Sometimes chaos has to erupt before a new order can be established. The Baltimore rioters are the black heroes of America.” (Yes, he actually said that.)
The Attorney General of the U.S. Loretta Lynch: “The ultimate goal within the Baltimore community and across the nation [is] about the way our law enforcement officers interact with the residents.”
The Mayor of Baltimore Stephanie Raulings-Blake: “Let them loot, it's only property.”
Baltimore Police Commissioner Anthony Batts: “The organization [police department] has a long history of causing pain in the community.”
Baltimore State Attorney Marilyn Mosby: “I work to deliver justice on behalf of Freddie Gray---by any means.”
Putting a maraschino cherry on all these quotes, Mosby charged the six officers involved in Gray's arrest with everything except spitting on the sidewalk: 9 counts of second-degree murder, manslaughter, second-degree assault, 2 counts of vehicular homicide, 9 counts of misconduct in office, 3 counts of involuntary manslaughter, and 3 counts of false imprisonment.
The Facts.
Rewind to April 12, the date Gray was arrested.
Two officers patrolling a high-crime section of Baltimore see Gray, a drug peddler familiar to them. Gray sees the officers and runs. The officers suspecting an aborted drug deal give chase.
Gray runs for time to discard incriminating substances by throwing them away or ingesting them; no drugs, no arrest. (Later the medical examiner will find heroin and marijuana in his blood.)
He is quickly apprehended and arrested for carrying an illegal switchblade. Four other officers join the two to subdue Gray who is uncooperative.
Gray requests medical assistance for an injured arm. Officers radio the Emergency Medical Service unit but do not receive a reply. Gray is shackled and put into a police van for transport. One officer is left behind to direct the EMS unit.
The van is divided lengthwise into two sections by a metal partition. Bench seats are on both sides. The confines are narrow. An officer attempts to seat-belt Gray. But he is still belligerent. Rather than risk injury or being spit at by someone who may be HIV positive (shared needles means shared diseases) he forgoes the procedure.
During the ride a prisoner on the opposite side of the partition hears Gray making a banging sound. He thinks the other prisoner “was trying to injure himself.” A successful police brutality or excessive force suite can be a moneymaker.
During the ride police check on Gray and re-seat him on the bench.
Then the unexpected happens, as it always does. Forty-five minutes after boarding the police van Gray is discovered lying unconscious on the vehicle's floor. His spiral cord is severed. One week later he succumbs to the injury.
How, then, was Gray's spinal cord severed? The most probable explanation is that he injured himself by slamming his head against the van then exacerbating a self-inflicted wound by falling on the van's floor.
Who killed Freddie Gray? Freddie Gray.
These are the facts as they are currently known (May 11) fleshed out with reasonable speculations.
The Fallout.
Two questions remain: What is the legal fate of the six officers? and, What's next for Baltimore?
The prejudicial statements by prosecutor Mosby make a change of venue necessary. The odds of an out-of-town jury convicting the six of criminal intent or even of negligence are in the range of breaking the bank at Monte Carlo.
As for Marilyn Mosby, she will be forced out of office and replaced by an adult.
Lastly, the rioters. They will score big by losing. Freddie Gray will join Trayvon Martin, Michael Brown, and Walter Scott, in the Pantheon of the Martyred. And Baltimore? The rioters will rampage once again.
Remember when they used to shoot looters?
Sincerely,
Bob Scroggins
New Milford, PA