Posted on 04/28/2015 7:53:47 AM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
Freddie Gray, who died a week after suffering injuries while in Baltimore police custody, had a lengthy criminal record, mainly for drug-related offenses, according to state court records. Police claim he was “involved in criminal activity,” prior to his arrest.
Gray, 25, died after spending seven days in a coma as a result of injuries he suffered while in the custody of city police, the Baltimore Sun reports.
He was arrested April 12 by four officers outside a public housing complex. Police said four bicycle officers tried to stop Gray for an unspecified reason and he ran from them. They caught him and detained him while waiting for backup.
It’s not yet known how Gray died. His death has sparked unrest in the city, including protests that turned violent.
A friend told the Baltimore Sun that Gray may have ran from the officers because, “he had a history with that police beating him.”
Freddie Gray Arrest Record
Gray had a lengthy arrest record with convictions dating back until at least 2007, according to the Maryland Department of Justice. Not all of the arrests led to convictions, in many of the cases he pleaded guilty to one charge while the others were dropped. Details of when he spent time in prison were not immediately available. His arrest record includes at least 18 arrests:
•March 20, 2015: Possession of a Controlled Dangerous Substance
•March 13, 2015: Malicious destruction of property, second-degree assault
•January 20, 2015: Fourth-degree burglary, trespassing
•January 14, 2015: Possession of a controlled dangerous substance, possession of a controlled dangerous substance with intent to distribute
•December 31, 2014: Possession of narcotics with intent to distribute
•December 14, 2014: Possession of a controlled dangerous substance
•August 31, 2014: Illegal gambling, trespassing
•January 25, 2014: Possession of marijuana
•September 28, 2013: Distribution of narcotics, unlawful possession of a controlled dangerous substance, second-degree assault, second-degree escape
•April 13, 2012: Possession of a controlled dangerous substance with intent to distribute, unlawful possession of a controlled dangerous substance, violation of probation
•July 16, 2008: Possession of a controlled dangerous substance, possession with intent to distribute
•March 28, 2008: Unlawful possession of a controlled dangerous substance
•March 14, 2008: Possession of a controlled dangerous substance with intent to manufacture and distribute
•February 11, 2008: Unlawful possession of a controlled dangerous substance, possession of a controlled dangerous substance
•August 29, 2007: Possession of a controlled dangerous substance with intent to distribute, violation of probation
•August 28, 2007: Possession of marijuana
•August 23, 2007: False statement to a peace officer, unlawful possession of a controlled dangerous substance
•July 16, 2007: Possession of a controlled dangerous substance with intent to distribute, unlawful possession of a controlled dangerous substance (2 counts)
Why Was Freddie Gray Arrested Before His Death?
Details of what led police to try to arrest Gray in April 2015 have not been made public by police. Deputy Police Commissioner Jerry Rodriguez told the Baltimore Sun that details of the arrest remain “a bit vague,” and that the officers patrolling a high-crime area with drug issues believed Gray was “immediately involved or had been recently involved in criminal activity.”
Documents obtained by the Guardian show that he was charged with unlawful possession of a switch blade knife, which was found after he was detained. The documents are not clear about what led to the stop. No other charges are listed.
The Associated Press reports Gray has been in and out of prison on drug convictions since 2008, according to online court records. He was set to start a trial in May on drug charges stemming from a December arrest.
“We had officers in a high-crime area known to have high narcotic incidents,” Rodriguez said, according to the AP. “The officers believe that Mr. Gray was immediately involved or recently involved in criminal activity and decided to make contact.”
Police released a timetable of the events leading up to Gray’s arrest and death. He was seen at about 8:40 a.m. on April 12 on a street northwest of the city’s downtown. The officers approached Gray and he ran. He was caught about two minutes later two blocks away. The officers called for a transport van at about 8:42 p.m. Then, at 8:54 a.m., a block away from where Gray was arrested, the van left for the Western District station “after stopping to place additional restraints on the suspect.” At about 9:24 a.m., an ambulance is called to the Western District station.
Because it is swamp gas. Read 144.
Thanks for the pings Lucy. I read this earlier today, think Drudge had the link.
Thanks for the ping!
key words: “if true” if true it does chance the calculus, but not much. the police admitted that they did not restrain him in the van, as is required by their own policy.
had they aggravated an existing injury? perhaps, but if he had a settlement, then the injury was hardly fresh - most likely years old.
i remain available to a reasonable explanation. i have yet to even hear rumors of one.
“going limp” when arrested was a tactic used extensively in the 60’s during protests and sit ins, etc. took more cops off the line to bring you to the van.
You make an excellent point and it begs the question: is that part of the race baiters and community organizers plans/intensions?
If it is, it's guaranteed more of these incidents will occur, kind of like the perpetual motion machine....
My guess is, that after they caught him and put him in the van...he continued to resist. The police indicate that they had to stop the van to put additional restraints on him
Perhaps something happened during those struggles that injured/severed his spinal chord.
Sounds like a tragic accident while in custody to me.
However...the individual has been arrested many times for possession with intent to distribute, and lately for burglary and assault.
So, when approached, he ran from officers who were lawfully seeking to question him. He was caught and detained. He resisted and was injured.
If this is what happened, the police should come forward and simply indicate that while resisting he was injured. That it was tragic and unintended.
The longer they go without some form of straight forward explanation, the more it looks like they are hiding something.
In today’s environment, such delays are simply a recipe for more problems. Protests, Riots, Unrest also gen’ed up by race baiters. Etc., etc.
Article of interest that speaks to abuse committed by police officers while transporting suspects...
Did it happen in Baltimore? I don’t know, but it’s possible.
There is no logic to your concept. Why do you bring smokers, fat people, etc., into a discussion about criminals, who willfully partake in illegal activities that put themselves and other people in danger? It’s like you’re saying they’re one and the same.
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My point is simply this, we all do stupid stuff. More plainly, we’re all sinners. The last person we expect our death to come from is a cop.
The guy wasn’t committing a crime, there was no reason to arrest him, running from a cop when you have not committed a crime is not a crime and is in fact legal. He was simply punished for his lifestyle by a cop or cops. It isn’t the cops job to punish, it is their job to serve and protect.
If you believe that, I've got a bridge I want to sell you. And I'm glad you consider multiple felonies as doing stupid stuff.
Just him and the police.
Grey was complaining of injury before the transport stopped and loaded another arrestee, who was separated from Grey by a metal barrier.
As of now, the Washington Post is reporting that Gray was trying to injure himself according to that other arrestee.
If you believe that, I've got a bridge I want to sell you. And I'm glad you consider multiple felonies as doing stupid stuff.
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The Police department and the prosecutor agree with me not you. They have arrested the cops, I think 7 of them, for manslaughter and 2nd degree murder. The pocket knife they arrested him for was not a switch blade and was legal.
Only one of the cops was charged with murder but he has been disciplined for roughing up this guy before. He had recently (13 days before this incident) received a letter telling him to quit taking people for rough rides and injuring them in the paddy wagon. Taking a rough ride with your hands bound behind your back and your feet shackled is a sure ticket to injury. Suspects were not supposed to be transported without being restrained with a seat belt.
They stopped the guy because he was black and an ex-con and because they could get away with it. They had no business being cops. Cops are to protect and serve, if you can't do that then don't be a cop.
"According to the city, an officer made eye contact with Gray, and he took off running, so they pursued him."
If he wasn't doing anything illegal, why run? Bottom line...if you don't want to attract the cops attention, don't give them ammo. But in Corrections, we had a saying about convicts: "They're not in here because they're smart. When they frisked him, they found the switchblade.
His last arrests were on March 13th for malicious destruction of property, and second-degree assault. On March 20th, he was arrested for possession of controlled dangerous substances. There's no information as to the disposition of those two arrests, so we don't know if a trial was forthcoming, or if the charges were dropped. For someone who had multiple arrests previously for possession of controlled dangerous substances, he probably shouldn't have been hanging out in an area specifically patrolled by cops because of the drug problems there. And since we don't know if he was under any court restrictions at the time of his death, we can't say that his possession of the switchblade was legal or illegal.
The police department does what the DA, or State Attorney's office tells them to, and they were told to charge the cops. Remember what happened with George Zimmerman? You can charge anyone with a crime. You have to prove your case to a jury.
Having transported many inmates during my career in Corrections, you'd be negligent if you didn't take the steps to properly restrain the inmate. If these cops are indeed guilty, and aren't being railroaded to satisfy a crowd, then by all means they should take the punishment.
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