Posted on 05/01/2015 7:54:07 AM PDT by marktwain
Freddie Gray's death in Baltimore is the latest in a rash of high-profile deaths of black men at the hands of police.
In what has become a much-too-familiar pattern, there are questions about how Gray died and whether the officers who arrested him used excessive force, causing the neck injury that severed his spinal cord and, apparently, killed him.
Bystander video taken during Gray's arrest shows that he was conscious and apparently not severely injured when he was loaded into a police van on April 12. Gray, 25, later died of a neck injury. The circumstances suggest that Gray's transportation may have involved a so-called "nickel ride," in which officers deliberately drive at high speeds and suddenly stop and start, a technique used to punish arrested suspects and which has been known to sometimes cause serious injury.
But Gray's initial arrest may not have happened if not for an antiquated provision of Baltimore's municipal code, which prohibits the possession of a "switchblade" knife. Gray had allegedly been running from the police, for reasons that still aren't clear, and after a brief chase, officers found the knife clipped to his pocket in a closed position — he was not alleged to have brandished the knife or threatened anyone with it.
(Excerpt) Read more at blogs.villagevoice.com ...
Maryland has some bizarre knife laws. It’s illegal to carry a Bowie knife. Just what is a Bowie knife? What most would describe as a Bowie is nothing at all like the original.
I have a very high end Gerber Automatic knife. Yea, it’s a switchblade.
My cheap Gerber spring assist opens faster and easier.
Many states have eliminated Switchblade restrictions. I’m sure crime has skyrocketed. (sarc)
Switchblade prohibitions should be repealed, as folding knives and fixed knives are both legal. Former are smaller, latter are faster, banning a compromise isn’t helpful. As usual, the ban originated in ignorance terrified by fictional portrayals.
The disconcerting part of this whole deal is that across the US, police are in the habit of “knee dropping” on face down prone suspects. I winced when I heard the type of injuries he had sustained, because that is similar to what could happen with a knee drop.
What matters right now is that “unexplained stop” the paddy wagon made. This might have been the timetable, and there are few facts backing up this theory:
1) Police arrest him, reporting that the arrest was “without incident”. Typically if police are aggressive, even if the suspect is not resisting, they will scream “stop resisting!” several times. This is so they will have a fallback charge of resisting arrest.
2) Inside the paddy wagon, the perp starts throwing himself around, much like a drunk will sometimes do in a police holding cell. This is when he likely got the head injury from a bolt head on the rear door.
3) The police make an unplanned stop to go into the back to restrain him. In the process one of them does a knee drop on him, breaking his neck. Immediately stilled and unconscious, the police decide to transport him for medical care. But do not give him any aid, because at this point it would look incriminating.
It also seems possible that the cops were accelerating and slamming on the brakes, to toss him around in back and shut him up.
Prosecutor says there is probable cause for filing charges against police officers:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3285198/posts
There was not, however, probable cause to riot.
This law should be repealed. If repealing it saves even one life, it’s worth it.
“There was not, however, probable cause to riot.”
I have never understood the idea that harming innocent third parties is somehow justified by an injustice to another person.
It is a sort of shakedown racket.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.