In what seems to be a less frequent result than it should be, the six officers involved in the death of Freddie Gray have been indicted by a grand jury on May 21, 2015. The indictment is cause for celebration for the people of Baltimore, who have long been caught in a disturbing vortex of poverty, joblessness, and social chaos, exacerbated by police misconduct and municipal negligence.
Freddie Gray’s death in police custody last month ignited Baltimore’s powder keg, prompting the populous to mobilize in response to what was, for all intents and purposes, a sketchy death at the hands of the Baltimore Police Department.
The list of charges, as released by the Office of the State’s Attorney for Baltimore City are as follows:
Officer Caesar R. Goodson, Jr. has been indicted for second-degree depraved heart murder, involuntary manslaughter, assault in the second degree, manslaughter by vehicle (gross negligence), manslaughter by vehicle (criminal negligence), misconduct in office, and reckless endangerment.
Officer William G. Porter has been indicted for involuntary manslaughter, assault in the second degree, misconduct in office, and reckless endangerment.
Lt. Brian W. Rice has been indicted for involuntary manslaughter, assault in the second degree, two counts of misconduct in office, and reckless endangerment.
Officer Edward M. Nero has been indicted for assault in the second degree, two counts of misconduct in office, and reckless endangerment.
Officer Garrett E. Miller has been indicted for assault in the second degree, two counts of misconduct in office, and reckless endangerment.
Sgt. Alicia D. White has been indicted for involuntary manslaughter, assault in the second degree, misconduct in office, and reckless endangerment.
If the officers are convicted, each of them could face decades in prison. Police brutality lawyers will be busy on this one.
Conservative backlash — always dependable — has erupted on social media. Aside from declaring the indictments another chapter in the “war on cops,” conservatives nationwide have dipped into a medley of other batshit accusations, including:
Murder rate SOARING in #Baltimore. What should Ms Mosby be charged with? Aiding and Abetting? #tcot pic.twitter.com/1VQZ0KtUxf
? Nurse Patriot (@LANURSE1) May 22, 2015
State Atty Moseby may have tainted jury pool, ya think? #Baltimore #PoliceLivesMatter pic.twitter.com/nECQJ0QCPB ? mikemckenna (@mikemckenna19) May 21, 2015
#notshocked @MarilynMosbyEsq will fail miserably in her PATHETIC attempt to frame these LEOS. #BlueLivesMatter https://t.co/MV08Zfl8OT
? Desiree Aaron (@DesireeAaron) May 21, 2015
This is all to be expected, though. It seems, nowadays, you cannot even start a conversation about police procedure without getting a tightwad flag-waving conservative upset about the “war on cops.”
Hopefully, the six officers responsible for Freddie Gray’s death are convicted for the crimes they committed, so at least once, a badge is not a justifiable defense for the unnecessary violence in which police engage with what seems to be stunning frequency. I hope Freddie Gray’s name does not appear on the list composed of so many other young black men killed by police who did not get the justice they deserved.
