Posted on 05/06/2015 1:33:29 PM PDT by jazusamo
Full title: Md. Atty Claims Gray’s Knife Was ‘Lawful,’ But Says Evidence ‘Collected Cannot Ethically Be Disclosed’ to Public
(CNSNews.com) – As questions mount about what type of knife Freddie Gray reportedly was carrying when he was arrested on April 12, Maryland State Attorney for Baltimore City Marilyn Mosby said such “evidence” could not “ethically be disclosed,” although she accused six Baltimore police officers of illegally arresting Gray by claiming the knife in question was “lawful.”
“While the evidence we have obtained through our independent investigation does substantiate the elements of the charges filed, I refuse to litigate this case through the media,” said Mosby in a May 5 press release.
“The evidence we have collected cannot ethically be disclosed, relayed or released to the public before trial,” she said. “As I’ve previously indicated, I strongly condemn anyone in law enforcement with access to trial evidence, who has or continues to leak information prior to the resolution of this case. These unethical disclosures are only damaging our ability to conduct a fair and impartial process for all parties involved.”
Mosby charged all six officers with misconduct in office and second-degree assault after Gray died from a spinal injury while in police custody following his arrest. The officers are William Porter, Garrett Miller, Edward Nero, Caesar Goodson, Lt. Brian Rice, and Sgt. Alicia White.
Miller, Nero and Rice were also charged with false imprisonment.
Porter, Goodson, Rice and White were also charged with manslaughter, and Goodson was charged additionally with second-degree murder.
During a press conference on May 1, Mosby publicly claimed the officers “illegally arrested Mr. Gray” because the knife Gray carried was permissible under the law.
“The knife is not a switchblade and is lawful under Maryland law,” Mosby stated.
“Lt. Rice, Officer Miller and Officer Nero failed to establish probable cause for Mr. Gray’s arrest, as no crime had been committed by Mr. Gray,” she continued. “Accordingly, Lt. Rice, Officer Miller and Officer Nero illegally arrested Mr. Gray.”
Defense Attorney Marc Zayon, who represents accused officer Nero, filed a motion in Baltimore City District Court on Monday, May 4, requesting that Mosby allow the defense to inspect the knife to ensure her claim that it was in fact legal.
Mosby’s May 5 press release made it clear she would not release any evidence, claiming that it could not “ethically be disclosed.”
Freddie Gray’s arrest report, filled out by Miller, claimed that Gray had violated Statute 19.59.22 of the Baltimore City Code, which states: “It shall be unlawful for any person to sell, carry, or possess any knife with an automatic spring or other device for opening and/or closing the blade, commonly known as a switch-blade knife.”
Sec. 4-105 of Maryland’s Criminal Code defines a switchblade as “a knife or a penknife having a blade that opens automatically by hand pressure applied to a button, spring, or other device in the handle of the knife, commonly called a switchblade knife or a switchblade penknife.”
In the report, Miller stated he personally recovered the knife from Gray and inspected it, determining that it was a “spring assisted, one hand operated knife.”
CNSNews.com reached out to Zayon on Wednesday, May 6 for comment as to whether Mosby’s office had yet responded to his request to inspect the knife. As of this writing, Zayon had not responded to emails or calls.
Is it possible for an unethical prosecutor to swap evidence?
Prediction: The case collapses on the hottest day of the summer followed by a city wide power grid failure.
You know more than I do. Or less.
The prosecutor is typically not in possession of the evidence - it's kept in a locked evidence room. So, is it possible? Of course, but it becomes one of those TV bad cop shows, where someone breaks into the evidence room or there is a conspiracy of bad cops.
I guarantee you that if the "story" was a white guy being arrested in Baltimore for carrying a spring assisted knife, then 99% of the people posting "proof" that such a knife is illegal would be singing a completely different tune.
Since when are so many Freepers so eager to find ways to make more types of tools and weapons illegal?
>> Since when are so many Freepers so eager to find ways to make more types of tools and weapons illegal?
Whoa. That’s one huge rhetorical stretch.
I think you’d better point out EXACTLY how DISCUSSING A NEWS EVENT IN THE CONTEXT OF EXISTING LAWS somehow makes me a proponent of criminalizing weapons!
Okay. Let’s discuss it. I have explained why a spring-assisted knife is not a switchblade.
Without simply posting links to other threads, please explain how/why a spring-assisted knife is illegal under the City Code of Baltimore, Maryland.
You haven’t “explained” shit.
You offered an OPINION — and then changed the subject by throwing in a whole boatload of nonsense that has nothing whatsoever to do with the Baltimore matter.
IOW you’re a waste of time.
You offered an OPINION — and then changed the subject by throwing in a whole boatload of nonsense that has nothing whatsoever to do with the Baltimore matter.
IOW you’re a waste of time.
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Nervous, you might as well get used to it, “quibblers” will plague you on FR if you respond too much to their postings. It might not be the case now (e.g. post Obama inauguration) but it used to be that “quibblers” were not tolerated at West Point. I've given up “debating” the point and will just wait until the Agendanista Baltimore DA is finally forced by court action to allow the knife in question to be examined and, likely, litigated. Only then will we know for sure whether the knife is legal in Baltimore/Maryland for CARRY.
This is not an opinion. It is a fact.
A spring-assist knife, which the arresting officer wrote in his report is the type of knife recovered, is not a switch blade. It is, therefore, not illegal under the Code of the City of Baltimore as it is written.
This is not merely my "opinion". It is based on the wording of the law as posted on Baltimore's web-site, the arresting officer's written report, and the fundamental differences in design and operation between automatic opening knives (switch blades) and spring-assisted opening knives.
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