Baltimore State Attorney Marilyn Mosby surprisingly announced Friday morning that six police officers have been formally charged in the arrest and mysterious death of Freddie Gray.
"To the youth of this city, I will seek justice on your behalf," Mosby proclaimed as cheers and applause immediately broke out around the War Memorial Building. Mosby said she filed the charges after a medical examiner's report ruled Gray's death a homicide.
Charges range from second-degree murder all the way down to misconduct in office; each officer is taking a different share of the blame. Officer Caesar Goodson, 45, faces the most severe punishment, including manslaughter by vehicle, involuntary manslaughter, and second-degree depraved heart murder charges.
If convicted on all charges, Goodson would face up to 63 years in prison.
"I've heard your calls for 'no justice, no peace' however your peace is sincerely needed as a I work to deliver justice on behalf of Freddie Gray."
Mosby cited the eight amendment in saying that the 25-year-old African-American man was unlawfully chased and searched, and that a knife officers though to be a switchblade was in fact legal to carry.
"It is a new day in our city," Maryland Rep. Elijah Cummings said, questioning whether state prosecutors would see Gray as a person and not just a statistic.
"Did anybody see this man? Did they see this man who was a mother's child? Did anybody see this man who was trying to get through life? Did the see him as a human being," Cummings said. "I am here today to thank God that Marylyn Mosby and her team saw him. The process has started."
Mosby said Gray suffered a fatal spine injury on April 12 while being transported in a police van and not while being arrested, adding police did not put a seatbelt on Gray. Gray asked for medical assistance six times and received none.
Gray's death brought tension between police and Baltimore's poverty-stricken neighborhoods to a head last Monday when riots broke out after his funeral. Stores were looted, hundreds of cars destroyed, and more than 200 people were arrested.
A citywide curfew, which has been meet with resistance, will continue into the weekend.
Baltimore residents took to downtown streets immediately after charges were announced. Small demonstrations broke out near city hall and drivers honked their car horns in passing. May Day protests, which were already planned, will continue as scheduled.
"So many people in the neighborhoods you've been filming in the last few days, they've never seen a victory. And they had begun to believe that the system could not work for them," Cummings said.
"This is a great day. And I think we need to realize that."
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