For those of you who haven’t learned about the charges against the Baltimore police officers involved in the death of Freddie Gray, I’m getting ahead of the story. During a 16 minute press conference, Baltimore State Attorney Marilyn Mosby announced criminal charges for the six police officers including assault, manslaughter and murder. You’ll be able to hear those charges discussed endlessly in the media over the coming hours and days. But I want to focus on what she said at the end of her prepared statements, addressing the youth of Baltimore.
“I will seek justice on your behalf. This is a moment. This is your moment. Let’s ensure that we have peaceful and productive rallies that will develop structural and systemic changes for generations to come. You’re at the forefront of this cause, and as young people, our time is now.”
What a refreshing change of tone from the “thugs” mantra that’s been repeated endlessly since the Monday night violence in Baltimore. Mosby gave the youth of the city the kind of respect adults should afford young people. She didn’t shake her finger at them. She didn’t warn them they will be punished if they act out. Instead, she empowered them by putting them at “the forefront of this cause” and telling them “our time is now.” The fact that she’s 35, the youngest person in her position in any major city, gives her the right to include herself among the young people who, we hope, will help bring greater social justice to the country.
This article appears in Apr 30 – May 6, 2015.
Good for her. The right will try to defame and dehumanize her, predictably. But the real story is that a young man was murdered, brutally, at the hands of those assigned to serve and protect. Of course there are good cops, but the bad ones need to go, and they need to go now.
I’m with you 100% David. As long as Ms Mosby files charges against the Mayor for Accomplice to Attempted Murders of Police Officers for her order to stand down, and Attempted Murder of Police Officers for every brick thrower.
Laws are for ALL. Start filing.
Looks like David got sent to the penalty box. Racist comment? Could it possibly be?
Yes, Rat, laws are for all, including black people. Though you might not get that from certain media outlets, who can muster outrage over broken windows but not for citizens murdered by the police. A bad cop is a bad cop is a bad cop. People of all colors suffer at their hands.
You have to earn respect it is not given. These people out there looting ,burning buildings, throwing bricks and bottles at police and cutting fire hose and throwing blocks at fireman have not earned any respect they have however earned jail time. The drug dealer with a mile long rap sheet is getting more respect than the good people of Baltimore that was out the next day cleaning up the mess that the thugs made only for the thugs to turn around and do it all over again.
The real difference is that nobody will march to protest the dangerous actions of the Mayor as this tragedy unfolded. Nobody.
History will repeat itself.
You act like “these people” just woke up and decided to riot, trainmanswife. Are you too thick to make the connection between a pattern of police abuse and the frustrations of the very community they are supposed to protect? It might be convenient to forget, but the murder came first.
Peabo is right. They have been stockpiling bricks, guns, knives, explosives and bandanas to hide their faces for a long time. They just found the right opportunity.
Most of the local residents confirmed they were not from around that area.
Then I wonder why they wore masks?
Ok..They were Charged,they surrendered to there seargant,they were booked, bail was set, then all (6) posted bail and are home tonight..The city celebrates a victory..the 6 will go to trail ( most likely an all white jury)..worst case sernao after all is done 6 cops will be relocated to different deptments in the police dept and the rest will be swept under the rug..imop
I would bet that Baltimore loses 30-40% of their Police force over this. They will transfer, move or quit. Let’s see how that helps the ‘hood.
If that’s the case opportunistic criminals will swoop in and prey on the citizens. It’s going to take a miracle to turn Baltimore around.
I wasn’t there,so I don’t know. However, I always thought a person was innocent until proven guilty. For what it’s worth Diana, I recall the O.J. jury was all black.
Looks like most of you would make lousy jurors. There must be a preponderance of evidence to convict. And in Civil Rights cases you must be able to prove intent. We have not seen autopsy or toxicology reports, but I have not heard from an eyewitness yet.
American citizens deserve and should demand better from their police forces.
There must be accountability. They are not above the laws they swear to uphold.
That’s very true, but on the other hand they shouldn’t have to stand there and get pelted with rocks,bottles, etc. because the idiot mayor told them to stand down. This woman is such a jerk, she makes Rothchild look good. And that’s saying something.
That’s very true. However cops shouldn’t have to stand there and get pelted with rocks, bottles,etc. just because the idiot mayor told them to stand down. This woman is worse than Rothchild and that’s saying something.
I am reminded of the protest ‘walk’ in Tucson after the events in Ferguson and how our police escorted the protesters. I was so proud of the police and Tucson. I read the DOJ report and saw the documentary about the events in Ferguson and I was and am still appalled at what the police and other officials had instituted not only in Ferguson but in the surrounding counties. Still when all that came out Michael Brown was still called a ‘thug’. I asked these people if they had read the report. Silence. There are people here also on this blog that don’t want the truth and justice. THey want to hate and stir it up constantly. I am also proud of all the people on Facebook who are my friends or friends of friends and only say, “Let’s pray for Baltimore and all the people”. My heart warms when I know there are real people in the world who care about problem solving and understand there is deep hurt in Baltimore like Ferguson. Thank you David for writing about the state attorney and her wisdom especially for such a young person. I wish I could have been that wise at 35.
David, David, David. You are telling us the only reason the charges were filed is out of respect for these teens? That should almost guarantee an acquittal. And then what. another round of brick throwing because there was a lack of respect by the jurors? Have you considered factual blogging? Tell us more about your vacation. When is the next one?
Ms. Mosby was simply imploring young people to believe in her as an agent of justice and to conduct their protest activities without violence. Yet, she gets attacked by trolls on this thread (and no doubt thousands of others).
Mr. Gray was the victim of a “nickel ride”, “joy ride”, “rough ride”–take your pick, the practice is so widespread in police forces throughout the U.S. that it has many different colloquial names depending on which city you’re in. This is the practice of placing a defenseless suspect with his hands cuffed in the back of a van and driving erratically and unpredictably so as to cause the suspect to bang around inside the van and be injured. It’s the surreptitious equivalent of the old-school practice of beating the crap out of a detainee, but the beauty of it for the cops is they never lay a fist or a club on him, so there’s no accountability. Nevertheless, this practice has resulted in multi-million-dollar settlements for serious injuries suffered by the victims.
I hope Ms. Mosby fries those racist, sadistic cops and they rot in prison, but like some posters, I’ll believe it when I see it. The vast majority of the time cops walk away from such crimes without any significant punishment whatsoever, let alone criminal penalties.
skinnyman…half of the six racist cops are black and one is a woman. Can you tell us what facts your opinions are based on?
David W., the case for institutional racism in police enforcement is supported by reams of evidence. Look it up and learn.
In general, police tend to concentrate enforcement activities in neighborhoods/areas with high minority demographics, where everyone is seen as a potential, or even likely, criminal. People in such places are detained under a different set of considerations than in mostly white neighborhoods (big AP story on this just a week or so ago, which concluded that you can run away from the police fairly safely in “low crime” (i.e., white) neighborhoods, but if you try it in “high crime” (i.e., black) neighborhoods, you’re likely to get chased and injured or killed in the process), and their civil rights are routinely disrespected or ignored.
Ferguson, Missouri is not the only place this occurs by a long stretch of the imagination, but it is very indicative of how these things play out on the ground. The official reports of that situation are very illustrative: general harassment of the local populace, including stops and detentions without probable cause; vast racial disparities in the people who are targeted by such harassment, with minorities targeted at a much higher rate; racial disparities in penalties applied; racial disparities in number of people injured and/or killed by police, regardless of whether the death/injury was “justified”; etc.
In the context of such widespread, deeply institutionalized racism, the race of the officer involved does not matter as much as you think it does. In Ferguson, as in many other places around the U.S., police learn and work in a culture that clearly sees black people and other minorities as high-likelihood perpetrators, and it is commonplace that virtually everyone in a minority neighborhood is presumed to be guilty of something. That’s how innocent, unarmed black men such as Freddie Gray are mowed down by police on a regular basis. Regardless of the race of the arresting officer, they are socialized to see minorities as targets who are presumed guilty until proven innocent, not as citizens they are sworn to serve and protect.
Well, skinnyman, you can tell me to look “IT” up but then I find stats to refute your entire rant. If you want your comment believed you would do well to provide the proof of what you say because otherwise all I can say is you are wrong. When a police officer shoots an unarmed white guy it is really no different than the shooting of anyone else.
Skinny man I asked about facts you knew in regards to these charges and you produce nothing but hearsay anecdotal opinions. Did you hear what actually happened in Ferguson MO? Have you chosen to ignore the facts so you can continue to espouse your opinion? A police officer was attacked and the perpetrator tried to take his gun.
Back to Baltimore. Try reading about the career of the black female officer that you have labeled a racist.
I still await your facts in the case, because I don’t know any.
… And now the Washington Free Beacon reports that Obama gave Baltimore $1.8B in stimulus money for jobs, education and law enforcement.
Looks like we’ve got monet to burn.
Quick… Send them lots more.
Dear trolls,
I cited a long AP story and the Justice Dept. report on Ferguson, both of which are readily available with an internet search that would take, oh, about 30 seconds. Have you read them? Or are you just being willfully ignorant? I suspect the latter, since refusing to acknowledge the obvious reality of institutionalized racism in this country makes it that much easier to demonize people of color and justify treating them as second-class citizens, which is apparently your goal.
There are many other reports and analyses by a whole raft of NGOs that detail the institutionalized racism of police enforcement, and indeed, the entire criminal justice system in the U.S., including racial disparities in sentencing, bail opportunities, death penalty cases, etc. Please don’t make me hold your hand while you use your browser. (Ick.)
Stop being part of the problem. Look it up and learn. Really, it’s only a few clicks away…
Signed,
Concerned Citizen
Here ya go, just to get ya started, and because I understand that we all learn at our own pace (trolls most slowly of all), here is a quote from the Justice Dept. report on Ferguson:
“Ferguson’s police and municipal court practices both reflect and exacerbate existing racial bias, including racial stereotypes. Ferguson’s own data establish clear racial disparities that adversely impact African Americans. The evidence shows that discriminatory intent is part of the reason for these disparities. Over time, Ferguson’s police and municipal court practices have sown deep mistrust between parts of the community and the police department, undermining law enforcement legitimacy among African Americans in particular.”
In other words, a perfect example of institutionalized racism.
At the risk of being misidentified here I went ahead and took the advice of skinnyboy and looked up the stats. Now I’m not a very smart man otherwise I would just take the anecdotal rants & name calling at face value and not challenge ANYTHING but my dumbness obliges me to follow the suggestions of those obviously smarter than me. How do I know they are smarter? Because they have so many “up votes” and no one would “up vote” an idiot. Soooooo, since the DoJ was cited here as a source in an investigation that’s where I looked since there was no better guidance being offered. Here is the link for those who are as dumb as me but, unfortunately it doesn’t bear up to the anecdotes: http://www.bjs.gov/index.cfm?ty=tp&tid=703
Typical liberal response is to avoid the facts, call names, discredit opinions, and attempt to act intellectually advanced. I thought the discussion was about the facts of the case in Baltimore. Excellent avoidance skills, advanced judgement prior to the facts of The case.
Blame somebody else for everything. No personal responsibility.
Great link Harold. Thanks for the truth.
Finally somebody had the courage to say…”let’s compare the police response in Baltimore to the police response in Waco last weekend.”
http://customwire.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_WACO_SHOOTING_PERCEPTIONS?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2015-05-20-15-06-09