Gene Ryan, right, President of Fraternal Order of Police Baltimore City Lodge #3, answers questions during a news conference at the lodge’s headquarters.
The Baltimore police union slammed State Attorney Marilyn Mosby for “a hurried rush to file criminal charges” and called for a “special independent prosecutor.” The lawyer for the union representing the six officers charged in the death of Freddie Gray Friday also criticized Mosby for “a hurried rush to file criminal charges” and vowed the “officers will be vindicated as they’ve done nothing wrong.”
“We believe that these officers will be vindicated as they have done nothing wrong,” said Michael Davey, a lawyer working for the city’s Fraternal Order of Police. “I have never seen such a hurried rush to file criminal charges,” he said, appearing to suggest that prosecutors had been rushed into this “egregious” act by outside pressures.
Friday, Mosby charged six officers in relation to the death of 25-year-old Freddie Gray, whose suffered severe spinal injuries when he was arrested on April 12 and died a week later. Now, the police union is calling for her to step aside based upon her personal connection to the Gray family’s attorney, William H. “Billy” Murphy Jr., and her marriage to a city councilman who had made a series of questionable comments before the charges were announced.
Gene Ryan, president of Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 3, said in a letter that none of the six officers charged were responsible for his death.
“Not one of the officers involved in this tragic situation left home in the morning with the anticipation that someone with whom they interacted would not go home that night,” the letter states. “As tragic as this situation is, none of the officers involved are responsible for the death of Mr. Gray.”
But Mosby is taking heat from legal experts who say she attempted to poison the jury pool and publicly convict the officers during her press conference Friday. They note that she emphasized the medical examiner report that ruled Gray’s death tot be a homicide, which doesn’t at all suggest a crime has been committed, and shotgun charged the officers based on a seat belt regulation that was enacted as late as April 6.
“The manner of death deemed homicide by the Maryland Medical Examiner is believed to be the result of a fatal injury that occurred while Mr. Gray was unrestrained by a seatbelt in custody of the Baltimore Police Department wagon,” Mosby said, though she offered no new evidence to prove intent and state of mind needed to justify a charge of second degree murder.
But while legal experts note that is precisely why the officers were shotgun charged with multiple lesser offenses, it was her hat tip to what most Americans view to be an anti-police movement that cast the shadow of impropriety on Mrs. Mosby.
“Last but certainly not least, to the youth of the city. I will seek justice on your behalf. This is a moment. This is your moment,” she said. “Let’s insure we have peaceful and productive rallies that will develop structural and systemic changes for generations to come. You’re at the forefront of this cause and as young people, our time is now.”
The letter from the police union highlighted several conflicts of interest that suggest Mrs. Mosby has a predisposition to the case, which will prohibit her from offering the defendants a fair trial.
“I have very deep concerns about the many conflicts of interest presented by your office conducting an investigation in this case,” the letter states. “These conflicts include your personal and professional relations with Gray family attorney, William Murphy, and the lead prosecutor’s connections with members of the local media.”
In fact, Gray family attorney Bill Murphy — who at the very least omitted if not lied about Gray’s pre-existing conditions, as PPD reported earlier this week — donated $5,000 to Mosby’s unopposed campaign and even served on her transition committee.
“Based on several nationally televised interviews, these reporters are likely to be witnesses in any potential litigation regarding this incident,” the letter states.
However, it was Mrs. Mosby’s marriage to Nick Mosby, a member of the Baltimore City Council that closed out the union’s letter. Councilman Mosby, who represents the district where Freddie Gray’s arrest and criminal career took place, has given a series of interviews that have come under fire. Mosby told Rachel Maddow during the riots that those burning down businesses, poking holes in fire department’s hoses attempting to save burning buildings and lighting hundreds of cars on fire, were “children crying out for help from abject poverty.”
Of course, Mr. Mosby showed no sense of accountability for the socioeconomic state of the city and its “children,” considering he and his colleagues are in charge of policy.
“Most importantly, it is clear that your husband’s political future will be directly impacted, for better or worse, by the outcome of your investigation,” the letter states. “In order to avoid any appearance of impropriety or a violation of the Professional Rules of Professional Responsibility, I ask that you appoint a Special Prosecutor to determine whether or not any charges should be filed.”
The charges Mrs. Mosby announced against the officers range from the most serious of second-degree murder and manslaughter to a simple misconduct charge at the other.
