On April 12th, 2015 at about 8:45am in the morning, Freddie Gray, a 26-year-old male, was arrested by Baltimore police officers. Later that same month, in result of the uncertain sequence of events that occurred on April 19th, he died in consequent to a severe spinal injury. A lot or everything about this case is mysterious and unclear. After reading notions on the case and seeing the displeasing reactions by the people in Baltimore, I wanted to write this week’s blog about the apprehension of Freddie Gray.
According to a charging document presented by the police officers, Freddie Gray “fled unprovoked upon noticing police presence”. This document also mentions that once Freddie Gray was detained, a pocketknife in the way the officers described it, it was in the form of a “switch blade”, therefore, the police officers were allowed to arrest Freddie Gray. However, Marilyn J. Mosby, the state attorney of Baltimore and the prosecutor for this particular case, stated that the pocketknife wasn’t in the form of a “switch blade”, therefore, the possession of Freddie’s pocketknife is legal. And if the possession of the pocketknife is legal, the officer’s arrest on Freddie Gray was illegal.
The police officers said that they arrested Gray “without force or incident”. But, the prosecutor portrays a different story, stating that the Gray was in a “leg lace” position. An article from The Baltimore Sun quotes, Kevin Moore, a witness of the arrest describes that Gray was at one point “screaming for his life,” “they had him folded up like he was a crab or a piece of origami," Moore said. The manner Kevin Moore describes the process of the arrest, it seems though Gray was being forced into a leg lace position and because of the magnitude of the pain, he accepted his arrest to believe that he would be taken immediately to aid.
The officers, though never called for an ambulance or any medical aid at all. Gray was placed into the officer’s van on his stomach and his face facing the floor of the vehicle, unbuckled and in pain. The officers drove for several minutes, and made six stops before taking Gray to the police station. According to the prosecutor, three of those stops were because of incidents related with Freddie Gray’s pain. On stop number 5, one officer went to the back of the van to assist Gray. Gray was urging for medical aid, but wasn’t assisted because the other officers responded to a call asking for additional units. After 45 minutes of driving and frequent stops, the officers arrived to the police station.
When the officers tried to remove Gray from the van “he wasn’t breathing at all”- stated Mosby. Gray was taken to University of Maryland Shock Trauma, where he had surgery; however, that wasn’t enough to save his life. Sadly, on April 19th Freddie Gray died, and the corner stated that it was a homicide.
Up till now, these are only statments that have been presented by both the defense attorney and the prosecutor; the facts haven't been presented yet. I don’t think these officers are cruel human beings that were trying to murder Freddie Gray. With what has been presented till now, I only see a sequence of carless mistakes committed by the officers. Don't get me wrong, these officers should be assumed for their responsibilities, but emotions and feelings shouldn't mix with the coming facts. Most of the people in Gray’s neighborhood are emotionally affected, and the only way there can be a fair case, is moving it to a different district. We will need to wait for a while, probably months or years to settle this case and to bring what is just to those who cared for Freddie Gray and the families who worry for the police officers.