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| Prosecutors Say Baltimore Police Mishandled Freddie Gray Case | Prosecutors Say Baltimore Police Mishandled Freddie Gray Case |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| BALTIMORE — After a string of high-profile defeats, the prosecutors who were unable to win convictions of police officers in the death of Freddie Gray defended themselves on Thursday and sharply accused the city’s Police Department of undermining them. | BALTIMORE — After a string of high-profile defeats, the prosecutors who were unable to win convictions of police officers in the death of Freddie Gray defended themselves on Thursday and sharply accused the city’s Police Department of undermining them. |
| At a news conference the day after their boss, Marilyn J. Mosby, the state’s attorney for Baltimore, announced she was dropping charges against the three officers who still awaited trial, the lead prosecutors — both seasoned lawyers — said the police had failed to serve search warrants for the officers’ personal cellphones. The lawyers also echoed a charge made in court that a detective assigned to the case was sabotaging it. | At a news conference the day after their boss, Marilyn J. Mosby, the state’s attorney for Baltimore, announced she was dropping charges against the three officers who still awaited trial, the lead prosecutors — both seasoned lawyers — said the police had failed to serve search warrants for the officers’ personal cellphones. The lawyers also echoed a charge made in court that a detective assigned to the case was sabotaging it. |
| They disputed a contention by critics that they rushed to bring charges, and said they never doubted their theory of the case — or whether they had the evidence to win. | They disputed a contention by critics that they rushed to bring charges, and said they never doubted their theory of the case — or whether they had the evidence to win. |
| “There was sufficient evidence for a rational juror to convict,” Michael Schatzow, deputy chief state’s attorney, told reporters crowded into a conference room in Ms. Mosby’s downtown suite. “We believed in these cases, and we were prepared to fight very hard for these cases.” | “There was sufficient evidence for a rational juror to convict,” Michael Schatzow, deputy chief state’s attorney, told reporters crowded into a conference room in Ms. Mosby’s downtown suite. “We believed in these cases, and we were prepared to fight very hard for these cases.” |
| The appearance by Mr. Schatzow and Janice Bledsoe, a deputy state’s attorney, was the first time the prosecutors — who like all the lawyers, defendants and witnesses had been subject to a strict rule of silence imposed by the judge — spoke publicly, outside the courtroom, about a case that has torn apart this city and drawn national attention. | The appearance by Mr. Schatzow and Janice Bledsoe, a deputy state’s attorney, was the first time the prosecutors — who like all the lawyers, defendants and witnesses had been subject to a strict rule of silence imposed by the judge — spoke publicly, outside the courtroom, about a case that has torn apart this city and drawn national attention. |
| The two appeared worn out and at times exasperated — “When it comes to frustration, I plead guilty,” Mr. Schatzow said — but offered a remarkable look into their thinking, and the potential conflicts between the police and prosecutors who usually work together. | The two appeared worn out and at times exasperated — “When it comes to frustration, I plead guilty,” Mr. Schatzow said — but offered a remarkable look into their thinking, and the potential conflicts between the police and prosecutors who usually work together. |
| It is “extraordinarily unusual” for prosecutors to publicly criticize the police, said David Jaros, a law professor at the University of Baltimore. He said the trials highlighted the need — as Ms. Mosby suggested at her news conference on Wednesday — for independent investigators and prosecutors to handle police misconduct cases. | |
| “There is something problematic,” Mr. Jaros said, “when police officers are asked to investigate themselves and when local prosecutors are involved in these highly politicized, high-profile prosecutions.” | “There is something problematic,” Mr. Jaros said, “when police officers are asked to investigate themselves and when local prosecutors are involved in these highly politicized, high-profile prosecutions.” |
| The Police Department has stood by its investigation. In a statement released Wednesday, Commissioner Kevin Davis said “over 30 ethical, experienced and talented detectives worked tirelessly to uncover facts” in the case. A department spokesman said Thursday that the police would “not engage in public banter with our criminal justice partners.” | The Police Department has stood by its investigation. In a statement released Wednesday, Commissioner Kevin Davis said “over 30 ethical, experienced and talented detectives worked tirelessly to uncover facts” in the case. A department spokesman said Thursday that the police would “not engage in public banter with our criminal justice partners.” |
| Mr. Gray, a 25-year-old black man, was arrested on April 12, 2015, in the blighted West Baltimore neighborhood where he grew up. He sustained a fatal spinal cord injury and died a week later — one of a string of deaths around the country of black men at the hands of the police that prompted national outcry, and riots here. | Mr. Gray, a 25-year-old black man, was arrested on April 12, 2015, in the blighted West Baltimore neighborhood where he grew up. He sustained a fatal spinal cord injury and died a week later — one of a string of deaths around the country of black men at the hands of the police that prompted national outcry, and riots here. |
| On May 1, with National Guard troops on patrol, Ms. Mosby announced that she was bringing criminal charges against six officers. Prosecutors argued that Mr. Gray was improperly arrested, and that he sustained the fatal injury during a ride in a police van, in part because officers failed to put a seatbelt on him and drove the van dangerously. | On May 1, with National Guard troops on patrol, Ms. Mosby announced that she was bringing criminal charges against six officers. Prosecutors argued that Mr. Gray was improperly arrested, and that he sustained the fatal injury during a ride in a police van, in part because officers failed to put a seatbelt on him and drove the van dangerously. |
| But the first trial ended in a hung jury, and three more ended in acquittals issued by Judge Barry G. Williams of the Baltimore City Circuit Court, prompting the prosecution team to conclude they could not win convictions before him. In Maryland, defendants may choose whether to have a trial by judge or jury. | But the first trial ended in a hung jury, and three more ended in acquittals issued by Judge Barry G. Williams of the Baltimore City Circuit Court, prompting the prosecution team to conclude they could not win convictions before him. In Maryland, defendants may choose whether to have a trial by judge or jury. |
| Mr. Schatzow said prosecutors began investigating the circumstances around Mr. Gray’s injury in the days after it happened, and said it was not scattershot or rushed, adding, “I don’t think we felt that there was material that we overlooked.” | Mr. Schatzow said prosecutors began investigating the circumstances around Mr. Gray’s injury in the days after it happened, and said it was not scattershot or rushed, adding, “I don’t think we felt that there was material that we overlooked.” |
| Legal experts have noted that timeline fell short of what is typical for federal inquiries, which last months if not years. But the prosecutors laid blame on the police, not themselves. | Legal experts have noted that timeline fell short of what is typical for federal inquiries, which last months if not years. But the prosecutors laid blame on the police, not themselves. |
| Mr. Schatzow said the lead police detective involved in the inquiry, Dawnyell Taylor, “was doing things without notifying us, and doing things that were counter to what a primary detective should be doing,” and was removed from the case as a result of his complaints. But in court, she denied that she had been removed from the case. | Mr. Schatzow said the lead police detective involved in the inquiry, Dawnyell Taylor, “was doing things without notifying us, and doing things that were counter to what a primary detective should be doing,” and was removed from the case as a result of his complaints. But in court, she denied that she had been removed from the case. |
| And Ms. Bledsoe said that while the police tried to get personal cellphones of the six officers, which might have shown their communications during and after the episode, the department “did not execute those warrants in the correct amount of time, and they expired.” | And Ms. Bledsoe said that while the police tried to get personal cellphones of the six officers, which might have shown their communications during and after the episode, the department “did not execute those warrants in the correct amount of time, and they expired.” |
| One of the biggest outstanding questions is what, precisely, happened to Mr. Gray. Some residents here, as well as neurologists who have watched the case from afar, have questioned whether he was injured not in the van, but during the initial arrest, when he was pinned to a sidewalk — a scene captured on video that was widely replayed. | One of the biggest outstanding questions is what, precisely, happened to Mr. Gray. Some residents here, as well as neurologists who have watched the case from afar, have questioned whether he was injured not in the van, but during the initial arrest, when he was pinned to a sidewalk — a scene captured on video that was widely replayed. |
| “Everybody who saw that acknowledged that he couldn’t use his legs properly,” said Mary Anne Whelan, a retired neurologist in Cooperstown, N.Y., who was one of several doctors who in interviews have questioned the narrative about Mr. Gray’s injury. “Somehow or other it’s gotten to be accepted that it happened in the van, but that’s wrong.” | “Everybody who saw that acknowledged that he couldn’t use his legs properly,” said Mary Anne Whelan, a retired neurologist in Cooperstown, N.Y., who was one of several doctors who in interviews have questioned the narrative about Mr. Gray’s injury. “Somehow or other it’s gotten to be accepted that it happened in the van, but that’s wrong.” |
| But prosecutors said that video recordings of the arrest, which they said showed Mr. Gray raising his chin off the pavement and later standing on the back bumper of the police van, at least partly supporting his own weight, indicated that he had not yet sustained a paralyzing injury. | But prosecutors said that video recordings of the arrest, which they said showed Mr. Gray raising his chin off the pavement and later standing on the back bumper of the police van, at least partly supporting his own weight, indicated that he had not yet sustained a paralyzing injury. |
| In the end, Mr. Schatzow said, Ms. Mosby “correctly determined” that while there may have been enough evidence to persuade jurors, they would never convince Judge Williams that the officers had committed a crime — despite the judge’s history as a lawyer who once prosecuted police misconduct for the Justice Department. | In the end, Mr. Schatzow said, Ms. Mosby “correctly determined” that while there may have been enough evidence to persuade jurors, they would never convince Judge Williams that the officers had committed a crime — despite the judge’s history as a lawyer who once prosecuted police misconduct for the Justice Department. |
| “We had to face the reality,” he said, “that defendants would select judge trials, and that this judge would try the cases.” | “We had to face the reality,” he said, “that defendants would select judge trials, and that this judge would try the cases.” |