Baltimore prosecutors, in an unexpected announcement, said Friday they had probable cause to file homicide, manslaughter and misconduct charges against police officers in the death of Freddie Gray, who died after sustaining a spinal cord injury while in police custody.In a news conference, the state’s attorney, Marilyn J. Mosby, described repeated mistreatment of Mr. Gray. Time and again, she said, police officers mistreated him, arresting him without grounds and violating police procedure by putting him in handcuffs and leg restraints in the van without putting a seatbelt him.Ms. Mosby also said the officers had repeatedly failed to seek medical attention for Mr. Gray after he was injured. By the time he was removed from the van, she said, “Mr. Gray was no longer breathing at all.”The death, Ms. Mosby said, is believed to be the result of an injury Mr. Gray sustained while riding in the van without a seatbelt.
ABC News further reports on details of the charges:
State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby, the chief prosecutor for Baltimore, announced this morning that her office has also found probable cause to pursue criminal charges in connection to the case.Mosby announced a series of charges now facing the six police officers involved in putting Gray in custody and transporting him in the police wagon on the morning of April 12. The charges vary for each individual, but include several counts of manslaughter, second-degree assault, misconduct in office, and false imprisonment among others. The most serious charge she listed was second-degree depraved heart murder, which only one officer faces. A warrant has been issued for the police officer’s arrest, Mosby said….Mosby detailed the findings of her office’s independent investigation into Gray’s apprehension, and she detailed how officers repeatedly ignored Gray’s pleas for help and that officers bound his arms behind his back and put his legs in clamps but did not secure him within the police wagon with a seat belt, which is a violation of Baltimore police policy.One of the biggest findings that Mosby announced was that the decision to take Gray into custody in the first place was unwarranted because the knife that he had is allowed under Baltimore laws. While the knife was able to fold, it was not a switchblade.Mosby urged calm in the wake of the charges, speaking directly to protesters at the end of her news conference.”I heard your call for ‘no justice, no peace.’ However your peace is sincerely needed as I work to deliver justice on behalf of Freddie Gray,” she said.
The Baltimore Sun details the charges by officer:
Officer Caesar Goodson Jr., 45, who was the driver of a police van that carried Gray through the streets of Baltimore, was charged with second-degree murder, manslaughter, second-degree assault, two vehicular manslaughter charges and misconduct in office.Officer William Porter, 25, was charged with involuntary manslaughter, second-degree assault and misconduct in office.Lt. Brian Rice, 41, was charged with involuntary manslaughter, second-degree assault and misconduct in office.Sgt. Alicia White, 30, was charged with involuntary manslaughter, second-degree assault and misconduct in office.Officer Edward Nero, 29, was charged with second-degree assault and misconduct in office.Officer Garrett Miller, 26, was charged with second-degree assault, misconduct in office and false imprisonment.
Updates to follow
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