Remember Freddy Gray, the 25 year old mad arrested for allegedly possessing an illegal switchblade? Let’s recap the events for you. On April 12, 2015 at 8:39 a.m, three officers patrolling Baltimore streets via bicycle made eye contact with Gray, and he ran. They caught him, found a switchblade, arrested him and put him in a police van to be transported to a precinct. Two bystanders captured the arrest on video, showing Gray screaming in pain while being dragged to a police van by officers. Another witness saw him beaten with police batons. Within 30 minutes of his arrest, paramedics were summoned to take Gray to the hospital. He fell into a coma and seven days later [April 19], he passed. The medical examiner ruled Gray’s death a homicide.
On May 1, 2015, Baltimore City’s State Attorney, Marilyn Mosby, announced charges filed against the six police officers that were involve, three from the arrest and three involved in the transport. The Black community grows angry and starts protesting, with a few turning violent, resulting in 34 arrests and a state of emergency declaration by Baltimore’s Governor Larry Hogan.
The highest ranking officer in the case, Lt. Brian Rice is set to begin trial in Baltimore City Circuit Court tomorrow [July 7] at 9:30 a.m. He faces counts of manslaughter, reckless endangerment, assault and misconduct in connection to Gray’s death. Rice has forgone a jury trial and has left his fate in the hands of Judge Barry G. Williams. Two officers were acquitted on all charges while another ended in a hung jury.
There has been no conviction in so many cases: Trayvon Martin, Sandra Bland, Eric Garner, Mike Brown, Kimani Gray, Tamir Rice, Travares McGill, Kathryn Johnston, Sean Bell, Rekia Boyd, Amadou Diallo, Kenneth Chamberlain, Aiyana Stanley-Jones. Will Freddie Gray be added to this list?
