Baltimore: Protests bring the first round of a victory
2015Joe Auciello 2015-06Read it in the scan (PDF at ETOL), page 4 →
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In Baltimore, following the suspicious death of Fred die Gray, who died from a spinal injury sustained while in police custody, almost three weeks of daily protests and marches—plus some incidents of arson and looting—finally culminated in a real and unantici pated break from “business as usual.”
This does not refer to the first major league baseball game played in a stadium closed to fans. Nor does it refer to the imposition of late-night curfews in Bal timore or the deployment of 3000 National Guard troops with armored vehicles to patrol the streets. Nor was it the presence of state troopers and city po lice, reinforced by police from other cities, fitted out in riot gear while continuing to make arrests, even while numerous previous arrests were being dismissed. Most of these events were entirely predictable.
No. The break from “business as usual” in Baltimore came as police were beginning to be held accountable for their actions, required to obey the laws they had sworn to uphold. Unexpectedly, Maryland State’s At torney Marilyn Mosby charged six police officers with felonies for their role in Freddie Gray’s death.
The charges leveled against the cops ranged from false arrest and imprisonment, violation of police pro cedures, assault, and manslaughter to second-degree murder. These charges could conceivably result in sentences ranging from 10 to 30 years in prison.
Although State’s Attorney Mosby stated that Freddie Gray’s arrest was illegal and unjustified, and that his death resulted from his treatment while in police cus tody, she did not accuse any of the officers personally of causing Gray’s fatal injuries.
Death at the hands of police is not a new or unex pected event in Baltimore, and these killings rarely draw a serious consequence. Usually, the internal in vestigation and the victims of police violence are bur ied at about the same time. Those cases that are taken to court have typically resulted in the acquittal of po lice, even when suspects were shot in the back. The police need only claim that they felt threatened while they were “just doing their job.” It is a tradition upheld throughout America; the uniform of a police officer is a license to kill, especially if the victim is Black, young, and poor.
The police killing of Freddie Gray stunned the Black community of Baltimore, sparking anger and outrage. Spontaneous protests were followed by rallies, march es, and other street actions. Night after night, protests against police violence captured the attention of a nation that has already witnessed a series of police shootings and killings. Demonstrations of solidarity erupted in cities and towns throughout the country. Chants of “We are Baltimore” spread from Boston and New York to Seattle and Los Angeles.
These protests join a series of public actions that have arisen month after month following police vio lence in Ferguson, Mo., in New York, in North Charles ton, S.C., in Cleveland, Ohio, and so on. The cumulative effect of these protests has begun to shake the con sciousness of the entire country.
So, for once, something different and unusual hap pened. Less than a day after receiving the internal po lice investigation and the autopsy results, the prosecu tor vigorously acted against the police. State’s Attor ney Mosby made no effort to hide the fact that public protest was a compelling factor in her decision to file charges against the six police officers. “To the people of Baltimore and the demonstrators across America: I heard your call for ‘No justice, no peace,’” the prosecu tor said. “Your peace is sincerely needed as I work to deliver justice on behalf of this young man.”
Compared to the recent past, the prosecutor’s stance in Baltimore is a step long overdue. No criminal charg es were filed against police in the deaths of Michael Brown in Ferguson or Eric Gardner in New York. In North Charleston, S.C., the police officer who shot ther, suggesting that the familiar practice of police brutality and violence would be left in the past. While asserting her confidence in the majority of Balti more’s police, she said, “To those of you who wish to engage in brutality, misconduct, racism, and corrup tion, let me be clear. There is no place in the Baltimore City Police Department for you.”
How such sweeping reforms would take place, the mayor did not explain. Certainly, there will be no co operation from the police themselves. Their lawyer claimed that the state attorney’s charges against the six officers was “an egregious rush to judgment” that raised “grave concerns about the fairness and integ rity of the prosecution of our officers.”
Other lawyers, professors, and police officials through out the country have spoken out on behalf of the Balti more police, forming a “united front” of respectable opinion against real justice for Freddie Gray. Better to let the police function as they always do and must do, this reasoning goes, even if it results in more Freddie Grays.
Local residents, who are less given to rhetoric, are not yet certain of these optimistic words. One young man, a resident of Freddie Gray’s neighborhood, stat ed, “I think they charged the officers just to calm the city down. … But I don’t think they’re going to get con victed” (The New York Times, May 3, 2015). That may well depend on what happens next.
A just outcome will be more certain if protesters continue their rallies outside of City Hall instead of staying home and trusting the officials inside City Hall. The public pressure that won a round in the battle for justice needs to be maintained and deepened until a lasting victory is finally achieved. Those wheels of jus tice roll more smoothly when thousands are pushing.
The safety of the community requires control of the community and an end to dependence on the Demo cratic and Republican parties. The Democratic mayor of Baltimore can criticize the police for their corrup tion and racism, but she relies on their clubs and tear gas to enforce the curfew she imposed.
The state’s attorney, Marilyn Mosby, is even more embedded into the local establishment and of neces sity depends on the police in making prosecutions. Because of these ties, she had to reassure the entire police department while filing charges against six of their own, saying that “the actions of these officers will not and should not in any way damage important