Baltimore protests / riots (was: Orioles COO John Angelos offers perspective...)

Link to press conference announcing charges: http://www.foxnews.com/us/2015/05/01/many-questions-still-remain-in-death-freddie-gray/

My thoughts:
The only thing that concerns me here is the politicization from the prosecutor . A "dry" press conference without the pep rally would be more appropriate to her office, IMHO, and her cheerleading mars and places unnecessary questions about her motivations into play.
That is too unfortunate, especially since if the information she gave is accurate it appears the officers at the least did not behave appropriately, may have abused their powers, were negligent in their duty to protect, and showed reckless indifference to the well-being and life of Mr. Gray, who whatever his past rap sheet shows still had all the Constitutional rights shared by us all.
His record doesn't change that. His race doesn't change that. his community's high crime rate doesn't change that. The fact he ran doesn't change that. The fact he had a legal weapon in his possession doesn't change that. His being poor or unemployed doesn't change that.
I support justice, wherever that leads. If the cops are guilty beyond a reasonable doubt, they should pay the price. If not, they should walk free and unafraid.
I do like the twist of the phrase "No justice, no peace." She is right on about the need for peace while justice is pursued.
As an aside, it appears Mosby was educated at Tuskegee University right here in Alabama.
I hope what we are all seeking is justice and not a predetermined outcome based on our own biases. Justice requires an impartial judge and jury to decide on the evidence before them, not to take one side or another. I hope their decision, whatever form it takes, is respected when all is said and done.

And now this is out there......


http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...s-prosecutor-faces-big-test-4-months-job.html

How about this?

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2015/...nts-3-uncles-are-police-officers?detail=email

Both of her parents, her grandfather, two aunts, and three uncles have been police officers.

Even a quick glance at her online photos shows her at parties and retirement celebrations for Baltimore police officers.

Speaking of Germany........how come we're not seeing any German Shepherds?

Curfew is IN EFFECT folks.....woof!

pluckngrit said:

And now this is out there......


http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...s-prosecutor-faces-big-test-4-months-job.html

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Thanks for the link pluck. I went back and read the letter more carefully. Her husband is an elected politician that, according to TV news, has been calling for "action" in the Gray case. Several guest lawyers on CNN said that in these cases a special prosecutor should always be appointed because of the need for a close working relationship between the police and the prosecutor's office.

Sorry for the ill informed leap to judgement.

Have you ever noticed that despite all the contentiousness around here politically, we all tend to agree about 90% of the time about things in the larger picture? (I realize this is justice but that also entails some politics).

And I see three of the cops are black (or appear from the photos to be anyway) which renders any appeals to racism arguments pretty much meaningless and stupid.

I do, however, wonder where Officer Mark Fuhrman was that night.

selmaborntidefan said:

Have you ever noticed that despite all the contentiousness around here politically, we all tend to agree about 90% of the time about things in the larger picture? (I realize this is justice but that also entails some politics).

And I see three of the cops are black (or appear from the photos to be anyway) which renders any appeals to racism arguments pretty much meaningless and stupid.

I do, however, wonder where Officer Mark Fuhrman was that night.

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I didn't see that...must not be the three who put him in the wagon, they were all white.
But I did watch Kate Snow interview six cops, 3 black and 3 white (not sure if they were all from Baltimore, and it might have been eight total but I do remember the makeup was half white/half black). What was interesting were the comments from the black cops who unanimously stated that they were almost always harassed when going in to black neighborhoods, called "Uncle Toms" and traitors and berated for doing their job; so you're right, it's not a racist thing but that's the only card the media can play to get ratings. It's a lack of responsibility, a total resistance to any authority and an unbelievable unwillingness to accept the fact that if you break the law and get caught there are adverse consequences. The number of those in the black community who wholeheartedly live by this code is disproportionate and just way too high. There are a lot of reasons for it, sure, but IMO nothing justifies anarchy, and total unwillingness to submit to any legitimate authority is just that.
Having said that, these cops don't seem to have any excuse for not calling paramedics when the perp said he needed medical help. I will wait until all information is released at trial to determine what I think should happen, but if the cops didn't call for medical assistance when the perp said he needed it, that's a tough obstacle for the defendants to overcome.

twofbyc said:

I didn't see that...must not be the three who put him in the wagon, they were all white.

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http://www.washingtonpost.com/local...e6bc2e-f01f-11e4-8666-a1d756d0218e_story.html


Officer Caesar R. Goodson Jr., 45, who has been on the force since 1999, according to Baltimore police. An African American, Goodson drove the van that transported Gray to jail.


I'm still waiting to see what all goes on although this appears (key word) to me to be a case of at least negligence if not outright criminal incompetence. But the narrative of reality I prefer to the media pot stirring.

twofbyc said:

But I did watch Kate Snow interview six cops, 3 black and 3 white (not sure if they were all from Baltimore, and it might have been eight total but I do remember the makeup was half white/half black). What was interesting were the comments from the black cops who unanimously stated that they were almost always harassed when going in to black neighborhoods, called "Uncle Toms" and traitors and berated for doing their job; so you're right, it's not a racist thing but that's the only card the media can play to get ratings. It's a lack of responsibility, a total resistance to any authority and an unbelievable unwillingness to accept the fact that if you break the law and get caught there are adverse consequences. The number of those in the black community who wholeheartedly live by this code is disproportionate and just way too high. There are a lot of reasons for it, sure, but IMO nothing justifies anarchy, and total unwillingness to submit to any legitimate authority is just that.
Having said that, these cops don't seem to have any excuse for not calling paramedics when the perp said he needed medical help. I will wait until all information is released at trial to determine what I think should happen, but if the cops didn't call for medical assistance when the perp said he needed it, that's a tough obstacle for the defendants to overcome.

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Yeah, I'm still waiting but it doesn't look good. I mean, don't most states have mandatory seat belt laws so why wouldn't the cops be good citizens and buckle him in? Granted, I wasn't there, but this will be interesting. I'd also like to know about the autopsy since I can understand that stuff. COD and all that stuff.

selmaborntidefan said:

Yeah, I'm still waiting but it doesn't look good. I mean, don't most states have mandatory seat belt laws so why wouldn't the cops be good citizens and buckle him in? Granted, I wasn't there, but this will be interesting. I'd also like to know about the autopsy since I can understand that stuff. COD and all that stuff.

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I think that's a key piece of evidence that suggests the cops actually intended to cause him harm. A clear violation of procedure, imo.

Bama Reb said:

I think that's a key piece of evidence that suggests the cops actually intended to cause him harm. A clear violation of procedure, imo.

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Yeah, saw something about that last night. Said it was something a lot of police forces do nationwide, not seat belting the prisoner who is cuffed and then driving recklessly (swerving, hard turns and sudden breaking) to rough up the prisoner as punishment.

GrayTide said:

Yeah, saw something about that last night. Said it was something a lot of police forces do nationwide, not seat belting the prisoner who is cuffed and then driving recklessly (swerving, hard turns and sudden breaking) to rough up the prisoner as punishment.

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It wasn't unheard of before this case. I was vaguely aware of it. Heard stories of officers shackling a prisoner's hands and feet behind their back and proceeding to take the scenic route. The scenic route generally had a lot of speed bumps.

AUDub said:

It wasn't unheard of before this case. I was vaguely aware of it. Heard stories of officers shackling a prisoner's hands and feet behind their back and proceeding to take the scenic route. The scenic route generally had a lot of speed bumps.

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Cops are responsible for any and all suspects/prisoners that are in their immediate custody from the time they assume that custody to the time the individuals are released from custody or passed on to other leo/court personnel. When/if the prisoner is harmed during their immediate custody of the suspect/prisoner, the cops are thus responsible for that harm.

I'm not a lawyer (but I play on on TideFans), but my immediate suspicion was that this was a case of typical "over-filing" by the DA, where you (presumably) propose nuking a person as opposed to merely cutting off his arms and legs in hopes the jury will cut off the arms and legs.

I thought the Zimmerman case was over-filed, too. At the same time, this sounds vaguely familiar. Any of you ever been in the back seat of a cop car? It's already too small for sardines in there. Freddie Gray could have been a murderer and he still should have been treated with at least enough respect to simply get him safely from point A to point B.