Well, it’s a start anyway.
Yeah, kinda hard to claim that anymore since there was a puncture wound from a bolt close to the floor that he struck while sliding along the floor during a rough stop.
And then there was the wonderful twisting of the other arrested person’s words. He thought that Gray was causing his own injuries at the time, because he had no reason to think otherwise, since he couldn’t see Gray. He did not say that Gray CAUSED his own injuries, but that he assumed that was what was happening.
finally, at least they will be held accountable for their actions. If a jury acquits them, then so be it. My issue has always been that cases are taken to grand juries, and they hardly ever find that they should be charged. Im glad she is skipping that step, and directly charging those involved. She comes from a long line of police officers, so many of us were wondering how this would play out.
They even lied about the knife. All of it was unnecessary.
Of course, there are other cases like this. A man in Baton Rouge was tasseled to death for wearing baggy pants. Yes, he was arrested for baggy pants, became “unruly” and they held a taser on him for 60 seconds until he died. The video is just coming out after 1 1/2 years of lying.
Wow, I just watched the press conference, and she looks so young. Hopefully, this will galvanize some change in the BPD.
I wonder, with so many officers involved, if they are going to start pointing the finger at each other. If there has been a cover up, it’s hard to continue that with several people involved. I also wonder if, during that unmentioned third stop, if when they “dealt” with Mr. Gray, someone slammed him into the side of the vehicle, hitting his head on the bolt. I guess it would depend upon where the bolt was located, if that would be possible. The other prisoner said there wasn’t any rough driving or quick stopping when he got in. But then again, this is all guessing, and hopefully the truth will come out, sooner rather than later.
So now the news is reporting the FOP wants an independent investigation…smh, oh NOW they want an independent investigation.
@busdriver11 - The other prisoner’s credibility is highly suspect. Consider his changing story about Gray’s behavior in the van: At first, he said Gray was mostly quiet, then later (after the story started circulating that Gray had somehow managed to sever his own spinal cord, which is a medical improbability to say the least), the other prisoner said that Gray was wildly thrashing around.
Also consider the police’s own statement that before the other prisoner was picked up, Gray had to be picked up off the floor of the van at an interim stop and was unresponsive. Hard to see how mere minutes later, he could have been hurling himself around with such force that he nearly severed his spinal cord.
The damning evidence begins before that, though. The video shows that Gray had little or no use of his legs before he was even loaded into the van.
As for the credibility of anything the Baltimore police say, consider that their official report (before the video emerged, naturally) stated that the arrest took place “without force or incident.” It’s hard to argue with this eyewitness:
It’s also hard to argue that the Baltimore PD didn’t show a shocking disregard for human life, as the cops seem to do in so many of these cases. Gray should have gotten medical treatment somewhere along the way. BPD protocol AND Gray’s repeated requests AND common human decency demanded it. Did it happen? No. Can you think of any good reason why not?
This is a good timeline of what we know at this point:
Do you just mean the Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 3? That’s not exactly the police department, isn’t that their union? I’d take a wild guess that they are going to support their members no matter what, as that is what unions do.
I would have far more respect for the union if they would state that it is in the best interest of the police department to get rid of bad officers, then leave these 6 out to dry.
Article by physician concluding that it’s highly unlikely that Gray could have severed his own spine.
LasMa, I have no doubt that many things will come out, as everyone starts to scramble to cover their butts. They’ll be blaming on the people who arrested him, the ones who loaded him in the vehicle, the one who drove, the ones who stopped and “dealt” with him. I only hope they can have some forensic evidence that proves the truth, as if the police are guilty, it is unlikely it is all of them, as they weren’t there with him at the same time. Probably some know exactly what happened, and others have no idea. Certainly the uninvolved ones should not hang for someone else’s guilt.
I would also speculate the other prisoner is going to say whatever he thinks could best protect him, so how reliable is that going to be? There are some of us that would be compelled to tell the dead honest truth, but that will be for the prosecutors to decide. And yeah, he was only there for part of it, couldn’t see anything, so he’s just a small part of the puzzle. I wonder why they don’t put cameras in those vehicles, whether the police want them there or not.
At the very least, wasn’t there a regulation stating that prisoners had to be buckled in? Not doing so would have been pretty reckless even if the police weren’t actively abusive. But with the history of police behavior in Baltimore, I can’t help but think it was abusive and intentional.
@busdriver11 yes, the Fraternal Order of Police. I have no problem with them wanting an independent investigation, but it should be done ALL of the time, not just when your officers are indicted. My earlier posts were calling for an independent investigation all along.
@zoosermom - Yes, in fact, procedure requires that all prisoners be buckled in.
I would say that even with the best of intentions (which I don’t claim to have been present here), failing to follow a procedure and having an incident that results in someone’s death should have criminal consequences, as well.
Agree, @zoosermom .
May I say that I’m so happy for the people of Baltimore. I hope that the people of Ferguson and Staten Island and North Charleston and Cleveland and so many other places, can take some vicarious comfort that at least a few out-of-control cops are going to have to answer for their actions.
@LasMa has anything been done in the cleveland case, involving Tamir Rice?
I was just reading (and I hadn’t realized this, although I’m sure others already knew), that Mr. Gray was handcuffed and shackled but completely unsecured inside the van. That’s pretty horrifying.
Yep, zoos. He was basically an unguided missile in that van.
partyof5 – I don’t know about the Tamir Rice case. I know that at the time it happened, Cleveland was just about to go under DOJ management because of their many past transgressions.