Baltimore’s mayor is demanding answers after Freddie Gray died Sunday, a week after he was injured during an arrest.
Freddie Gray, 27, died around 7 a.m. Sunday after his spine was 80% severed at his neck while in custody, and he lapsed into a coma, according to a statement to the press from Gray family attorney William "Billy" Murphy Jr.
Baltimore police have not yet fully elaborated on why four bicycle officers chased and arrested Gray on April 12, but Murphy said there was no evidence Gray had committed a crime.
Deputy Police Commissioner Jerry Rodriguez said Sunday that Gray was stopped in a "high-crime area known to have high narcotics incidents."
"The officers believed that Mr. Gray was either immediately involved or had been recently involved in criminal activity," Rodriguez said. The deputy commissioner acknowledged his statement was "vague," but said he did not want to prejudice the investigation.
Eyewitness video recorded after his arrest and published by the Baltimore Sun shows Gray being dragged into a police van, as onlookers scream that he appeared to have a broken leg.
"His take-down and arrest without probable cause occurred under a police video camera, which taped everything including the police dragging and throwing Freddie into a police vehicle while he screamed in pain," Murphy said.
"We believe the police are keeping the circumstances of Freddie's death secret until they develop a version of events that will absolve them of all responsibility," he said. "However, his family and the citizens of Baltimore deserve to know the real truth; and we will not stop until we get justice for Freddie."
SOURCE: BuzzFeed
No comments:
Post a Comment