RIOTING, LOOTING, BURNING AND DESTROYING PROPERTY WORKED

In announcing that she had charged six Baltimore cops in the death of Freddie Gta, prosecutor Marilyn Mosby said she heard the call ‘no justice, no peace’

Who says rioting, looting, burning and destroying property doesn’t work? It sure worked in Baltimore. Last Monday night mobs did just that in reaction to Freddie Gray’s death after a rough and tumble ride in an unpadded paddy wagon that led to the young black man’s death. On Friday, only four days after the riots., Marilyn Mosby, Baltimore’s chief prosecutor, announced that the six officers involved had been charged with various crimes, including murder.

In making her public announcement, Mosby said, "To the people of Baltimore and the demonstrators across America, I heard your call for 'no justice, no peace.'"

Al Sharpton’s slogan “no justice, no peace” is clearly not a call for peaceful
demonstrations! Instead it signals to those who feel they are victims of injustice that it is okay to riot in the streets. Perhaps Mosby misspoke, but she seemed to accept the rioting, looting, burning and destruction of property as the ‘no peace’ part of Sharpton’s slogan.

Gray was arrested on the morning of Sunday, August 19. He died on Saturday, April 25. The riots took place Monday night, April 27. The charges were announced on Friday, May 1.

A special task force of at least 30 Baltimore police officers was put together to investigate Freddie Gray’s death. And still members of the task force were shocked by Mosby’s quick announcement. Had Freddie been white, there would have been no special task force and that investigation would have taken weeks.

In her announcement Mosby said, “The findings of our comprehensive, thorough and independent investigation, coupled with the medical examiner’s determination that Mr. Gray’s death was a homicide that we received today, has led us to believe that we have probable cause to file criminal charges.” Those charges ranged from official misconduct to manslaughter to murder.

The term homicide is frequently confused with the term murder, but the two are not alike. Homicide is a legal term for any killing of a human being by another human being, but it is not necessarily a crime. Murder is merely one type of homicide. For those eager to demonstrate no justice, no peace, homicide means murder.

The arrest of Freddie Gray was a bad arrest. It all started when Baltimore Police Lieutenant Brian W. Rice, while on bike patrol, made eye contact with Freddie, who promptly fled away. Rice chased Freddie on foot, calling for backup along the way. When Rice and two other officers caught up to Freddie he was forced down on the ground and handcuffed from behind. He was arrested for carrying a prohibited weapon, allegedly a switch blade knife.

Video shows a limp Freddie being dragged to a police van. He was placed unbuckled in the unpadded paddy wagon. He pleaded for medical help several times, but the officers disregarded his pleas until he became unresponsive. Paramedics then took him to a hospital where he died a week later.

Freddie’s neck may have been broken during his unbuckled rough and tumble ride in the unpadded paddy wagon. Baltimore Officer Caesar R. Goodson Jr. the driver of the van was charged with second-degree depraved-heart murder, a charge used when a suspect is accused of reckless disregard for another person’s life. He was also charged with involuntary manslaughter, second-degree -assault, manslaughter by vehicle and misconduct in office. The other five officers are charged with involuntary manslaughter, second-degree assault, and misconduct in office.

Oh, and what about that switchblade knife? It wasn’t a switchblade knife after all. It was a legal folded pocket knife.

Defense attorneys from across the country have come forward to say that the most serious charges against the six Baltimore cops will be hard to sustain in court. Here, from the transcript, is what ABC News Legal Analyst Dan Abrams said on Sunday’s This week With George Stephanopoulos:

STEPHANOPOULOS: And Dan, let me begin with you. These six charges came a lot faster than people expected on Friday. And more often than not, these police brutality cases end in acquittals.

DAN ABRAMS, ABC NEWS LEGAL ANALYST: Yeah. And I think that they're going to have some real issues here with some of the charges, meaning you have to look at each officer's actions separately. You can't say there are six officers. We're going to review all six cases together.

For example, I think that there's been some overreaching on the part of the prosecutor based on the facts as she laid them out with regard to two of the officers charged with manslaughter. Why? Because they arrive on the scene later and don't do enough. That's going to be a tough conviction for manslaughter.

The second degree murder charge for the driver also going to be tough.

STEPHANOPOULOS: Let me stop you there, because this is a pretty serious charge, Caesar Goodson, the most serious charge, second degree depraved heart murder. What does that mean?

ABRAMS: In effect, it means we think that he's more culpable. He was more indifferent. He took action and didn't care at all.

And so there's no sort of firm legal line where you cross from manslaughter to depraved murder. Neither one requires specific intent; it just says we think this one is so much worse.

And the reason I think the prosecutor thinks this one is worse is because he had opportunity after opportunity with each stop to end this.

STEPHANOPOULOS: Here's the one I don't understand. I understand perhaps false imprisonment for those two arresting officers.

But manslaughter for them?

ABRAMS: Well, look, I would argue that I think that the initial officers -- if they falsely arrested -- if they had no evidence to really arrest them, I think there's an argument to be made they're more culpable than someone who comes on the scene later, takes a look at him and doesn't take action, and one of the officers who initially arrested him not charged with manslaughter.

The police are within their rights to chase a man who flees after making eye contact with a cop. When they catch up to him, they have the right to frisk and question him. But if they find no evidence of a crime and he has no outstanding arrest warrants, they do not have probable cause for an arrest. Freddie’s arrest was clearly a bad arrest and some of the six officers involved are clearly guilty of misconduct in office. And if that misconduct led to the death of Freddie Gray, involuntary manslaughter charges may stand up for some of the officers.

But by her obvious rush to judgement and her acknowledgement of ‘no justice, no peace,’ State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby made it crystal clear that rioting, looting, burning and destroying property works.