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Posts tagged as “Freddie Gray”

“I’m Here For You”: Black Baltimore Police Sergeant K Glanville Gives Moving Speech To Protesters (VIDEO)

By goodblacknews on May 4, 2015

Baltimore Police Sgt. K. Glanville (Photo via YouTube)
Baltimore Police Sgt. K. Glanville addresses group of peaceful protesters. (Photo via YouTube)

A police officer’s kind words during a period of unrest over the death of Freddie Gray touched many across Baltimore, who have for so long witnessed police violence in their communities.
Sgt. K Glanville spoke to a crowd on Saturday during a festive rally about her role as a police officer and expressed that not all officers are in the business of harming unarmed civilians. Glanville retold stories of her encounters with pedestrians in the city and says she understands why so many have questioned the tactics of police officers.
The mother says she gives out her number to children in an effort to show she is a protector of the community. According to the Huffington Post,

“My heart is in this,” Glanville told a small crowd. “I’m not wasting time on someone that’s not trying to let me in, when I got all these other people that got the door wide open, saying ‘Sgt. Glanville, please step in.’ I am here, I’m available. I give kids my phone number, I tell people ‘you need something, you call me.’ It all starts with relationship building.”

A Baltimore native and a 19-year veteran, the officer has never received a complaint. Her speech brought tears to the eyes of many in the small crowd. Glanville told onlookers that everyone has to start working together to stop the problem of police violence.

”We have to start doing better,” Glanville told the crowd. “We know better, and we have to start doing better. It doesn’t matter what color you are. People are watching to see the next move that Baltimore makes coming out of this … I want other cities to look at this and be able to see a template….And the main thing we need to do is make sure these babies are ok.”

The following day, Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake announced the overnight curfew would be lifted effective immediately. In a statement, Rawlings-Blake expressed that the curfew had helped reduce violence in the city following last Monday’s riots after Gray’s funeral.
Check out Glanville’s speech to the city of Baltimore below:
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SVAIUs83VBE&w=560&h=315]
article by Desire Thompson via globalgrind.com

FEATURE: Meet Marilyn Mosby, State Attorney Overseeing The Freddie Gray Investigation

By goodblacknews on May 2, 2015
Marilyn Mosby
Baltimore State Attorney Marilyn Mosby (Photo via hello beautiful.com)

Baltimore State Attorney Marilyn Mosby is the person in charge of the investigation of Freddie Gray’s death. Gray suffered a spinal injury while he was in custody of six Baltimore officers, who have been charged in his death.
Though locally well-known, Mosby’s announcement of the charges was the first time she’s been prominent in the national news.  She started as an insurance company attorney and got a surprising and deserved win last November, so this is her first stint as an elected official. She beat out incumbent Gregg Bernstein by portraying herself as a crime crusader, determined to keep repeat offenders off the streets.

It was the murder of Mosby’s 17-year-old cousin back in 1994 that helped her see that she wanted a career in criminal justice. “I learned very early on that the criminal justice system isn’t just the police, the judges and the state’s attorney,” CNN quoted her as saying. “It’s much more than that. I believe that we are the justice system. We, the members of the community, are the justice system because we are the victims of crimes.”

Baltimore Photographer Devin Allen Captures Uprising In Touching TIME Cover Photo

By goodblacknews on May 1, 2015

An amateur photographer from Baltimore is being celebrated for his photos taken during the recent demonstrations in the name of Freddie Gray. His images are so touching, in fact, that the 26-year-old’s work is featured on the latest cover of TIME Magazine.
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Devin Allen’s photos were first spotted on Instagram and spread from celebrities’ profiles (like Rihanna) to international organizations. The father of one, who has explored photography for three years, says he’s heartened by how his photos are being embraced online. After being circulated earlier this week, his image of a protester running from a huge amount of police was chosen as the cover of TIME.

“For me, who’s from Baltimore city, to be on the cover of TIME Magazine, I don’t even know what to say. I’m speechless,” says Allen. “It’s amazing. It’s life changing for me. It’s inspiring me to go further. It gives me hope and it gives a lot of people around me hope. After my daughter, who’s my pride and joy, this is the best thing that’s happened to me.”

Baltimore-based photographer Devin Allen
Baltimore-based photographer Devin Allen

On why he began to take part in the protests, Allen says he’s witnessed injustices in his hometown long before Freddie Gray died at the hands of police officers earlier this month.

“[It’s] not been a surprise,” says Allen. “I know my city. With all the frustration with the city, the mayor, the economy, the pot has been boiling.” But that has not changed Allen’s resolve to show exactly what’s been happening in his streets. “I went in thinking I would show the good, the bad and the ugly,” he says. “Of course, since I’m a black man, I understand the frustration, but at the same time, I’m a photographer. I’m not going to lie to you. I’m going to tell you exactly what happened. That was the goal.”

Many more of Allen’s images have captured national attention, including somber moments between protesters and cops, children marching, and others. You can check them out here.
article by Desire Thompson via newsone.com

Prince Records Ode to Baltimore After Freddie Gray Protests

By goodblacknews on May 1, 2015
Singer-songwriter Prince records ode to Baltimore in the wake of Freddie Gray protests.

Moved by the unrest in Baltimore in the wake of Freddie Gray’s death at the hands of the police, Prince has recorded a song critical of the killing of young African-American men, a publicist for the artist said Thursday to CNN.

It is a tribute to the people of Baltimore and #BaltimoreUprising, but will also address political and social issues throughout the country.  Prince has done so before, most notably with 1987’s top-three single “Sign O’ The Times.”

Prince’s Paisley Park Studios has not yet announced a release date.

article by Lori Lakin Hutcherson (follow @lakinhutcherson)

Six Baltimore Police Officers Face Criminal Charges in Freddie Gray's Death

By goodblacknews on May 1, 2015
All six Baltimore police officers involved in the arrest and transport of Freddie Gray, who was fatally injured while in police custody, will face serious criminal charges ranging from second-degree murder to assault, Baltimore State’s Atty. Marilyn J. Mosby said on Friday.
At a news conference, Mosby announced that Gray’s death had been officially ruled a homicide and that the investigation by city police and her office had found probable cause to charge all six officers.

Arrest warrants have been issued for the officers, she said.
Mosby also spoke directly to the protesters who have marched in riot-scarred Baltimore and around the nation.
“I heard your call for no justice, no peace,” Mosby said, “but your peace is sincerely needed as I work to bring justice for Freddie Gray.”
Gray died on April 19, a week after he was arrested by Baltimore police. Gray, hands cuffed behind him, was placed in a police van to be taken to the precinct where he was expected to be charged with illegally possessing a knife, according to charging papers released by police weeks ago. At the end of the ride he was hospitalized where he later died of a severed spine.
On Friday, Mosby said police lacked probable cause for the initial arrest. The knife was not a switchblade and was legal under Maryland law.  Mosby also detailed how Gray was transported in a police van that stopped four times.  Gray was not secured in a seat belt during the trip and was repeatedly refused medical care, she said.

Officials regained control by imposing a 10 p.m.-to-5 a.m. curfew and sending in thousands of National Guard troops and police officers from municipalities throughout the region.
Protesters and community leaders have demanded to know what happened to Gray during the 45 minutes from when he was taken into custody on April 12 to when he arrived at the police precinct and how his spine was severed.
“Mr. Gray’s death was a homicide,” Mosby declared Friday, a day after formally receiving a police investigation that supplemented her office’s work throughout the crisis. The final autopsy report on Gray’s death was delivered to the prosecutor Friday morning.
Gray’s arrest was illegal and the way he was treated by officers led to the charges of murder and manslaughter, Mosby said.  The most serious charge was second-degree “depraved heart” murder lodged against the driver of the van.

Three other officers face charges of involuntary manslaughter and two were charged with assault.
The top charge carries a penalty of 30 years in prison. Conviction on the manslaughter charges carries a penalty of up to 10 years in prison.
“No one is above the law,” Mosby said at a news conference.
article by Timothy M. Phelps and Michael Muskal via latimes.com

Eric Garner's Mother Gwen Carr Appears Before Lawmakers, Says Baltimore Riots Should Be A Wake-up Call

By goodblacknews on May 1, 2015

Gwen Carr According to Eric Garner’s mother Gwen Carr, the riots going on in Baltimore should serve as a wake-up call to lawmakers in New York that something needs to change.
Carr, along with several relatives of police victims traveled to Albany, New York Tuesday to demand that Governor Andrew Cuomo sign an executive order that would allow special prosecutors to step in to investigate police-related shootings, The New York Daily News reports.
She went on to say that many of the people who are rioting in Baltimore have reached a breaking point and in many ways, they are risking their lives to protect the lives of others who are in danger of being killed off by police in the future.
“It is very sad to see the city burning like that but sometimes people get so frustrated and they say enough is enough,” she said about Baltimore. “It just seems to me just watching it that they’re just laying their lives on the line to protect other people in the future.”
As for lawmakers, Carr had this to say:  “They need to wake up and see what’s really going on,” Carr said. “What caused this to happen? That’s the question they should ask and then correct that.”
Governor Cuomo had initially proposed criminal justice reforms that include appointing a special monitor to review cases involving deadly police encounters but has not gone as far as to allow special prosecutors to step in.
Carr and others, however, did not feel that this would be enough. Following their meeting Tuesday, Alphonso David, counsel to the governor, said that Cuomo promised to approve special prosecutors if the Legislature did not pick up his plan.
“We had a productive meeting, where both the Governor and the families of these victims had a detailed and respectful discussion on how to best reform the criminal justice system,” said David. “The Governor believes that his reform package is a balanced approach that would correct real and perceived inequities that exist within the system and he is intent on passing them in the remaining weeks of the legislative session.”
“He made it clear that if these reforms were not approved by the Legislature, he would sign an order creating a special prosecutor for police-involved fatalities,” David continued.
In a perfect world, lawmakers would have begun paying closer attention to these police-involved killings a long time ago. Hopefully, Governor Cuomo keeps his word and lawmakers across the nation will follow suit.
In other news, Attorney General Loretta Lynch announced that she will be sending two government officials to Baltimore to meet with faith and community leaders, as well as city officials.
article by Jazmine Denise Rogers via madamenoire.com

#BaltimoreUprising Protests Spread To NYC, DC And Beyond

By goodblacknews on April 30, 2015

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New York City Protest for Freddie Gray (Photo: Michael Skolnick)

Wednesday evening protests inspired by those who marched for answers in the death of Freddie Gray spread from Baltimore to other cities. Some highlights:
-In New York City, protesters starting at Union Square in Manhattan marched throughout the city, at one point shutting down the West Side highway and Holland Tunnel., according to CBS-2. At least one dozen arrests were made, according to USA Today, and Michael Skolnik of Interactive One, who was out with the marchers, and sent out a photo of Instagram of one of them. His caption: “Lots of arrests in NYC tonight. This could be a very long night…”
-In Washington, DC, NBC-4 reported that “a large group of protesters,” rallied peacefully after gathering at Gallery Place and DuPont Circle.
-In Denver, a rally that started at the county jail ended with several arrests and police pepper-spraying protesters, reported ABC-7.
-In Minneapolis, about 1,500 people marched throughout the downtown area, reported the Star Tribune. There were no arrests.
-In Boston, the Boston Globe reported that more than 500 protesters marched after gathering behind police headquarters in the Roxbury section of the city.
Meanwhile, back in Baltimore, the epicenter of protests in reaction to the death of Freddie Gray after suffering a severed spine in police custody, USA Today reported that thousands gathered outside of City Hall. Eighteen people had been arrested in Baltimore by 8 p.m., including two juveniles, the paper reported. Just after a citywide 10 p.m.-5  a.m. curfew took effect, conditions were reportedly calm.
article via newsone.com

10,000 Strong Peacefully Protest In Downtown Baltimore (Media Over-Reports Violence and Arrests)

By goodblacknews on April 27, 2015

10,000 people from across the country peacefully protested in Baltimore in support of the seeking of justice of the death of Freddie Gray. Despite the fact that 100 of the 10,000 acted up and approximately 35 people  were arrested after the peaceful protest, (that’s about 1%), much of the mainstream media used attention grabbing words in their headlines like ‘Protest Turns Destructive, (USA Today)’ ‘Scenes of Chaos In Baltimore… (NY Times), Dozens Arrested After Protest Turns Violent (WBAL TV). One website BreitBart.com’s headlines read: 1,000 Black Rioters In Baltimore Smash Police Cars, Attack Motorists In Frenzied Protest.The truth is you had 10,000 plus people come together in unity in support of the fight for justice for Freddie Gray. While the numbers vary, 100 or so were the ones you saw acting up on the news and the 35 persons who were arrested were the ones you read about. But reporting that won’t bring in the ratings that attract a heavy advertising revenue.
“A number of protesters were concerned that Baltimore—nicknamed “Charm City”—was being treated unfairly in the media after the trouble on Saturday. Baltimore was not out of control,” said Karen DeCamp, a director at the Greater Homewood Community Corporation, a nonprofit advocacy organization, who was demonstrating outside the funeral home, Sunday. “Baltimore was not burning. A very small number of people made some trouble, and it was completely blown out of proportion.”
As you read most of the nationwide coverage, the various news media and websites do admit that most of the protesters were peaceful as you read further down their stories, despite the attention grabbing headlines that speaks of only the violence, destruction and criminal mischief of a few. Unfortunately there will always be a few agitators in any crowd this size. Some of which are purposely positioned among the peaceful protesters for just that reason.
Read more via blackweschester.com:  10,000 Strong Peacefully Protest In Downtown Baltimore, Media Only Reports The Violence & Arrest of Dozens.