Freddie Gray

People

Freddie Gray

Outcome

unknown

On April 12, 2015, Freddie Gray, a 25-year-old Black man, was arrested by Baltimore Police in the Sandtown-Winchester neighborhood after he fled from officers on bicycles. Officers found a knife on Gray and placed him in a police transport van. Over the course of approximately 45 minutes and multiple stops, Gray sustained a fatal spinal cord injury while in the van. He was not secured with a seatbelt, contrary to department policy implemented just six days earlier. Gray arrived at the Western District police station unconscious and was taken to the hospital, where he died on April 19, 2015, after spending a week in a coma. Gray suffered three fractured vertebrae, injuries to his voice box, and his spine was 80% severed at his neck. Medical experts determined that his injuries were consistent with those of a person who dives into a shallow pool and hits their head on the bottom. Commissioner Anthony Batts acknowledged that officers failed to buckle Gray in the transport van and failed to get him medical attention in a timely manner despite multiple requests. Gray, who was asthmatic, had requested an inhaler but was denied medical support. The media suggested Gray may have been subjected to a "rough ride"—a form of police brutality where a handcuffed prisoner is placed without a seatbelt in an erratically driven vehicle—though this was never proven in court. On May 1, 2015, Baltimore State's Attorney Marilyn Mosby announced criminal charges against six officers after the medical examiner ruled Gray's death a homicide. The officers charged were: Officer Caesar Goodson (van driver, charged with second-degree depraved-heart murder), Officer William Porter, Officer Garrett Miller, Officer Edward Nero, Lieutenant Brian Rice, and Sergeant Alicia White. Charges ranged from misconduct in office to involuntary manslaughter to second-degree murder. All officers pleaded not guilty. Officer Porter's trial ended in a mistrial. Officers Nero, Goodson, and Rice were acquitted at bench trials. In July 2016, Mosby dropped charges against the three remaining officers, resulting in zero convictions. On September 12, 2017, the U.S. Department of Justice announced it would not bring federal civil rights charges, finding insufficient evidence. Gray's death sparked massive protests in Baltimore and nationwide. Peaceful demonstrations began while Gray was hospitalized. After his funeral on April 27, 2015, civil unrest intensified near Mondawmin Mall, with looting, fires, and burned businesses including a CVS pharmacy. Governor Larry Hogan declared a state of emergency and deployed the Maryland National Guard. A 10 p.m. citywide curfew was imposed. Protests also erupted in Boston, Minneapolis, New York City, Oakland, Philadelphia, Seattle, and Washington D.C. A subsequent DOJ investigation found that Baltimore Police had engaged in unconstitutional stops, searches, arrests, and racial discrimination, leading to a federal consent decree in 2017.