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| Freddy Gray Struggles to Avoid Being Detained |
In April 2015, Freddy Gray was arrested in West Baltimore, after a foot chase, for carrying a spring-assisted knife that was legal in Maryland but illegal in Baltimore City.
He was handcuffed and shackled, placed in the back of a paddy wagon and was driven around West Baltimore before arriving at the police precinct for booking. At some point he suffered a spinal injury that led to his death. It was alleged that the driver of the van deliberately accelerated and braked in such a way that Mr. Gray, who was not belted in, would fly around in the back.
Subsequent to Freddy Gray's death, the City of Baltimore brought charges against all six officers involved in the arrest, including the driver, Caesar Goodson, Jr.
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| The six officers prosecuted for the death of Freddy Gray |
The decision to charge these officers was extremely unpopular amongst the rank-and-file officers of the Baltimore Police Department. After a series of mistrials, all officers either had the charges dismissed or were found not guilty, and they proceeded to sue the City of Baltimore for the way that they were treated.
In the month after the death of Freddy Gray, Baltimore experienced a massive spike in homicides, to the highest level in over forty years, and the year-end total ranked as the third highest rate ever recorded.
Washington, DC, which is only about 50 miles from Baltimore and which has many criminal connections to Baltimore, also experienced a spike in crime during this same period.
Philadelphia, PA, which is about 100 miles north of Baltimore, also experienced an increase in murders, although to a lesser extent.
It should be pointed out that the prosecution of the six Baltimore police officers was closely watched by police forces nationwide, but in particular in neighboring cities like Washington DC and Philadelphia. The displeasure felt by the police in these cities was expressed through an unwillingness to perform dangerous foot and bicycle patrols, an unwillingness to chase suspects, and an unwillingness to arrest suspects for low-level criminal activity.
Freddy Gray was someone the Baltimore Police Department knew well and someone they hoped to get off the streets. At 25 years of age, Freddy Gray had a long arrest record, having been arrested eighteen times, including four times in 2015 prior to his final arrest in April 2015.
Today there are unprecedent calls across the country to defund police departments and prosecute police officers, and crime in areas where police have been prosecuted all have shown spikes in crime similar to what was seen in Baltimore in May of 2015.
While it is important to weed out bad cops who are guilty of using excessive force in the execution of their duties, it is important to distinguish clearly between "good cops" and "bad cops" and to make it clear that society is not at war with law enforcement personnel IN GENERAL. Unfortunately, that is exactly the feeling that we, as a society, are giving the police officers who risk their lives to get illegal guns and other weapons off the streets.
Therefore, expect to see dramatic increases in violent crime in urban centers across the country, which is going to cause untold heartbreak and loss.
