State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby announced at a news conference that Maryland‘s chief medical examiner had determined that the death of Freddie Gray, who was fatally injured in a police van after being arrested April 12, was a homicide.
Mosby’s May 1 announcement in front of Baltimore‘s War Memorial Building came just one day after Baltimore police turned over the results of an internal investigation into Gray’s death.
The results of that investigation have not been made public.”
“We put all our resources to make sure we were pursuing and leading where the facts took us in this case, which was to pursue justice,” Mosby said.
Five of the six officers are already in custody, Mosby said, facing charges ranging from second-degree murder, manslaughter and assault to misconduct and false imprisonment, she said.
Only one of the six arresting officers – the driver of the van, Caesar Goodson Jr. — was charged with second-degree murder; but Sgt. Alicia D. White, Officer William G. Porter and Lt. Brian Rice face involuntary manslaughter and other charges, Reuters said.
The two remaining two other officers, Edward M. Nero and Garrett E. Miller, face an array of lesser charges, Reuters said.
The death, coming at a period of heightened awareness nationally about police treatment of African-Americans and other minorities, prompted protests across Baltimore on Monday that turned violent in places, Reuters said.
A curfew imposed by Baltimore police eventually calmed the riots.
But related protests spread to cities across the country in much the same manner that demonstrations broke out across the country last year after the deaths of unarmed black men in Ferguson, Mo., New York City, and other places.
Representatives from police unions and from Gray’s family were not available for comment, Reuters said.
But crowds of people who had attended the Mosby’s press conference applauded and shouted “Justice for Freddie” after she finished speaking, and drivers honked their horns in appreciation.
“The people of America give me hope,” said Jay Morrison, a youth leader who attended the news conference.
“People like this district attorney give me hope,” he said.
Mosby, 35, took office in January after winning a hard-fought campaign during which she stressed increased accountability on the part of police and other city officials.
“To the people of Baltimore and the demonstrators across America, I heard your call for ‘no justice, no peace,'” Mosby said at her news conference.
“Your peace is sincerely needed as I work to deliver justice on behalf of this young man,” she said.
