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Amandascott

Active Member
BALTIMORE – Thousands were expected Monday at a funeral for a man who died after sustaining serious spinal injuries while in the custody of Baltimore police.

Funeral services were planned for 11 a.m. EDT Monday for Freddie Gray, the 25-year-old black man who died April 19 after an encounter days earlier with police left him with grave spinal injuries. Pastor Jamal Bryant, who was to deliver Gray's eulogy, said he expected Baltimore's New Shiloh Baptist Church to be filled for the service. A cemetery burial was to follow.

In Washington, the White House said the head of President Barack Obama's initiative for young men of color would attend. Broderick Johnson, chairman of the My Brother's Keeper Task Force and a Baltimore native, is to be joined by two other administration officials, a White House statement said.
http://www.foxnews.com/us/2015/04/2...al-for-25-year-old-baltimore-man-who-died-in/
 
Second decade of the 21st century and we're STILL doing this shit? Are the fuck heads on BOTH sides trying to bring back the 50's and 60's? Really? I gotta live thru this shit AGAIN? I am too fucking old to march, and someone would have to boost me up on the barricades. Anyway, I don't want to go to jail anymore. Food there sucks.

I'm pissed at the whole bunch of them...cops, protesters, bystanders, community leaders...all of them! Soundbites and their faces on the tv; THAT'S their goal. A silent protest, where you hold your sign and sit QUIETLY outside; that's the way. The simple sight of so many people sitting silently is pretty powerful. You may think I'm blowing smoke, but I'm not; it's a "stop and make you think" sight.

And nobody gets hurt and nothing gets destroyed.
 
This is right in my neck of the woods. Protests have been going on downtown, looting, fighting people just looking for a reason to tear our city down. It's sad they are using what happened to this poor man to turn this into a race war in the heart of Baltimore instead of fighting the real issue of our government turning the states in this country into 'police states'. It's amazing all the secret racists of all colors who come out of the woodworks during a time like this. What they all fail to realize is that by dividing us 'THEY' win...'United We Stand, Divided We Fall'


BALTIMORE — A largely peaceful protest over the death of Freddie Gray, a 25-year-old black man who suffered a spinal cord injury in police custody, gave way to scattered scenes of chaos here on Saturday night, as demonstrators smashed a downtown storefront window, threw rocks and bottles and damaged police cruisers, while officers in riot gear broke up skirmishes and made 12 arrests near Camden Yards.

[...]

There, Malik Shabazz, president of Black Lawyers for Justice, a Washington, D.C.-based group that called for the demonstration and advertised it on social media, told the crowd that he would release them in an hour, adding: “Shut it down if you want to! Shut it down!”
Mr. Shabazz said in a later interview that his rhetoric was intended only to encourage civil disobedience — not violence — but added that he was “not surprised” by the scattered angry outbursts because people here “haven’t received justice.”
Saturday’s trouble began in the early evening, when a group of protesters, as many as 100 by some accounts, split from the main group as the City Hall rally was breaking up and went on a rampage, throwing cans, bottles and trash bins at police officers, and breaking windows in some businesses. As the breakaway group reached Camden Yards, where the Baltimore Orioles were playing the Boston Red Sox on Saturday night, it was met by police officers in riot gear.
Protesters smashed windows of some cars and blocked the corner of Pratt and Light Streets, a major intersection that is a main route to Interstate 95 and out of the city. The department used its Twitter feed to urge demonstrators to remain peaceful, and blamed the problems on “isolated pockets of people from out of town causing disturbances downtown.” Late in the ballgame, police briefly instructed fans to remain in the stadium “until further notice,” but the crowd was eventually released.
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/26/u...s-in-protest-of-freddie-grays-death.html?_r=0
 
I've been in a riot, and it's no fun at all. I was also amazed at how fast and far I could run, only stopping to warn shopkeepers who had their wares outside on the sidewalk. Suddenly, my decision to park the car at the end of town farthest away from the demonstration seem like a stroke of genius.
 
carolinablue is at DefCon1,000,000

This is an insult to the memory of Mr Grey. A tragedy has become a travesty. How horrible for his family; to have their beloved's death exploited by fame whores and trouble makers.I may not make too much sense; I'm so outraged I just want to go yell at the whole city. I can't imagine grieving the loss of a loved one, and having THIS in their faces all day and night.

I'm pissed off with everyone in Baltimore. I'm pissed off at the cops, pissed off at the protesters, pissed off at the media and pissed off at the bystanders. This is not a protest, it's a bunch of race baiters on both sides fomenting violence and encouraging lawlessness. And the people rioting are destroying their own neighborhoods and businesses; they are thugs, not advocates for justice.

I want to form a multicultural, multiracial Grandparents Brigade! All us old folks who saw it done RIGHT in our youth need to organize and show these punks how it's done. Without violence, without name-calling; with justice for all and malice toward none. WE DID IT. Why can't the young'uns learn from us? We need another Reverend Dr King, and look what we get instead..
 
A big thanks to @Cameray for the tip off on this awesome clip:


For anyone who didn't catch it, the one and only Jon Stewart, political 'fun-dit' from Comedy Central's, "The Daily Show" spoke his mind (and a hell of a lot more, lol) on the Baltimore Riots and how things were handled overall in light of all the recent problems with/questions re: police-brutality, urban rioting, and a general sense of unrest between law enforcement and the citizenry in many American towns and cities.

No matter where your politics lie, he does a beautiful job of summing it up and speaking about some very important solutions to help restore some peace and trust between both the police and the civilian population.

 
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His spine was injured when they arrested him. He was thrashing in the van to make noise and get help. When they pulled him out and hogtied him it was all over, spine severed. Just my suspicion.
 
did this guy have a record? Did the life he led warrant a funeral reception like this?

These people are all idiots.


Sounds like the gov't stormtroopers fucked up big time though, hope they go down hard for it and the victims family gets filthy rich.


Their mayor is hot as fuck though.
 
Baltimore City State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby stepped up to the podium Friday at 10:30am. She stood in front of the city’s war memorial and announced what much of the crowd wanted to hear: her office had filed 20 separate charges (including murder and manslaughter) and issued arrest warrants for six Baltimore police officers involved in the death of Freddie Gray, hopefully bringing to an end the rioting and looting that had gripped Baltimore—and spread to other cities—over the last week.
http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2015...-may-not-be-able-to-convict-police-on-murder/
 
Marilyn-Mosby-jpg.jpg

A lengthy motion filed in Baltimore City District Court cites a variety of concerns, including conflicts of interest and questions about the office's independent investigation.

It spells out five conflicts of interest as reasons for the requests. The attorneys say in their court filing that:

-- Mosby and her husband, City Council member Nick Mosby, stand to gain financially and politically;

-- She has personal relationships with potential witnesses;

-- Her office took a role investigating the case;

-- There is a pending civil lawsuit against her office;

-- An attorney for Gray's family is a close friend, supporter and a lawyer for Marilyn Mosby;

Gray was arrested April 12 for possessing an illegal knife and suffered a fatal spinal injury while being transported in a police van to a booking center, Mosby said.

A lengthy motion filed in Baltimore City District Court cites a variety of concerns, including conflicts of interest and questions about the office's independent investigation.

It spells out five conflicts of interest as reasons for the requests. The attorneys say in their court filing that:

-- Mosby and her husband, City Council member Nick Mosby, stand to gain financially and politically;

-- She has personal relationships with potential witnesses;

-- Her office took a role investigating the case;

-- There is a pending civil lawsuit against her office;

-- An attorney for Gray's family is a close friend, supporter and a lawyer for Marilyn Mosby;

Gray was arrested April 12 for possessing an illegal knife and suffered a fatal spinal injury while being transported in a police van to a booking center, Mosby said.

http://www.kmbc.com/national/attorneys-call-for-baltimore-prosecutor-to-be-dismissed/32896740
 
Freddie-Gray-screen-jpg.jpg


The legality of Freddie's knife

Attorneys for two of the officers charged in the death of Freddie Gray have filed motions to inspect the knife he was carrying at the time of his arrest.

They argue the knife was illegal and, as a result, Gray's arrest was lawful.

Baltimore City State's Attorney Marilyn Mosby has said the knife was legal under Maryland law, meaning that police had no reason to detain him.

The question of whether the knife was legal has raised a host of other questions. We ask and answer some of them here:

What type of knife did Gray have?

Court documents say it was a "spring-assisted, one-hand-operated knife." Mosby has said the knife was not a switchblade.

Switchblades are illegal in Maryland, but the law is even stricter in Baltimore.

"Baltimore City has a law that says it's not only illegal to have a switchblade, but it's also illegal to have a spring-action knife," said Andrew Alperstein, a defense attorney.

Again, Mosby has said the knife was legal. So has an attorney for the Gray family, calling the allegation a "sideshow." Gray was carrying a "pocket knife of legal size," according to attorney William Murphy.

But the police investigation found that the knife was illegal under Baltimore city code.

CNN has not been able to independently examine the knife in question.

Why does the type of knife matter?

In documents filed on behalf of Officers Garrett Miller and Edward Nero, attorneys argue that a "careful inspection of the knife recovered from Mr. Gray will reveal specific characteristics of the knife which will reveal that the knife was not lawful under Maryland law."

Miller and Nero have each been charged with two counts of second-degree assault, two counts of misconduct in office and one count of false imprisonment.

The charges stem from the fact that Mosby believes Gray's arrest was unlawful, based on the type of knife he had.

If the arrest was, in fact, lawful -- meaning that Gray's knife was illegal -- then Miller and Nero did not do anything wrong, according to documents filed by their attorneys.

Let's assume the knife was legal: Should the officers be charged?

When officers make mistakes, the usual consequence is the exclusion of evidence, Alperstein said.

"Now in this case the prosecutor's gone further, much further. What she said is -- if you violate the law by arresting these people falsely, then we're going to charge you with assault for touching them, false imprisonment," he said.

"This is very troubling and the police are worried about it," said Alperstein, adding that the charges could have a chilling effect on police doing their job.

Former Baltimore Deputy State's Attorney Page Croyder agreed.

"It would be dangerous for the prosecutor to bring charges like this based on a mistake by the police officer," she said.

"You're setting a precedent that any police officer who arrests without probable cause can be not just civilly sued, but criminally charged. These are people who are not lawyers. Lawyers disagree about probable cause. Judges disagree. And as long as officers are acting in good faith ... to subject them to criminal charges is going to put a chill on the whole police department."

Now, let's assume the knife was illegal: Does it really matter?

Officers only found the knife after they chased and caught Gray, who police say fled unprovoked.

To many protesters, a focus on the knife seems irrelevant -- a way to justify the chase after the fact.

Some also say that whether or not Gray had a knife, and whether or not it was legal, does not matter when viewed in the larger context of what happened to him after his arrest.

To them, no suspect deserves the sort of treatment Gray was allegedly subjected to. They note the punishment for having an illegal knife is not death.

http://www.kmbc.com/national/was-freddie-grays-knife-legal/32852098
 
Such bullshit how these 2 cops are being railroaded. I'm all for some form of administrative punishment or even firing them for arresting someone due to their ignorance of the laws they're required to enforce, but criminal charges like these? Give me a fucking break. How many other arrests in the city SHOULD be leading to similar charges for numerous other officers? I'm betting a shit ton. Fuck, wouldn't any time a defense attorney got somebody off prove that the original arrest was uncalled for and thus, essentially illegal, i mean if you want ride the slippery slope this shit's setting up to its extreme? These cops are only receiving these charges cuz of the public rampaging, it's appeasement of assholes, nothing more.

If these cops took no part in the actual excessive force that killed Gray, then they shouldn't be charged with crimes. Focus the attention on the actual murderers.
 
Everyone that had anything to do with this is going to be made an example of, fair or not.
 
Baltimore fears repeat of riots if Ofcr. William Porter is acquitted
(Video report, captioned pics of prev. riots & more @ link below)

baltimore-police-death-trial-site.jpg

William Porter first pic bottom left.
BALTIMORE — In Baltimore, this year can be divided into two parts: what came before Freddie Gray died and what happened afterward.

Gray, 25, suffered a mysterious injury in the back of a police transport van and died April 19, inspiring thousands to take to the streets to protest what they believed was the mistreatment by police of another young black man. The narrative of Gray's life and death instantly became a thread in the fabric of the Black Lives Matter national movement.

The demonstrations were mostly peaceful for several days, but on the day Gray was buried, looting and rioting started. Businesses were burned down and the unrest ended up costing the city millions of dollars in property damage. The troubles forced an incumbent mayor in the throes of a re-election campaign to drop out of the race, and toppled the career of a reform-minded police chief who was unceremoniously fired. The homicide rate soared and the blood continues to spill on Baltimore's streets at a pace unseen in decades.

Six police officers were indicted in Gray's death. Jury selection in the first trial begins Monday. A verdict will likely set the tone for the city: If Officer William Porter is acquitted there could be protests and possibly more unrest. A conviction could send shockwaves through the city's troubled police department.

"Everything is at stake. The future of the city is at stake," Police Commissioner Kevin Davis said.

Porter faces charges of assault, manslaughter, reckless endangerment and misconduct in office. He is accused of checking on Gray during several stops the van made during its 45-minute trip from the Gilmor Homes in Sandtown-Winchester, where Gray was arrested, to the Western District station house, where officers found Gray unresponsive and he was taken to a hospital. He died a week later.

Gray was initially handcuffed. Later during his van ride, his legs were shackled and he was placed back in the van without a seatbelt, a violation of department policy, prosecutors have said.

Porter is black. Two other officers are black and the three others are white. They will be tried separately beginning in January; their trials are expected to last until the spring.

The trials, much like Gray's death, are a microcosm of larger, systemic issues within the city, and the verdicts will have consequences on the city's immediate future, as well as its healing. Nearly eight months after the city burned, the stakes for the police, the politicians and the public remain high.

When violent crime began surging in May, residents of predominantly poor black neighborhoods that bore the brunt of the bloodshed blasted the police for abandoning their posts— a side effect, some said, of the charges against the officers involved in Gray's death. The police union, in turn, criticized the former commissioner for failing to protect and support them during the riot.

An independent review of the police response revealed "major shortcomings," and painted a portrait of an overwhelmed and under prepared department that made tactical errors and endangered officers. Hours before Police Commissioner Anthony Batts was fired in July, the police union issued its own scathing report, and its president called for Batts to "step up." The U.S. Department of Justice announced a patterns and practice probe into the department stemming from allegations that officers hassled people and used excessive force. Davis stepped in as police chief in July, after a crime spike that saw 45 homicides in a single month.

Since then, Davis has tried to repair the broken relationship between the department and the public.

Apart from the police, the political landscape has changed since Gray's death. A Democratic primary in April will likely decide who will be the new mayor next November.

Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake was harshly criticized in the wake of the civil unrest for failing to publicly appear for five hours as the city burned and the images were displayed on national television networks. Her decision to enact and maintain a city-wide curfew aggravated protesters. In August, she announced that she would not seek re-election, instead pledging to focus her energy on helping the city heal in the riot's aftermath. She's made few comments about the Gray case and the impending trials.

"There's definitely a lot of pressure but it's hard to say what's at stake. I know what's important: that we have order in the city," she told The Associated Press. "I'm prayerful that justice will prevail and the officers will be given a fair trial by a fair and impartial jury, and that the citizens of Baltimore and the police can respect the decision."

The absence of an incumbent in the mayoral race has created opportunities for others. Sheila Dixon, the city's former mayor who was forced to resign after being convicted of embezzling about $500 in gift cards meant for poor children, announced her candidacy in July.

But no reputations hinge on the trial's outcome as much as state's attorney Marilyn Mosby and her husband, Nick Mosby, a councilman for Baltimore's west side who announced his mayoral candidacy shortly after Rawlings-Blake pulled out. Marilyn Mosby, who took office in January, announced charges against the officers in May, using language that led defense attorneys to argue that she was so biased she should recuse herself from the case.

"To the youth of the city: I will seek justice on your behalf," the prosecutor said then. "This is a moment, this is your moment. Let's ensure we have peaceful and productive rallies that will develop structural and systemic changes for generations to come. You're at the forefront of this cause. And as young people, our time is now."

In the months that followed she was the subject of a feature story in Vogue magazine that called her "a heroine and a lightning rod."

Mosby declined to comment on the Gray case citing a gag order.

The political and social agenda has changed, too. Since April issues including segregation, unemployment, poverty and housing inequality have been thrown into sharp focus. In October, a group of students staged an all-night sit-in at City Hall over a list of demands that included the firing of the city's housing commissioner over a lawsuit that alleges handymen traded sex for repairs for poor, black women living in public housing.

Duane "Shorty" Davis, a community activist, said the trial will "make or break" the city.

"If it doesn't go over well, what will Christmas be like? They'll shut things down," he said. "If we have more riots, who will feel safe? The world is watching Baltimore."

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/nat...ed-freddie-gray-death-trial-article-1.2450128
 
Closing arguments

Closing arguments are underway in the trial against a Baltimore police officer charged in the death of Freddie Gray.

The defense argued that officer William Porter did what he was required to do in the April transport of Gray, 25, who was fatally injured in the back of a police transport van. Porter's defense also argued that the officer did not show evil intent and criticized the investigation into Gray's death. The case will be handed to jurors after a rebuttal from prosecutors.

Video, pics & more: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/nat...ed-casket-wheels-prosecutor-article-1.2465326
 
http://hosted2.ap.org/txdam/2328593...4a7e388?_ga=1.118995913.1358762430.1459539429

Trial for cop in case of man who died after police van ride

BALTIMORE (AP) — Prosecutors will call more witnesses Friday in the trial for Officer Edward Nero, one of the Baltimore police officers facing charges stemming from Freddie Gray's arrest and subsequent death after being injured in a police van.

Gray died April 19 of last year, a week after his neck was broken while he was handcuffed and shackled but not seat-belted[....]

Nero faces assault, misconduct in office and reckless endangerment charges stemming from Gray's arrest. Prosecutors say Nero and two other officers arrested him illegally, and that they were negligent by failing to buckle him into a seat belt. Nero's attorney said Nero didn't arrest the man, and that it was the wagon driver's responsibility to secure Gray. His trial began Thursday.

Nero is one of six officers charged in the case.
 
Hopefully the Gray family gets filthy fucking rich off this at least. I figure no matter what these cops will lose their jobs, city will have to lay a shit ton of stormtroopers off after the damage the incoming lawsuit does.

Nero's attorney said Nero didn't arrest the man, and that it was the wagon driver's responsibility to secure Gray. His trial began Thursday.

If that's the accepted protocol, then it seems reasonable to find him not guilty. Perhaps he didn't realize the officer who's duty it was to secure him, hadn't done so. And it also sounds like the driver is the one most responsbile, you gotta drive like a maniac to cause injuries like those gray suffered. I don't see what him being the arresting officer or not has to do with anything though.

Is this the first person to go through trial for this? Hopefully the others who had a more direct role are locked away for a long time.
 
http://baltimore.cbslocal.com/2016/...-edward-nero-found-not-guilty-on-all-charges/

Gray family attorney Billy Murphy also spoke with WJZ outside the courtroom.

“I have to commend Judge Williams on not being influenced by public opinion,” Murphy said. “It’s a very, very difficult job to sit as a judge under these enormously stressful conditions, and once again Barry Williams has shown he is a fair and impartial man… He showed tremendous courage in ruling against public opinion.”

“I don’t think anybody should be upset with this verdict nor do I think anybody should have been elated about a guilty verdict,” he added. “Only the people who sat through this trial and heard all of the evidence have a right to have an opinion about whether his opinion was fair and whether or not it was warranted under the circumstances. So we should all understand that we all have opinions, but unless they’re based on the facts and all of the facts, those opinions are essentially irrelevant to this process.

I have a huge amount of respect for this lawyer. (I guess hell hath frozen over!)
 
keanu2.gif





Now that was a woman with a stream of things to say and she didn't spend much time even pausing for breath in which to say them. My bet is she isn't a smoker. :p
 
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How to solve this problem diplomatically: Fire all 6 officers.

Might not be so simple. Police have contracts, and police unions are powerful.

I'm sure they are devastated... it doesn't look like their cash cow is going to give any milk.

A criminal conviction is very helpful in setting up a successful civil suit, but it is not a requirement. And I doubt the civil suit would be dependent upon this particular individual being convicted, anyway. Six officers were charged. The first ended in a hung jury, this in an acquittal, but there are four to go.
 
A criminal conviction is very helpful in setting up a successful civil suit, but it is not a requirement. And I doubt the civil suit would be dependent upon this particular individual being convicted, anyway. Six officers were charged. The first ended in a hung jury, this in an acquittal, but there are four to go.
I agree with you. However, this verdict is a serious chink in the armor.

Also, I would like to make clear that if they had done anything illegal, the officers should absolutely be held accountable.
However, as the Gray family attorney had stated:
"Only the people who sat through this trial and heard all of the evidence have a right to have an opinion about whether his opinion was fair and whether or not it was warranted under the circumstances."

I feel the same way about every one of these racially charged media circuses. The general public only hears the little snippets that the mainstream media wants us to hear, to keep up the unrest.
 
The rest will be found not guilty as well, let's be honest.

Even though "rough ride" is an unsanctioned technique in Baltimore.

This officer may very well not have had anything to do with what happened to Mr Gray or wasn't aware that he wasn't secured, but some of them did and we know none are going to be found guilty.
 

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