On April 12, 2015, Freddie Carlos Gray Jr., a 25-year-old African-American, was arrested by the Baltimore Police Department for possession of a knife. While in police custody, Gray sustained fatal injuries and was taken to the R Adams Cowley Shock Trauma Center. Gray's death on April 19, 2015, was ascribed to injuries to his cervical spinal cord.
Pending an investigation of the incident, six Baltimore police officers were suspended. Commissioner Anthony W. Batts reported that officers had not secured Gray inside the van while driving to the police station, contrary to a policy that had been put into effect six days prior to Gray's arrest. The medical examiner's office concluded that Gray's death could not be ruled an accident, and was instead a homicide, because officers failed to follow safety procedures. Baltimore City State's Attorney, Marilyn Mosby announced her office had filed charges against six police officers after the medical examiner's report ruled Gray's death a homicide.
Prosecutors found probable cause to file criminal charges against the six police officers who were believed to be involved in his death. The officer driving the van was charged with second-degree depraved-heart murder for his indifference to the considerable risk that Gray might be killed, and others were charged with crimes ranging from manslaughter to illegal arrest. A grand jury indicted the officers on most of the original charges filed by Mosby with the exception of the charges of illegal imprisonment and false arrest, and added charges of reckless endangerment to all the officers involved.
Gray's hospitalization and subsequent death resulted in a series of protests. A major protest in downtown Baltimore turned violent, resulting in 34 arrests and injuries to 15 police officers. After Gray's funeral, civil disorder intensified with looting and burning of local businesses and a CVS drug store, culminating with a state of emergency declaration by Governor Larry Hogan, Maryland National Guard deployment to Baltimore, and the establishment of a curfew. On May 3, the National Guard began withdrawing from Baltimore, and that night the city's curfew was lifted.
In September 2015, it was decided that there would be separate trials for the accused. The trial against Officer William Porter ended in a mistrial. Officers Nero, Goodson, and Rice were acquitted. The charges against the two remaining officers were dropped.
On September 12, 2017, after a two-year investigation, the U.S. Department of Justice announced that it would not bring federal charges against the six Baltimore police officers involved in the arrest and death in custody of Gray, finding that the evidence was "insufficent to prove beyond a reasonable doubt" that the officers "willfully violated Gray's civil rights".
Backgrounds
Freddie Gray
Freddie Carlos Gray Jr. (August 16, 1989 – April 19, 2015) was the 25-year-old son of Gloria Darden. He had a twin sister, Fredericka Gray, as well as another sister, Carolina. As a child, Gray suffered from damaging levels of lead poisoning while living in a peeling rental home in the Sandtown-Winchester neighborhood in West Baltimore between 1991 and 1993. Medical records showed his blood lead levels tested as high as 37 μg/dL, well above the level of toxicity. He was diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder after entering school, where he attended special education classes, and played wide receiver in a local football little league team. Gray was a truant student and failed several grades and dropped out of high school in ninth grade. In 2008, Gray and his siblings successfully sued their former landlord of his childhood home for the resulting brain damage they suffered and led to educational and medical deficits. However, in 2013, Gray sold his future settlement payments totaling $146,000 to Access Funding, a structured settlement factoring company, for a lump sum payment of $18,000. A 2016 article by The Washington Post exposing the settlement purchase prompted the Maryland Attorney General's office to launch an investigation with the state's legislative branch proposing reform of the practice.
At the time of his death, Gray lived in the home owned by his sisters on East Lorraine Avenue in the Charles Village neighborhood of Baltimore. He stood 5 feet 8 inches (1.73 m) and weighed 145 pounds (66 kg). Gray had a criminal record with 18 prior arrests, on drug charges, three separate assault charges, and minor crimes and had spent time in jail.
Police officers
- Officer Caesar R. Goodson Jr., age 45, then a 16-year veteran of the police force.
- Officer Garrett E. Miller, age 26, joined the Baltimore Police Department in 2012.
- Officer Edward M. Nero, age 29, joined the Baltimore Police Department in 2012.
- Officer William G. Porter, age 25, joined the police force in 2012.
- Lieutenant Brian W. Rice, age 41, then a 17-year veteran of the force. Rice, who was promoted to lieutenant in 2011, is the highest-ranking officer charged in relation to Gray's death. The Guardian reported that, in 2012, Rice had allegedly threatened to kill himself and the husband of his former partner. He had been hospitalized, reportedly, for a mental health evaluation and given an administrative suspension. The consequences of this threat included Rice having his guns confiscated and a restraining order on behalf of the husband of his former partner. According to a police report obtained by The Guardian, Rice had also misused his position to order the arrest of his ex-girlfriend's husband as part of a personal dispute that took place two weeks before the incident. Rice's record with the police Internal Affairs Division consisted of thirty-two complaints, two of which were sustained cases: a 1998 incident involving drug evidence left in his car, and a 2012 incident where he sent sexual images to his former partner using his departmental cell phone.
- Sergeant Alicia D. White, age 30, joined the force in 2010 and was promoted to sergeant three months prior to Gray's death. She grew up in Baltimore.
Arrest and death
Police encountered Freddie Gray on the morning of April 12, 2015, in the street near Baltimore's Gilmor Homes housing project, an area known to have high levels of home foreclosures, poverty, drug deals, and violent crime. Approximately three weeks prior to the incident, Mosby had requested "enhanced" drug enforcement efforts at the corner of North and Mount. According to the charging documents submitted by the Baltimore police, at 8:39 a.m Lieutenant Brian W. Rice, Officer Edward Nero, and Officer Garrett E. Miller were patrolling on bicycles and made eye contact with Gray, who proceeded to flee on foot "unprovoked upon noticing police presence". After a brief chase, Gray was apprehended and taken into custody "without the use of force or incident", according to Officer Garrett Miller, who wrote he "noticed a knife clipped to the inside of his [Gray's] front right pocket". In the formal statement of charges, Officer Miller stated that Gray "did unlawfully carry, possess, and sell a knife commonly known as a switch blade knife, with an automatic spring or other device for opening and/or closing the blade within the limits of Baltimore City. The knife was recovered by this officer and found to be a spring assisted one hand operated knife." According to the state's attorney for Baltimore City, the spring-assisted knife Gray was carrying was legal under Maryland law, while a police task force said the knife was a violation of the Baltimore code under which Gray was charged.
Video recordings by two bystanders capturing Gray's arrest showed Gray, screaming, being dragged to a police van by officers, and then stepping up into the van. A bystander with connections to Gray stated that the officers were previously "folding" Gray: one officer bent Gray's legs backward, and another held Gray down by pressing a knee into his neck. Witnesses commented Gray "couldn't walk", "can't use his legs". Baltimore Police Commissioner Anthony W. Batts noted from the video that "Gray stood on one leg and climbed into the van on his own." The Baltimore Sun reported that another witness saw Gray being beaten with police batons.
According to the police timeline, Gray was placed in a transport van within 11 minutes of his arrest, and within 30 minutes, paramedics were summoned to take Gray to a hospital. The van made four confirmed stops while Gray was detained. At 8:46 am, Gray was unloaded in order to be placed in leg irons because police said he was acting irate. Gray's shackling was recorded on a cellphone, which exhibited a motionless Gray surrounded by several officers as he was restrained. A later stop, recorded by a private security camera, shows the van stopped at a grocery store. At 8:59 am, a second prisoner was placed in the vehicle while officers checked on Gray's condition. At 9:24 am, the transport van arrived at its final stop, the West District police station. After paramedics treated Gray for 21 minutes, he was taken to the University of Maryland's R Adams Cowley Shock Trauma Center at 9:45 am in a coma.
The media has suggested the possibility of a rough ride—a form of police brutality where a handcuffed prisoner is placed without a seatbelt in an erratically driven vehicle—as a contributing factor in Gray's injury. During Officer Goodson's trial, a prosecution witness testified that he "could not say" if there had been a rough ride, and the judge ruled that the prosecution had not presented evidence to back that assumption. Moreover, and as noted by the BBC in December 2015, "Throughout the trial, the prosecution insisted that Mr Porter could have saved Gray's life by restraining him and by calling for medical help after his injury. They described the police van as a coffin on wheels."
In June 2016, the Baltimore Sun noted that Dr. Carol Allan, an assistant medical examiner, "testified that Gray's fatal neck injuries, resembling those suffered in a diving accident, were caused by abrupt force to his neck during his transport, when he could not see outside the van to predict sudden stops, starts or turns."
The department's seatbelt policy had been revised six days prior to Gray's arrest, in an attempt to protect detained individuals from serious injuries during transport. The policy was not followed in Gray's case. According to attorney Michael Davey, who represents at least one of the officers under investigation, the new rules were criticized by some. He explained that in certain situations, like when a prisoner is combative, "It is not always possible or safe for officers to enter the rear of those transport vans that are very small, and this one was very small."
In the following week, according to the Gray family attorney, Gray suffered from total cardiopulmonary arrest at least once but was resuscitated without ever regaining consciousness. He remained in a coma and underwent extensive surgery in an effort to save his life. According to his family, he lapsed into a coma with three fractured vertebrae, injuries to his voice box, and his spine 80% severed at his neck. Police confirmed that the spinal injury led to Gray's death. Gray died on April 19, 2015, a week after his arrest.
Aftermath
Investigation
The Baltimore Police Department suspended six officers with pay pending an investigation of Gray's death. The six officers involved in the arrest were identified as Lieutenant Brian Rice, Sergeant Alicia White, Officer William Porter, Officer Garrett Miller, Officer Edward Nero, and Officer Caesar Goodson. On April 24, 2015, Police Commissioner Anthony Batts said, "We know our police employees failed to get him medical attention in a timely manner multiple times." Batts also acknowledged police did not follow procedure when they failed to buckle Gray in the van while he was being transported to the police station. The U.S. Department of Justice also opened an investigation into the case.
On April 30, 2015, Kevin Moore, one of the witnesses who filmed Gray's arrest, was arrested at gunpoint following what Moore described as "harassment and intimidation" by police. Moore stated he had cooperated with police and had given over his video of Gray's arrest for investigation. He claimed, despite aiding in the investigation, his photo was made public by police, who asked the public to identify him because he was "wanted for questioning". Moore said the police obviously knew who he was when they posted his photo. Moore was released from custody the next day, but two other individuals who were arrested along with Moore remained in custody. The same day as Moore's arrest, medical examiners reported Gray sustained more injuries as a result of slamming into the inside of the transport van, "apparently breaking his neck; a head injury he sustained matches a bolt in the back of the van".
On May 19, 2015, prosecutors asked a judge to issue a gag order on attorneys, police, and witnesses to the arrest, arguing that statements by some of the officers' attorneys could prejudice the public. On June 8, 2015, it was announced that a judge had denied the state's attorney's request for a gag order on procedural grounds.
Charges, indictments, and trials
On May 1, 2015, after receiving a medical examiner's report ruling Gray's death a homicide, state prosecutors said that they had probable cause to file criminal charges against the six officers involved. State's attorney Marilyn Mosby said that the Baltimore police had acted illegally and that "No crime had been committed" (by Freddie Gray). Mosby said that Gray "suffered a critical neck injury as a result of being handcuffed, shackled by his feet and unrestrained inside the BPD wagon". Mosby said officers had "failed to establish probable cause for Mr. Gray's arrest, as no crime had been committed", and charged officers with false imprisonment, because Gray was carrying a pocket knife of legal size, and not the switchblade police claimed he had possessed at the time of his arrest. All six officers were taken into custody and processed at Baltimore Central Booking and Intake Center.
Three of the officers faced manslaughter charges, and one faced an additional count of second-degree depraved-heart murder. The murder charge carries a possible penalty of 30 years in prison; the manslaughter and assault offenses carry a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison. All six officers were released from jail after posting bail the same day they were booked. Two officers were released on $250,000 bail and the four others' bail was $350,000.
On September 2, 2015, it was decided to hold separate trials for the accused. In December 2015, Baltimore judge Barry Williams declared a mistrial in the trial of Officer Porter after the jury was unable to reach a verdict.