Baltimore Riots

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Baltimore police officer cleared in Freddie Gray's death
Reuters - DONNA OWENS - 8 hrs ago

BALTIMORE, June 23 (Reuters) - Baltimore police officer Caesar Goodson Jr. on Thursday was cleared of criminal wrongdoing in the death of Freddie Gray, a black man who died of injuries sustained while in police custody.


Baltimore City Circuit Court Judge Barry Williams found Goodson, who is also black, not guilty of all criminal counts including second-degree depraved heart murder, the most serious accusation against any of the six officers charged in connection with Gray's death.

Prosecutor had failed to secure convictions in two earlier trials of police officers.

Goodson, 46, was the driver of a police transport van in which Gray broke his neck in April 2015. He had also faced three counts of manslaughter, and single counts of reckless endangerment, second-degree assault and misconduct in office.

"This court is satisfied the state has failed to show" evidence of the crimes, Williams said. Goodson, a 16-year veteran of the force, had waived his right to a jury trial, choosing to have the judge determine his fate.

Goodson, a soft-spoken man who had been visibly nervous and during the proceedings, smiled upon hearing the verdict.

Attorneys for each side declined to comment following the ruling, citing a gag order imposed by the court as a result of the multiple cases that remained to be prosecuted.

'NO JUSTICE'

Williams' decision makes it less likely prosecutors will be successful in their attempts to convict the three officers yet to stand trial, said Tim Maloney, a civil rights attorney with Joseph Greenwald & Laake.

"This is what happens when you make charging decisions in the heat of a riot instead of reviewing evidence in the cool light of day," Maloney said.

Gray's death sparked a day of rioting and arson, followed by weeks of protests in the majority African-American city of 620,000 people.

It came at a time of fierce national debate over the use of excessive force by police, especially against black men amid questionable deaths in New York, Cleveland and Ferguson, Missouri.

The deaths and ensuing protests gave rise to the Black Lives Matter movement.

Baltimore State's Attorney Marilyn Mosby announced that she would file charges four days after the riots that followed Gray's funeral, surprising some observers for its swiftness.

"While it may have been successful in quelling the civil disturbance, it created a profound injustice for these officers," Maloney said.

Tessa Hill Aston, president of the Baltimore chapter of the NAACP civil rights group was disappointed by the decision.

"There has been no justice for Freddie Gray," she said. "The criminal charges didn't hold up in court, but that doesn't mean the police didn't do something wrong in the eyes of the community."

Prosecutors contended Goodson gave Gray a "rough ride," failed to ensure his safety and should have called a medic.

"That is an inflammatory term ... that when uttered is not to be taken lightly," said Williams.

Goodson's defense team argued that Gray caused his own injuries by falling inside the transport van. Goodson also lacked the training to recognize that Gray was hurt, they said.

Gray, 25, was arrested after fleeing police officers in a high-crime area. He was bundled into Goodson's van shackled and not secured with a seat belt inside the van, a violation of police procedure.

Several dozen protesters gathered outside the courthouse, chanting "Justice for Freddie Gray."

(Writing by Ian Simpson and Scott Malone; Editing by Jeffrey Benkoe)

http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/bal...d=ansmsnnews11

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Baltimore Looter Who Set CVS on Fire Was in for a Shock When the Judge Handed Out His Sentence…
By Justen Charters (17 hours ago)

In 2015, Americans were glued to the news in Baltimore as rioters looted stores and set cop cars on fire.

As a result of the chaos and crime, Baltimore has spent an estimated $20 million to clean up the city. And a lot of businesses that were looted never saw their perpetrators brought to justice.

Until now.

One of the of the most destructive rioters, Donta Betts, is finally facing justice for his crimes.

CBS Baltimore reported that:

Prosecutors say 20-year-old Donta Betts was one of the key players in the Freddie Gray riots, looting, starting fires and even attacking police.

“Donta Betts was a menace to society here in Baltimore. The scope of the criminal activity he was involved in is really breathtaking,” said Rod Rosenstein, U.S. Attorney.

In April of 2015 — just days after the death of Freddie Gray — Baltimore erupted with riots, looting and a clash with officers. Federal prosecutors say surveillance video and pictures captured Betts in the middle of the mayhem.

When asked about why he did it, Betts said:

“That was my period to go wild on the police.”

Betts won’t get out of prison until he’s 35. During his 15-year sentence he is not eligible for parole or probation

http://www.ijreview.com/2016/06/6371...ally-cost-him/

[Jolie Rouge]

All charges dropped in Freddie Gray case; no convictions
Published July 27, 2016
· Associated Press

Prosecutors dropped the remaining charges Wednesday against three Baltimore police officers awaiting trial in the death of Freddie Gray, bringing an end to the case without a conviction.

Gray was a black man whose neck was broken while he was handcuffed and shackled but left unrestrained in the back of a police van in April 2015. His death added fuel to the growing Black Lives Matter movement and caused turmoil in Baltimore, including large protests and the worst riots the city had seen in decades.

The decision by prosecutors comes after a judge had already acquitted three of the six officers charged in the case, including the van driver who the state considered the most responsible and another officer who was the highest-ranking of the group.

A fourth officer had his case heard by a jury, who deadlocked and the judge declared a mistrial.

A pretrial hearing had been scheduled Wednesday for Officer Garrett Miller, who had faced assault, misconduct in office and reckless endangerment charges, but instead Chief Deputy State's Attorney Michael Schatzow told the judge that prosecutors were dropping the charges against Miller and the rest of the officers.

Prosecutors and defense attorneys quickly left the courtroom without commenting, but both sides planned news conferences later Wednesday.

After Gray's death, the U.S. Justice Department launched a patterns and practice investigation into allegations of widespread abuse and unlawful arrests by the Baltimore Police Department. The results of the probe have not been released.

Prosecutors had said Gray was illegally arrested after he ran away from a bike patrol officer and the officers failed to buckle Gray into a seat belt or call a medic when he indicated he wanted to go to a hospital.

State's Attorney Marilyn Mosby wasted little time in announcing charges after Gray's death -- one day after receiving the police department's investigation while a tense city was still under curfew -- and she did not shy from the spotlight. She posed for magazine photos, sat for TV interviews and even appeared onstage at a Prince concert in Gray's honor.

Three of the officers who were charged were black and three were white.

http://video.foxnews.com/v/embed.js?...01&w=466&h=263

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http://www.foxnews.com/us/2016/07/27...nvictions.html