Had this been 2 weeks from now, I wouldn’t even blink an eye. But coming less than 24 hours after taking over the case, this looks suspicious as hell, especially if reports that say Gray tried to injure himself and the story that a bolt in the van matched the injury to Gray are true. Because if that is true, she is accusing several officers of manslaughter and various other crimes, and one of 2nd degree murder, merely for falsely arresting Gray seems kinda dubious to me.
State prosecutor Marilyn Mosby announced her decision in a surprise pronouncement less than 24 hours after getting the case. While it’s not completely unusual for such charges to be filed almost immediately, it’s almost always because they have a confession, eye witnesses or forensic evidence pointing to direct actions by the police or any individual before they would be charged.
None of that happened here. Mosby even admits that Gray’s injuries were probably caused by the bolt in the van and that her entire case revolves around false arrest. She doesn’t even argue reckless indifference, which is usually needed for such charges to be filed.
It is Mosby’s contention that there was no cause to arrest or even detain Gray. That may be true. You’d have to be privy to the details to make a judgement on that. Gray made eye contact with the officers and began to run. That is reasonable cause to detain him long enough to identify him and see if he was wanted on outstanding charges but by Mosby’s words, she doesn’t agree with that. The police said Gray had a switchblade knife. Mosby says the knife he had was legal. That could be true.
But what possible motivation could she possibly have for making these charges? Actually, as it turns out, she has more conflicts than Muslims in a Christian church. First of all, she could have the same motivations that Mayor Rawlings-Blake had in allowing the rioters to burn and loot the city.
But beyond that, her husband is a Baltimore city councilman and a successful prosecution of the officers would be a huge boost for his career. She also has very close ties to the Gray family lawyer. A prosecution of the officers, even if unsuccessful, could lead to a very large wrongful death suit against Baltimore, which the lawyer would receive 30% of. Mosby and her husband are close personal friends with the lawyer. The fact that she even filed charges, successful or not, would also be a major boost in her own political career.
The police union is calling for a special prosecutor who does not have the numerous conflicts of interest Mosby has. The decision is Mosby’s, unless the governor steps in.
I want to repeat that I am not saying the officers are innocent because I don’t know but less than 24 hours sounds more like a lynching than justice.
Courtesy of Red Statements.
