Comment: They don't read American headlines, apparently:
- Baltimore police's history of 'accidentally' killing its perps didn't start with Freddie Gray
The announcement came less than one month after the death of Freddie Gray, a 25-year-old black man injured in police custody, sparked outrage in Maryland's largest city, although the department's wider investigation is not specifically tied to his case.
"This investigation will begin immediately and will focus on allegations that Baltimore Police Department officers use excessive force, including deadly force, conduct unlawful searches, seizures and arrests, and engage in discriminatory policing," U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch said.
Speaking at a news conference announcing the probe, Lynch cited fractured relations between Baltimore residents and city police.
"Despite the progress being made, it was clear that recent events ... had given rise to a serious erosion of public trust," she said, citing the recent events surrounding Gray's death.
Comment: The police kill with impunity. It's hard to build a trusting relationship on that.
- Police in US killed more blacks in 2014 than died in 9-11 attacks
- Goon cops have gone wild all over America
Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake on Wednesday asked federal officials to investigate the city's police department for civil rights violations after Gray's death to see whether frisks, street stops of suspects and arrests violated the U.S. Constitution.
Gray sustained spinal injuries after being arrested April 12 and died April 19. His death sparked protests and a day of arson and looting in the largely black city.
Baltimore's chief prosecutor has brought criminal charges, including one murder charge, against six officers, three white and three black, involved in the arrest.
Lynch, who took office last week, has vowed to help the city pursue police reform.
On April 21, one day after the most violent night of protests, Lynch announced that the Justice Department would launch a federal probe into Gray's death,
The Justice Department has conducted similar reviews of U.S. police departments. An investigation of police in Ferguson, Missouri, where a white officer shot dead an unarmed black teenager last year, concluded in March that the department routinely engaged in racially biased practices.
Any findings would result in civil rather than criminal charges. Departments that have been found in violation of civil rights in the past have had to enter into court-ordered improvement plans, which can include an independent monitor, required reporting of arrest data and training for officers. No jail sentences for individual officers are attached to civil charges.
It's a shame that the "Liberal Media" doesn't tell the whole story
The Media is not telling us the entire story about young Freddie, who is becoming a Folk Hero in Baltimore. You might want to share this around, because the Media is not going to tell you. They seem to want to keep the conflict going. As the newsprint used to say, "if it bleeds, it leads" to the front page. So young Freddie had back surgery a week before and ignored doctor's orders to be in bed that night.
Here are the facts on the late Freddie Gray of Baltimore:
Freddie Gray had a pre-existing spinal and neck injury and had severe nerve damage and scar tissue from an accident that Allstate Insurance was paying him for, in a structured settlement. This monthly payment and drug
money were his means of support. Freddie had had several unsuccessful spinal fusion surgeries over the past 4 1/2 years. His most recent spinal/cervical operation was a week and a half before he was arrested on April 12. He was on doctor's orders to remain home and in bed to speed recovery from that major operation. Instead, Freddie was out manufacturing and distributing drugs on the streets of Baltimore, and strenuously resisting arrest.
Freddie had a long criminal history (rap sheet): many pages long for manufacturing and distributing drugs and controlled substances, including heroin, cocaine, crack cocaine and marijuana. He had been convicted of
numerous other felonies including assault, firearms violations, breaking and entering, armed robbery, receiving stolen property, and the list goes on and on from his 18th birthday. In Baltimore County, juvenile records are forever sealed except by judicial order.
Freddie, known on the streets as "Pepper", was 25 years old, 5'8" and weighed 145 lbs. when last arrested. He had been incarcerated at least 12 times, the longest stretch being 2 years in prison in Maryland.
Freddie had recently tried to convert his structured settlement from Allstate into a lump sum payment from Peachtree Funding, of Atlanta. Friends say he was confused by the paperwork and legal terminology.
Following his arrest, Freddie was placed into the paddy wagon by the police officers who had arrested him ---- 3 black officers, 3 white. He could have easily slipped on the floor or bench, or twisted his neck or shoulders to reopen his recently fused and weakened spine. Enroute to the
County jail, the paddy wagon stopped once so that officers could put leg restraints on Freddie to calm him down and restrict his movement.
Freddie was a dangerous career felon, well-known to the BPD officers, with a damaged and healing spine and neck, and was supposed to be home healing a week and a half after surgery. He should not have been running around on
the streets of Baltimore committing drug felonies and resisting arrest.
Now, why are so many residents of Baltimore destroying their own city with looting and arson? Because it's a good way to get new shoes and TVs for free? Seems to be. They sure know how to pick their heroes, don't they?
By the way, none of the eight BPD officers who arrested Freddy has ever had a complaint against him for brutality or use of excessive force