Charges In Baltimore
I was as surprised as most people when the BBC sent me the alert on this – Freddie Gray: Baltimore police to face criminal charges. Then I read the charges and understood why it didn’t take long for the prosecutor to file the charges.
The root of the charges is the lack of probable cause to arrest Mr. Gray. He was charged with having a switchblade, but he was carrying a perfectly legal pocketknife. Given that the arrest wasn’t legal, he shouldn’t have been in the van, and wouldn’t have died. The prosecutor probably had charges outlined some time ago, but she had to wait on the formal declaration of the medical examiner before announcing them. When the medical examiner ruled the death homicide, she charged criminally negligent homicide.
The lack of a valid arrest would usually result in the police officers being denied the special protections of their job in the use of violence.
May 1, 2015 6 Comments
May Day
The May Day association with labor is all American, and just as controversial as everything of any consequence in history. The day is tied to a strike for the eight-hour day and the so-called “Haymarket Riot” of 1886. When it comes to “riots” and the Chicago police are involved, you are not going to find a single truth.
The dynamic duo that mucked up the Pledge of Allegiance, Dwight Eisenhower and his Republican Congress, made May 1st both Law Day and Loyalty Day so those Commie working people wouldn’t get any ideas about having rights.
May 1, 2015 Comments Off on May Day
