Baltimore prosecutor files charges in Freddie Gray Case

[other one]

A Fraternal Order of Police lodge is asking Baltimore State's Attorney Marilyn Mosby to appoint a special prosecutor to the Freddie Gray investigation because of her personal connection to the Gray family's attorney, William H. "Billy" Murphy Jr., and her marriage to a city councilman.

Letter to Mosby Document

The letter from Gene Ryan, president of Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 3, also states that none of the six officers involved in Gray's arrest and death were responsible for the 25-year-old West Baltimore man's death that spurred protests and unrest, including rioting and looting on Monday. The letter was released just minutes before Mosby announced charges against the officers.

"Not one of the officers involved in this tragic situation left home in the morning with the anticipation that someone with whom they interacted would not go home that night," the letter states. "As tragic as this situation is, none of the officers involved are responsible for the death of Mr. Gray."

Ryan requests that Mosby appoint a "Special Independent Prosecutor."

 

"I have very deep concerns about the many conflicts of interest presented by your office conducting an investigation in this case," the letter states.

"These conflicts include your personal and professional relations with Gray family attorney, William Murphy, and the lead prosecutor's connections with members of the local media," the letter states. "Based on several nationally televised interviews, these reporters are likely to be witnesses in any potential litigation regarding this incident."

Murphy supported Mosby during her campaign last year. He donated $5,000 to her campaign and served on her transition committee.

 

In a statement to The Baltimore Sun, Mosby said the Gray case doesn't pose any conflicts for her and the police union donated to other candidates in election to be the state's attorney.

"State's Attorney Marilyn Mosby has been elected by the residents in Baltimore City to uphold the law in every neighborhood including her own, regardless of if her husband is the councilman within the district where numerous crimes occur," said spokeswoman Rochelle Ritchie. "Hundreds of people donated to her campaign. There is no conflict of interest surrounding Billy Murphy. He is representing the family in a civil case which has nothing to do with the criminal case."

The FOP letter also expresses problems with Mosby's marriage to Baltimore City Councilman Nick Mosby.

"Most importantly, it is clear that your husband's political future will be directly impacted, for better or worse, by the outcome of your investigation," the letter states. "In order to avoid any appearance of impropriety or a violation of the Professional Rules of Professional Responsibility, I ask that you appoint a Special Prosecutor to determine whether or not any charges should be filed."

The letter continued:   "We recognize that there are many dimensions to this situation: the public sentiments — on all sides; the investigation being conducted by your office; the internal police investigation; and a necessary review of the tools, equipment, and resources afforded to Baltimore police officers in order to carry out their sworn duty as police officers."

The letter also states that the officers involved in the case are "sincerely saddened by Mr. Gray's passing."

"They are all committed police officers who have dedicated their careers to the Baltimore City Police Department," he writes. "And that has been lost in all of the publicity. All death is tragic. And death associated with interaction with police is both shocking and frightening to the public.

"Each of the officers diligently balanced their obligations to protect Mr. Gray and discharge their duties to protect the public," the letter states. "I have full faith in your professional integrity. While I have the utmost respect for you and your office, I have very deep concerns about the many conflicts of interest presented by your office conducting an investigation in this case."

Doug.donovan@baltsun.com

 

[Guest shiloh357]

Yes, I have read some stuff about her and her husband and their connection to the Gray family.   She should not be involved as her personal relationship with the Gray family could cloud and maybe already has clouded her judgment.

 

In any other case, even the possibility of a conflict of interest would require her to recuse herself from the case.  Unfortunately, the Left wants a conviction and they have already assumed the guilt of the six officers.  

 

This trial will HAVE to be moved to a different venue and they need a special prosecutor who can be more objective and impartial.

[Burning_Ember]

What's interesting about this case is the "race" narrative is constantly being played!  But as someone that lived (and my parents still live) in Baltimore, this race narrative being played out is really dividing the country.

 

3 of the officers being charged in this case are black!  The mayor of the city is black.  The police commissioner is black.  50% of the city police force is black!

 

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/baltimore-riots/bs-md-fop-letter-20150501-story.html

 

In this story you can see the pictures of the officers being charged.

 

We're a country more divided now -- then we were 20 years ago!

 

 

Yes the race narrative that has been used before doesn't work in Baltimore.  

I think one protester put it in one news report something like... For Police, there is not black and white. There is only blue. The focus is on Police Brutality. 

[other one]

I think before you all try to get a verdict in this case we aught to at least wait for the toxicology report.

[Guest LadyC]

shiloh, WHY do you keep wasting your time? 

[other one]

Deep down you just know he enjoys it....

[Guest shiloh357]

From Ferguson until now, it has always been about race and the allegation that police brutality is aimed primarily at blacks and that blacks are unfairly targeted.   To deny that this is about race is nothing less than intellectual suicide.  

 

If Freddie Gray had been a white drug dealer, the liberals   would not care.   They never get this enraged when perpetrator is  black and the victim is white.    For liberals "racism"  only works in one direction.

[missmuffet]

shiloh, WHY do you keep wasting your time? 

I don't think shiloh wastes his time.I love reading his posts.A very intelligent man.

[Guest]

I think one protester put it in one news report something like....

 

For Police, there is not black and white....

 

There is only blue....

 

The focus is on Police Brutality....

 

~

 

As The Brother Keeps Saying And Saying

The Focus Is On Due Process

And The Rule Of Law

Or It's Back To

Lynch Mob

Brutality

 

Beloved, Based On The Message You've Posted Here

To The World Through Worthy Ministries

Just What Are Your Wishes

For The Peoples

Of The Cities

Of America

[Burning_Ember]

It's simply my position that no human being is perfect, and while I believe in the goodness of people... I don't think any one organization is without correction, or tries to flout the law. Due process and constitutional protections have been under attack for a while now...

 

George brought up earlier asset forfeiture. That's a problem that I don't really see in Canada, but I see awful stories about in America.

 

Let's pretend for a moment that there is an area in the US which suffers a major economic hit, and all departments, including law enforcement, get their budgets cut. To maintain a certain level of pay, or to have enough to equipment, or to have the local police department open at all... They need more revenue. Local law enforcement agencies in the US have two big tools that affect the revenue that they bring in. Asset forfeiture, and ticketing. Some departments, do in fact set quotas for tickets. Sometimes, emails get leaked or Officers step forward and say that they are told to take in a certain amount of revenue per month. 

 

At this point, in order for the department to maintain revenue, they HAVE to ticket people, or use asset forfeiture to help their budget out. In Ferguson, that was one if the big issues. A City of little more than 21,000 people took in 2.1 Million dollars in revenue, which ended up being, if I recall correctly, over 20% of the entire revenue of the city. In my city we don't have ticket quotas, and I don't think ticket revenue counts for 10% as a percentage of revenue for here as it did in Ferguson. I don't even see it as a separate part of the pie chart. In addition, if I recall correctly, the budget for Ferguson PD is about 5.3 million dollars. So the department pays for nearly/about 40% of it's own costs through ticketing. $ 2.1 Mil spread out over 22,000 people is nearly $1,000 in fines a year per person, for some people it would be lower, for others it would be higher. 

 

So, if there is a department which is responsible for 1/5th of the revenue, or more of a city... or 2/5ths of it's operating costs...  Would you want to give that up? What exactly are you supposed to replace that lost revenue with? Additionally, in Ferguson, you can be put in prison and kept there for failing to pay the smallest of fines. 

 

I don't think that LEO's in America deserve all of the bad press by any means, and there are plenty of great Officers out there... My concerns are;

 

1) There is something of a conflict of interest in relying on revenue via tickets and asset forfeiture as an important part of the income for the department from the people that the police are sworn to serve and protect.

 

2) The justice system is far from perfect. Due process is not just something that these Officers in this case have legitimate concerns about... That's something everyone has to worry about. If there was one Officer out of a hundred that didn't care if they inappropriately lay charges, inappropriately ticket people... That one criminal charge can mean a massive financial burden, losing your job, and a massive hindrance on getting a job again, let alone the level of job you were at before.

 

People do not have a problem with law enforcement when they do an excellent job. People have a problem with when Law Enforcement makes mistakes, or could have done better... I just don't pretend that LEO's are somehow more perfect than everyone else.

 

My city? I would definitely trust the average Officer I run into on the street. Some areas in the US? The worst stories I hear about law enforcement here, are spoken of as a much more common happening down south.