Patterico's Pontifications

7/27/2016

Police Prosecutions in Freddie Gray Death Come to a Merciful End

Filed under: General — JVW @ 10:17 am



[guest post by JVW]

Faced with their dismal record in court thus far, the Baltimore’s State Attorney’s Office has dropped all charges against the last three officers accused in the death of Freddie Gray while in police custody. Trials of the four officers that had previous taken place ended in one mistrial and three acquittals.

Beleaguered State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby played the feminine card at a news conference earlier today, telling reporters that “as a mother” this decision to halt the prosecutions greatly affected her. She also once again accused the police of protecting their own, claiming that there was “a reluctance” on the part of police to investigate and “an obvious bias” that they brought to the investigation. Standing next to Ms. Mosby, Gray’s mother Gloria Darden accused police of lying, claiming “I know they lied, and they killed him.”

After having 211 homicides for the entire year in 2014, Baltimore’s number rose to 344 last year and stands at 167 year-to-date for 2016. Gray’s arrest and death took place in April 2015.

The Baltimore Sun has an interesting run-down of reaction to these developments. It would appear that Ms. Mosby retains significant support in Baltimore’s African-American community, notwithstanding the wasted resources devoted to these prosecutions. Ms. Mosby declined to answer questions at her news conference, citing civil lawsuits that have been filed against her.

Previous posts concerning the sad Freddie Gray situation can be found here.

– JVW

6/23/2016

Another Baltimore Cop Acquitted in Freddie Gray Death Trial

Filed under: General — JVW @ 11:13 am



[guest post by JVW]

[UPDATE: I corrected the spelling of Freddie Gray’s name in the title and in the post. – JVW]

Officer Caesar Goodson, Jr. was acquitted earlier today on all charges stemming from his participation in last spring’s arrest and subsequent death of Freddie Gray. Goodson had driven the police van in which Gray had been placed while handcuffed, and he was accused of having intentionally given Gray a “rough ride” causing him to be tossed about in the back of the van. Gray died from neck and spinal injuries that prosecutors contend were suffered during the van ride. Goodson had been charged with second-degree depraved heart murder, three counts of manslaughter, second-degree assault, reckless endangerment and misconduct in office, but presiding Judge Barry Williams found him not guilty on all charges. Goodson is the third of six Baltimore PD officers brought up on charges. Officer William Porter’s trial ended in a mistrial back in December and Officer Edward Nero was found not guilty last month.

Baltimore State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby has been criticized for over-charging in this case and for a reckless rush to judgement in general. In the Goodson case, it also turned out that her office had withheld exculpatory evidence from Goodson’s defense team, including a witness account that Gray had continued to move on his own in the van after the point that the prosecution contended his spine had been broken. In addition, Legal Insurrection discusses tension between the Baltimore Police Department and Mosby’s office after prosecutors floated the theory that detectives have deliberately sabotaged the Goodson case through poor work. Goodson’s case was considered the strongest of the six for the prosecution, so his acquittal today does not bode well for the chances of winning convictions in the remaining three trials.

– JVW

5/1/2015

Six Officers Charged In The Death Of Freddie Gray

Filed under: General — Dana @ 5:10 pm



[guest post by Dana]

Six police officers have been charged in the death of Freddie Gray:

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.

If convicted of all charges, Goodson would face up to 63 years in prison, Rice would face up to 30 years and Porter, Nero, Miller and White would face up to 20 years.

During her announcement of the charges being levied against the six officers, State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby added:

To the people of Baltimore and the demonstrators across America, I heard your call for ‘no justice, no peace.’ Your peace is sincerely needed as I work to deliver justice on behalf of this young man, those that are angry or hurt or have their own experience of injustice.

Upon receiving news of the charges against the officers, President Obama stated it is “absolutely vital that the truth comes out”.

Further:

“[I] think the people of Baltimore want more than anything else is the truth,” he said. “That’s what people around the country expect.”

He also called for protests to be peaceful. Baltimore has been relatively calm since riots on Monday.

“I hope that approach to non-violent protest and community engagement continues,” Obama said.

In addition to the president’s reaction, the police union claimed that the officers did nothing wrong and charges brought against six police officers in the death of Freddie Gray are driven by “the publicity in this case” and “politics” :

“we are disappointed in the apparent rush to judgement, given the fact the investigation into this matter has not been concluded. Our officers, like every other American citizen, are entitled to due process. We will continue to support them throughout this judicial process, which we believe will result in a finding of innocence. We also promise all active duty officers that we will continue to work diligently to ensure that you will receive the necessary support from the FOP to enable you to complete your mission safely.” He also argued that “this decision to charge [these] officers is going to make our job even harder.”

Michael Davey, an Attorney with the Fraternal Order of Police stated,

“in my 20 years — career as a law enforcement officer, and 16 years as an attorney, I have never seen such a hurried rush to file criminal charges, which I believe are driven by forces which are separate and apart from the application of law, and the facts of this case as we know them. No one condones police misconduct. This is especially true of the entire FOP membership, including my client, who was a 17-year veteran of this department, who has dedicated his life to serving the public. Let me state in no uncertain terms that Lt. Rice and all of the officers involved at all times acted reasonably, and in accordance with their training as Baltimore police officers. No officer injured Mr. Gray, caused harm to Mr. Gray, and they are truly saddened by his death. These officers did nothing wrong. As all of the facts surrounding this case come out in the appropriate forum, the officers’ lack of wrongdoing will be made abundantly clear. We believe that the actions taken today by the state’s attorney are an egregious rush to judgment, and we have grave concerns about the fairness [and] integrity of the prosecution of our officers. Let me reiterate two things, Lt. Rice and all of the officers are deeply affected by Mr. Gray’s passing, and that his injuries did not occur as a result of any action or inaction on the part of these officers. It is our intention to try this case in the courtroom, and not the media. These statements have been made in an effort to protect all of the officers from undue prejudicial effective publicity surrounding this case. We believe that these officers will be vindicated, as they have done nothing wrong.” Later, he said, “I can’t speculate as to what they did or didn’t do. I just find it very difficult that it’s not a rush to judgement when conducting a case in which someone has been charged with second degree murder they can wrap it up in two weeks.”

And finally, State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby is being called on by Fraternal Order of Police Lodge #3 to recuse herself due to a conflict of interest: she has a personal connection to the Gray family’s attorney and she is married to a Baltimore councilman.

The lodge is also requesting a Special Independent Prosecutor be assigned to the case.

–Dana

ADDED: Some reactions to the charges:

@VanJones68
GOT EM!! SIX OFFICERS CHARGED IN #BALTIMORE @cnnbrk #BlackLivesMatter #cut50

@sallykohn
Take a moment to realize that media/national attention wouldn’t be on #Baltimore and #FreddieGray were it NOT for riots. Shame on us.

@JoyAnnReid
Marilyn Mosby just shook up the world. #FreddieGray

@TalibKweli
#FreddieGray death officially ruled a homicide. Meaning police murdered him. Stay awake

7/18/2016

Fourth Officer Acquittal in Baltimore

Filed under: General — JVW @ 11:14 am



[guest post by JVW]

Judge Barry Williams as found Baltimore Police Lieutenant Brian Rice not guilty of all charges filed against him stemming from the death of Freddie Gray in 2015. From the Baltimore Sun: “Williams cleared Rice, 42, of involuntary manslaughter, reckless endangerment and misconduct in office in a downtown Baltimore courtroom on Monday morning. The judge had dismissed a second-degree assault charge at the trial’s midpoint, and prosecutors dropped a second misconduct charge at the start.”

Baltimore State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby is now zero-for-four in prosecutions against the officers who were present during Gray’s arrest, transportation to jail, and tragic death. The lone defendant who faced a jury trial, Officer William Porter, had his case declared a mistrial last December when the jury could not reach a decision. The other three defendants, Rice, Officer Edward Nero, and Officer Caesar Goodwin, all opted for bench trials in front of Judge Williams and all three have now been acquitted.

Mosby was not present in the courtroom for the verdict, and at this point common sense should suggest to her that it will be a waste of taxpayers’ resources to continue with the trials against Officer Garrett Miller, scheduled to begin next week, and Sergeant Alicia White, scheduled to begin in mid-October.

ADDENDUM: I forgot to add that further posts on the Freddie Gray situation can be found here.

– JVW

12/16/2015

Mistrial Declared in Trial of First Baltimore Officer

Filed under: General — JVW @ 4:01 pm



[guest post by JVW]

The jury has apparently stalled into a deadlock in considering charges against, Officer William Porter, the first Baltimore Police Department Officer to face trial in last spring’s death of Freddie Gray while Gray in custody and being transported to jail. The jury was considering four separate counts against Porter: manslaughter, assault, reckless endangerment, and misconduct in office. Tensions in Baltimore — where protestors rioted in the wake of Gray’s death back in April — are said to be on edge, despite the Gray family and its attorneys asking the mob for calm.

Baltimore District Attorney and part-time glamor queen Marilyn Mosby has been criticized for caving into the BLM agitators and over-charging the officers. From the beginning, wiser heads have suggested that she would have a hard time securing a conviction in a court of law rather than a court of public opinion. At this point it is up to DA Mosby and Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake to keep order in the midst of a frenzy they have helped to whip up. Here’s hoping they are up to the task. Meanwhile, the citizens of Baltimore can pay for a retrial, perhaps knowing that they are far less likely to reach a satisfactory result.

– JVW

7/10/2015

A Fierce Megyn Kelly Eviscerates President Obama And His Selective Silence On The Death Of Katie Steinle (Video Added)

Filed under: General — Dana @ 11:09 am



[guest post by Dana]

Megyn Kelly’s opening monologue:

Breaking tonight, the young woman gunned down by an illegal immigrant in San Francisco was just laid to rest, surrounded by friends and family. It does not appear at this hour that anyone from the Obama administration was in attendance. Welcome to The Kelly File, I’m Megyn Kelly. Funeral services were held this evening for 32-year-old Kathryn “Katie” Steinle.

Her loved ones remembering her as an avid traveller who loved connecting with people until her life was cut short a week ago. That’s when Kate was shot and killed while in her father’s arms. Police say by this man, Francisco Sanchez, an illegal immigrant who had been deported five times from this country and had rapped up a string of felonies while in the U.S.

The San Francisco sheriff had Sanchez in custody as recently as April but released him pursuant to San Francisco’s “sanctuary city” policy where they have rules against handing over anyone to the feds who might be deported. This sheriff, himself a convicted criminal, says he stands by the city’s policy.

Kate’s murder has since exploded into a national debate on illegal immigrants, sanctuary cities and crime. With the White House ducking the issue of its own acquiescence in these cities’ decision to flout the federal immigration laws which were duly enacted. When asked repeatedly this week to speak to this case, White House spokesman Josh Earnest declined to weigh in other than to refer folks to the Department of Homeland Security.

A stark contrast to what we saw after Michael Brown was killed in Ferguson. A man we know was attacking a police officer at the time of his death. His funeral saw three Obama officials in attendance, his death drew comments from President Obama personally and his administration also sent in the DOJ and 40 FBI agents dispatched to Missouri after Michael Brown was killed. Where is the swarm of agents in San Francisco?

Then there was Freddie Gray in Baltimore, a repeat drug offender who was killed in police custody. Here again his funeral was attended by three Obama administration officials and again the President spoke personally to Freddie Gray’s death. And again sent the DOJ in to investigate. When Trayvon Martin was killed in Florida, the president spoke to his death which was later ruled to be in self-defense. But Katie Steinle, nothing. No comments, no swarm of FBI agents, no DOJ investigation, nothing. Why?

As a reminder, when asked about the shooting of Katie Steinle, administration spokesman Josh Earnest shamefully politicized the tragedy and blamed Republicans for her death.

–Dana

5/6/2015

Former Baltimore Deputy State’s Attorney On Mosby’s Quick Decision Making: Either “Incompetence” Or “Unethical Recklessness”

Filed under: General — Dana @ 9:59 pm



[guest post by Dana]

Baltimore State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby has come under fire by a former deputy state’s attorney, Page Croyder, who was with the Baltimore State’s Attorney office for 21 years.

In a damning op-ed, Croyder observes the quickness with which Mosby leveled charges at the six officers and attributes her “quick” and “decisive” action to either “incompetence” or “unethical recklessness”.

Croyder examines Mosby’s choice not to utilize every resource available to her in order to make a more informed decision:

Any prosecutor interested in the truth and in justice would have used all the tools at her disposal to find them. Ms. Mosby ignored them. She has one of the most experienced homicide prosecutors in the state of Maryland as chief of her homicide unit, but did not ask him to investigate. She had the police report all of one day before filing charges, her mind already made up. And she failed to make use of the grand jury to gather, probe and test the evidence before a group of average citizens.

In fact, Ms. Mosby was so hasty it appears she locked up two completely innocent officers. She charged Freddie Gray’s arresting officers with “false imprisonment” because she said the knife that Gray had on him was legal. In fact, as The Sun reported, the Police Task Force found it to be illegal after all. It was Ms. Mosby who had no probable cause to lock the arresting officers up, an injustice she could have easily avoided by taking her time.

If truth and justice had been the goal, then it would also seem that taking the necessary time to thoroughly investigate would be essential. However, it appeared Mosby believed time was something she could not spare, and that speed was of the essence.

Croyder likens Mosby’s rush to judgement as “a calculated push to the spotlight, filing charges after a mere two weeks.”

Additionally,

She conducted her own “parallel” investigation using her police integrity unit (the only unit listed on her published staffing tree missing the name of a supervisor.) She had no time to evaluate the crucial autopsy report, or consult with experts about its implications. In her haste to step into the national limelight, she circumvented normal charging procedures by grabbing a member of the sheriff’s office to swear to their truth and file them for her. She calculated her actions for surprise and maximum effect, and she got it.

Croyder ends with a warning to those subject to Mosby’s leadership:

[S]he has created a new expectation in the city: that police officers who arrest without what she considers to be probable cause (a subjective standard) are subject not just to civil action (the current norm) but criminal action. Mere mistakes, or judgments exercised under duress, can land them in the pokey.

If I were a Baltimore police officer, I’d be looking for another job immediately. And as a Baltimore citizen, I may start looking for someplace else to live. When the police cannot depend upon the state’s attorney to be as thorough, competent, non-political and fair with them as she is supposed to be with all citizens, none of us will be safe.

While some are tooting Mosby’s horn as a rising political star, legal experts besides Croyder are expressing serious misgivings about the rapid decision making by Baltimore’s new state’s attorney. The new state’s attorney that so many have pinned their hopes upon in their quest for justice.

–Dana

5/3/2015

GoFundMe Suspends Fundraising Account For Baltimore Six

Filed under: General — Dana @ 8:09 am



[guest post by Dana]

It took only 40 minutes for GoFundMe to suspend the fundraising account put up by the police union on behalf of the six officers charged in the Freddie Gray case. The hoped-for funds were expected to help defray legal costs as well as help with living expenses for the officers and their families during their unpaid suspensions.

Asked to comment on the removal of this campaign, a spokeswoman told Vocativ, “GoFundMe cannot be used to benefit those who are charged with serious violations of the law.”

This policy was in place before last week’s revision which now includes “discriminatory acts”.

Except there would appear to be a problem with GoFundMe and consistency:

[W]e found plenty of campaigns that violate the company’s terms of service. We turned up a campaign in Europe that’s already raised $1,500 for Pegida, Germany’s anti-Islamic, neo-fascist movement, as well as one supporting the defense fund of an Idaho man facing felony charges and five years in prison. A New Jersey deli owner is raising money to save his business after he lost customers for hanging up a sign in his storefront that read “Celebrate your white heritage in March, White History Month.” He’s so far banked $1,900.

Further, remember convicted felon, “hot” Jeremy Meeks? When I posted about him, he had recently been arrested and was facing 11 new felony charges, including possession of a “9mm round of ammunition, an unregistered and loaded Springfield Armory.45 caliber XD(M) semi-automatic handgun along with two extended magazines for the firearm and possession of marijuana”, for which he received a two year sentence.

At the time, I wrote:

Jeremy Meeks’ mother set up a GoFundMe page to raise money for his legal defense. And, not surprisingly, given the reaction to his mug shot, has raised $3,879 raised by 199 people in 2 days.

Within a few days, that number was well on its way to doubling.

Untitled-2

When asked specifically about the Meeks’ campaign and apparent inconsistencies in adhering to company policy, GoFundMe had no response.

–Dana

UPDATE: Thanks to Dana for getting this important story up so quickly. I think people should spread the message that GoFundMe should be boycotted. If you have a Twitter account, go retweet this:

4/28/2015

Baseball Game to Be Played in Baltimore . . . With Public Not Present

Filed under: General — Patterico @ 10:17 pm



This is why we can’t have nice things.

Amid civil unrest in Baltimore, Wednesday’s game between the White Sox and Orioles at Camden Yards has been moved to a 1:05 p.m. CT/2:05 p.m. ET start and will be closed to the public, the Orioles announced Tuesday. The game had been scheduled for Wednesday night.

The change comes after Monday and Tuesday’s games between the teams were postponed due to safety concerns after rioting broke out near the stadium. The latest round of demonstrations follow the recent death of Freddie Gray, 25, an African-American suspect who had been taken into police custody.

That’s going to be . . . weird. It has apparently never happened before.

Compelling Love: Baltimore Mom Pummels Son And Drags Him Away From Rioting; She Talks About It Today

Filed under: General — Dana @ 7:15 pm



[guest post by Dana]

Last night I posted the video of the Baltimore mom who spotted her son heading toward the thick of the rioting and subsequently tore into him:

Toya Graham, single mother of six, including 16-year old Michael seen in the video, was interviewed this morning on CBS.

Graham explained that she went after Michael in order to prevent him from becoming the next Freddie Gray. In spite of the mask her son wore, Graham recognized him:

“He gave me eye contact. And at that point, you know, not even thinking about cameras or anything like that. That’s my only son and at the end of the day I don’t want him to be a Freddie Gray.”

“At that point, I just lost it,” said Graham. “I was shocked, I was angry, because you never want to see your child out there doing that.”

Graham expressed her concern for her son’s safety in their neighborhood and denounced the rioting and attacks on police officers:

“There’s some days that I’ll shield him in the house just so he won’t go outside and I know that I can’t do that for the rest of my life,” said Graham. “I’m a no-tolerant mother. Everybody that knows me, know I don’t play that.”

And knowing that about his mom put the fear of God in Michael:

It’s that reputation that made her son wince the second he saw her.

“He knew he was in trouble,” said Graham. “He said when ‘I seen you,’ he said, ‘ma, my instinct was to run.'”

Graham discussed what she thought may have prevented the protests from escalating:

Graham told CBS News she thinks the situation wouldn’t have been as bad if there were more mothers out there monitoring their sons. But she acknowledged there are some circumstances that can prevent moms from from doing that.

“We don’t know where those mothers are at, a lot of mothers have to provide for their children,” said Graham. “You can talk blue in your face to your children, but at the end of the day they gonna make their own decisions. As parents we just have to follow through to make sure that’s where they supposed to be at.”

(Sadly, there is no mention of fathers being needed to monitor their teenage sons and rein them in when necessary.)

–Dana

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