Freddie Gray’s death was ruled a homicide by coroners. More than a year later, we’re left to wonder who killed him. Now that all charges against three police officers yet to stand trial, one has to wonder: will there be any justice served? What we do now is that Freddie Gray is dead. What we do not know is how did Gray sustain the injuries that led to his eventual death.
Apparently, Gray twisted himself into a human pretzel while handcuffed. Of course, there’s no evidence to support this theory. For everyone’s sake, I wish there was such evidence. If so, at least this way we wouldn’t have to look at the six arresting officers involved with suspicion. If Gray was an able-bodied healthy man before being arrested. It’s only natural to arrive at the conclusion that something traumatic was done to Gray, by the cops.
According to the court, however, there’s also no evidence to support this theory as well. So, again, what the fuck happened and how did Gray sustain this life-ending injury? Like many, I too need answers.
This from the Baltimore Sun:
Prosecutors dropped all charges Wednesday against three Baltimore police officers accused in the arrest and death of Freddie Gray, bringing to an end one of the highest-profile criminal cases in the city’s history with zero convictions.
Baltimore State’s Attorney Marilyn J. Mosby acknowledged the long odds of securing convictions in the remaining cases following the acquittals of three other officers on similar though more serious charges.
In a hearing Wednesday meant to start the trial of Officer Garrett Miller, prosecutors dropped their cases against him, Officer William Porter and Sgt. Alicia White. Circuit Judge Barry G. Williams, who had acquitted the other officers, was expected to preside over the remaining trials as well.
After the most recent acquittal and “a great deal of thought and prayer,” Mosby said, she resolved to drop the remaining charges. Mosby stood by her decision to bring the charges, pointing out that the medical examiner’s office ruled Gray’s death a homicide and that it’s her job as the city’s top prosecutor to seek justice.
“It’s something that I’ve been grappling with for some time,” Mosby said of her decision to end the prosecution, during an interview with The Baltimore Sun. “It’s not something that was overnight.”
While many people were hopeful that all six officers would be found guilty. I’m pretty sure that with history as a guide, many people were skeptical.Why? Because there’s the history of police officers never being held accountable.
A recent eye-opening report by the American Civil Liberties Union of Maryland using FBI data between 2010 and 2014, found the following results:
- Maryland had more “justifiable homicides” by the police than some states with twice its population.
- It also found that 41 percent of people who died in police encounters were “not armed with a weapon of any kind.”
- Unarmed black people died in police encounters at 10 times the rate of whites.
- police officers were charged with crimes in less than 2 percent of the cases in which civilians died.
Baltimore happens to be the largest city in Maryland. It also happens to be the city where Freddie Gray was arrested, and eventually died suspiciously. That said, given the trend, it’s not unreasonable to conclude that anyone would be convicted of killing Freddie Gray. Not even with a smoking gun.
As far as I’m concerned, this is business as usual in these United States of America. Yet and still, the validity and necessity of the Black Lives Matter movement happen to be continually questioned daily. Well, it’s kind of hard to convince me that “All Lives Matter,” when we see outcomes like this.
There may have been insufficient evidence to convict these six officers. However, again, there’s sufficient evidence that shows that they were not going to be convicted anyway. Which is no big deal especially since Gray’s life wasn’t as valuable as the local Walgreens trashed in the Baltimore riot after his death. But then again, Freddie Gray’s family was paid $6.4 million by the city of Baltimore in advance of a formal civil lawsuit. So, while this settlement was deemed “obscene,” by the head of the police union. Perhaps somebody somewhere knew all along that there’d be no further compensation in the form of a conviction. As institutional racism would have it, the fix is always in.