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| Teenager knocked to ground by police in protest after Freddie Gray mistrial | Teenager knocked to ground by police in protest after Freddie Gray mistrial |
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| A 16-year-old boy who has been a fixture at racial justice protests in Baltimore was knocked to the ground by sheriff’s deputies on Tuesday night, after Judge Barry Williams’ declared a mistrial in the case of William Porter, the first of six officers to be tried in the death of Freddie Gray. | A 16-year-old boy who has been a fixture at racial justice protests in Baltimore was knocked to the ground by sheriff’s deputies on Tuesday night, after Judge Barry Williams’ declared a mistrial in the case of William Porter, the first of six officers to be tried in the death of Freddie Gray. |
| A crowd of about 100 gathered in front of the courthouse, chanting “no justice, no peace” in a robust but relatively small and quiet demonstration in reaction to the jury’s indecision. Many in the community were still willing to wait for the judicial process, as meetings were set to try to schedule a new trial on Thursday. | |
| “We are not at all upset with them, and neither should the public be upset,” Freddie Gray’s stepfather, Richard Shipley, said of the jury at a courthouse press conference Wednesday. “We are confident there will be another trial with a different jury.” | |
| But the sheriff’s deputies guarding the courthouse appeared to be prepared for much worse, wearing military-style tactical gear. A video posted by CBS News shows a crowd of protesters marching. A woman says “We need justice for Freddie Gray,” into a bullhorn as one sheriff’s deputy lunges at the youth, appearing to put his hand on his neck, pushing him first against a wall and then onto the ground, where he was swarmed by several other deputies. | |
| Protesters yell “he ain’t doing nothing” as the deputies seem confused – at one point, two deputies seem to be pushing one another in the fracas. They step away just enough in the video to reveal the young man laying on his back as he is manhandled by the deputies. | Protesters yell “he ain’t doing nothing” as the deputies seem confused – at one point, two deputies seem to be pushing one another in the fracas. They step away just enough in the video to reveal the young man laying on his back as he is manhandled by the deputies. |
| It is unclear what prompted the arrest. In a commentary on the CBS video, the cameraman said that the 16-year-old had been alternating between chanting obscenities and social justice chants. At a protest on the first day of jury selection for Porter’s trial, the teen chanted: “Without that badge you’re a bitch and a half,” echoing the refrain of Louisiana rapper Lil’ Boosie’s song Fuck the Police. | |
| In addition to being charged with disorderly conduct and failure to obey a lawful order, the youth was charged with “utilizing a bullhorn in close proximity to the courthouse”, according to Major Sabrina Tapp-Harper, a spokeswoman for the sheriff’s office. But in the video, at least, the woman with the bullhorn remains unmolested and continues to yell “We want justice for Freddie Gray” throughout the fray. | |
| The night before he was arrested, at a smaller protest, the teen talked to the Guardian about the police presence and a letter sent home by the school district warning of unrest. | The night before he was arrested, at a smaller protest, the teen talked to the Guardian about the police presence and a letter sent home by the school district warning of unrest. |
| “They’re scared, of course. They don’t want another uprising. They’re making preparations,” the teen said. “It doesn’t affect me because at the end of the day we gonna have to do what we got to do. I’m not saying like, physically damage anything like that. We’re still gonna be out here protesting.” | “They’re scared, of course. They don’t want another uprising. They’re making preparations,” the teen said. “It doesn’t affect me because at the end of the day we gonna have to do what we got to do. I’m not saying like, physically damage anything like that. We’re still gonna be out here protesting.” |
| Tensions between police and African American youth in the city was one of the causes of the unrest in April after Freddie Gray, who was 25, died of catastrophic spinal injuries he received in police custody. The city had been on edge for the past couple days as jurors deliberated. When the jury could not come back with a unanimous verdict on Wednesday, a crowd spontaneously began to gather at the courthouse. | Tensions between police and African American youth in the city was one of the causes of the unrest in April after Freddie Gray, who was 25, died of catastrophic spinal injuries he received in police custody. The city had been on edge for the past couple days as jurors deliberated. When the jury could not come back with a unanimous verdict on Wednesday, a crowd spontaneously began to gather at the courthouse. |
| Also arrested was Kwame Rose, whose confrontation with Fox News’s Geraldo Rivera last spring went viral. Rose has been one of the subjects of an HBO documentary being made by Sonja Sohn, who played detective Kima Greggs on The Wire. Sohnwas at the protest following the mistrial. | |
| Rose was arrested at a march that began at the courthouse during a motions hearing earlier in the fall and was released on the first day of the trial with one day of probation. He faces the same charges as the teen. | Rose was arrested at a march that began at the courthouse during a motions hearing earlier in the fall and was released on the first day of the trial with one day of probation. He faces the same charges as the teen. |
| The protest made its way through the streets of Baltimore and briefly blocked a major intersection near the police headquarters, where they were confronted by lines of police, some of whom were wearing riot gear. Other officers filmed the protesters. The protest returned to city hall where it disrupted the broadcasts of several television news network. “There ain’t gonna be no broadcast here, unless we control the narrative,” said protest leader Duane “Shorty” Davis. The he protesters ended the night at the juvenile detention center where they demonstrated on behalf of youth. | The protest made its way through the streets of Baltimore and briefly blocked a major intersection near the police headquarters, where they were confronted by lines of police, some of whom were wearing riot gear. Other officers filmed the protesters. The protest returned to city hall where it disrupted the broadcasts of several television news network. “There ain’t gonna be no broadcast here, unless we control the narrative,” said protest leader Duane “Shorty” Davis. The he protesters ended the night at the juvenile detention center where they demonstrated on behalf of youth. |