5 Baltimore City Police officers (Miller, Officer William G. Porter, Officer Edward M. Nero, Lt. Brian W. Rice and Sgt. Alicia D. White) have been charged for second degree assault on Freddie Gray. The process of justice is only beginning but the story has already changed in one week. The police van driver has been convicted on second-degree murder.
Freddie Gray died on April 19 over a spinal injury that occurred while in the custody of the police officers. Gray had repeatedly asked for medical attention, but not once get anybody to check him out. The officer driving also failed to secure Freddie in his seat with the seat-belt. The value of life was not equally protected. No matter who the suspect, these officers should be trained to be consistent in protecting the value of life and safety.
“Mr. Gray suffered a severe and critical neck injury as a result of being handcuffed, shackled by his feet and unrestrained inside of the BPD wagon,”
Maryland State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby said Gray was illegally arrested and assaulted. An ‘illegal’ switch blade that was found in the pockets of Freddie Gay was the cause to his arrest; but after further investigation Officer Garrett E. Miller swore in court to tell the people that it was actually a legal knife, and provided no justice for Gray’s arrest.
President Barack Obama said it was “absolutely vital that the truth comes out.”
Racism has been a big issue here in the United States since the very start. It has caused riots, deaths, and a lot of debates. The officers who arrested Gray had no rights to arrest him if the knife he contained was legal to carry. Investigations are still being done but I do hope justice is served. Many people in Baltimore have taken Freddie Gray’s death to their hearts and have caused a great pain throughout the city. Nobody truly knows what happened, but after reading the facts, The officers failed to arrest Freddie in the correct and right manner. This appears to be a violation of what is called procedural justice and it could be a turning point in America for holding everybody accountable to the law. This is not an isolated incident unfortunately
If he was asking for medical attention then you should immediately think something is wrong. I believe that his death was no coincidence, and that the police officers showed that they failed to know the law and how to take care of the issue in the correct manner. Police officers are in need of a different type of training today. I think they could benefit from training in Executive Functioning skills as well as emotional control.
http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/scant-details-gray-death-baltimore-protests-continue-30722120