Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/506082
ByJulietLindermanand Amanda Lee Myers The Associated Press BALTIMORE Rage turned to relief in Baltimore Friday when the city's top prosecu- tor charged six police offi- cers with felonies ranging from assault to murder in the death of Freddie Gray. State's Attorney Marilyn Mosby said Gray's arrest was illegal and unjustified, and that his neck was bro- ken because he was hand- cuffed, shackled and placed head-first into a police van, where his pleas for medical attention were repeatedly ig- nored as he bounced around inside the small metal box. The swiftness of her an- nouncement, less than a day after receiving the po- lice department's internal review and official autopsy results, took the city by surprise. So too did her de- tailed description, based in part on her office's indepen- dent investigation, of the evidence supporting prob- able cause to charge all six officers with felonies. The police had no reason to stop or chase after Gray, Mosby said. They falsely ac- cused him of having an ille- gal switchblade when in fact it was a legal pocketknife. The van driver and the other officers failed to strap him down with a seatbelt, a direct violation of depart- ment policy, and they ig- nored Gray's repeated pleas for medical attention, even rerouting the van to pick up another passenger. The officers missed five opportunities to help an injured and falsely impris- oned detainee before he ar- rived at the police station no longer breathing, she said. Along the way, "Mr. Gray suffered a severe and critical neck injury as a re- sult of being handcuffed, shackled by his feet and un- restrained inside of the BPD wagon," she concluded. Her announcement trig- gered celebrations across the same West Baltimore streets that were smolder- ing just four days earlier, when Gray's funeral led to riots and looting. But a lawyer hired by the police union insisted the of- ficers did nothing wrong. Attorney Michael Davey said Friday that Mosby has committed "an egregious rush to judgment." "We have grave concerns about the fairness and in- tegrity of the prosecution of our officers," Davey said. Mosby rejected a police union request to step aside and appoint a special pros- ecutor to handle the case, and said honorable po- lice officers should have no problem working with pros- ecutors in Baltimore. Other law enforcement veterans worried that the charges could have a chill- ing effect. Robert Leight, a former detective in Penn- sylvania who has worked for the FBI and as a federal prosecutor and defense at- torney, said "the biggest danger is that the police of- ficer will not properly per- form his duties." "It puts him at risk, it puts the other officers around him at risk, and it puts the public at risk," Leight said. "A police officer must react instinctively as he has been trained. If a po- lice officer first thinks about what liabilities he will be facing, it's too late." Gray was stopped by po- lice in Sandtown, a poor, overwhelmingly African- American neighborhood in West Baltimore. He locked eyes with a police officer and then ran. Two blocks later, they pinned him to the sidewalk, handcuffed him and dragged him into a transport van, a scene captured on bystander's cellphone video and shown around the world. Mosby said the police re- view, the autopsy and her own office's investigation all point to homicide. The officers were booked Friday on charges ranging from assault and manslaugh- ter, carrying 10-year prison sentences, to second-de- gree "depraved heart" mur- der, which could put the van driver in prison for 30 years if convicted. In a city that struggles daily with pervasive pov- erty and widespread job- lessness, failing schools, drug addiction, a crumbling infrastructure and corrup- tion, Gray's death has be- come emblematic of the broad social and economic problems holding Baltimore down. But unlike other ma- jor cities grappling with police killings, Baltimore's mayor, state's attorney and police commissioner are black, like the majority of the city's population. Helen Holton, a 20-year veteran city councilmem- ber, said the announcement by Mosby, who accused her predecessor of being out of touch with the community, is "a defining moment in the future of Baltimore." "It's time. I hate that Freddie Gray is not here," she said. "I hate it, but to Freddie Gray's legacy, he has served as the tipping point for us to take a real in- side look at what many peo- ple have chosen to ignore." The city, which has been on edge since Gray's death on April 19, remains un- der a nighttime curfew, with 2,000 National Guard troops augmenting po- lice reinforcements from around the state of Mary- land. BALTIMORE Ragetoreliefas6officerschargedinGray'sdeath SETHWENIG—THEASSOCIATEDPRESS A woman holds signs with photographs of Freddie Gray during a rally in Union Square, New York, on Friday. ALGERINA PERNA — THE BALTIMORE SUN VIA AP Marilyn Mosby, right, Baltimore City State's Attorney, holds a press conference. EVAN VUCCI — THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Police look on as demonstrators gather a er an evening of riots following the funeral of Freddie Gray on Tuesday in Baltimore. By Amy Taxin The Associated Press LOS ANGELES Hundreds marched and rallied in U.S. cities on Friday to demand more rights for workers and immigrants and an end to police brutality after sev- eral high-profile cases of black men who died after encounters with authorities. Rallies were held in cit- ies from Minneapolis, Min- nesota to Oakland, Califor- nia and more were planned for New York, Los Angeles and Seattle. In Chicago, some parents brought children to demon- strations to teach them how to interact with police offi- cers. Meredith West, who is white, took her 9-year- old daughter to the protest, where many carried signs with slogans such as "Po- lice Brutality Must Stop." "White people are not aware of police brutality that happens in the Afri- can American community," she said. While labor unions have long led demonstrations on International Workers' Day, the marches got a boost in 2006 when stringent im- migration legislation drove hundreds of thousands of demonstrators to rally in the streets. Since then, at- tendance in the annual ral- lies has been much smaller. Some labor and immi- grant advocates broadened their message this year to also address police brutal- ity, joining a series of pro- tests underway in several cities over the in-custody death of Freddie Gray in Baltimore. Six police offi- cers were charged Friday in his death. In Minneapolis, the group Black Lives Mat- ter encouraged students to leave school, and some high school students did. They staged a die-in that briefly stopped local traffic. Several hundred people marched in Oakland, Cal- ifornia, with some holding signs saying "Racism is the Disease." Others said they wanted better wages and working conditions for the masses. In Los Angeles, a dozen protesters rallied before dawn to encourage the im- plementation of President Obama's program to pro- tect millions of immigrants in the country illegally from deportation. SOCIAL TENSIONS May Day rallies in US broaden to address issues of police brutality, race By Ken Dilanian and Emily Swanson The Associated Press WASHINGTON Nearly three-quarters of Amer- icans say it's acceptable for the U.S. to use an un- manned aerial drone to kill an American citizen abroad if that person has joined a terror organization, accord- ing to a new Associated Press-GfK poll. A majority, 6 in 10, sup- ports the use of drones to target terrorists in general. Only 13 percent oppose the use of drones, the poll said, and another 24 per- cent don't feel strongly ei- ther way. The AP-GfK Poll was conducted April 23-27, in the days after President Barack Obama publicly apologized for a CIA drone strike in Pakistan that in- advertently killed Ameri- can hostage Warren Wein- stein and Italian hostage Giovanni Lo Porto. The strike also killed Ahmed Farouq, an American citi- zen who was an al-Qaida planning leader. Another strike killed Adam Gad- hani, an American citizen who joined al-Qaida and became Osama Bin Lad- en's spokesman. The survey is the lat- est in several years of data showing broad support among the U.S. public for a targeted killing pro- gram begun under Presi- dent George W. Bush and expanded dramatically under Obama. While the U.S. once condemned Is- rael for targeted killing from the air, such opera- tions are now the center- piece of American counter- terrorism policy, and they enjoy widespread public backing. Support for targeted killing with drones crosses party lines, the new poll found. Nearly 6 in 10 Dem- ocrats favor using drones to bomb members of terrorist groups, while only 16 per- cent are opposed. Among Republicans, 72 percent are in favor and only 10 percent are opposed. Independents are more ambivalent, with 45 percent in favor and 12 percent opposed; 37 percent are neutral on the issue. Just 47 percent of Amer- icans think it's appropriate to use drones to target ter- rorists overseas if innocent Americans might be killed in the process. More than 4 in 10 (43 per- cent) of those who initially said they favor using drones — or that they didn't favor or oppose using them — said it's unacceptable to use drones if innocent Ameri- cans could be killed. TERRORISM Poll: Most approve of drone strikes JiffyLube Joan Bell John Elshere Judy Turner Lana & John Kitchell Lariat Bowl Larry and Kathy Bell Law Offices of Dennis Albright Les Schwab Linda Durrer and Friends Luigi's Pizza Metis Books & Bag Bonanza Mill Creek Café Mumblefingers Duo Operating Engineers Local #3 Plum Crazy Hair Design & Boutique R-Wild Horse Ranch Radio Mexicana 99.7 FM Restaurant & Mariscos Playa Azul Round Table Pizza, Red Bluff Round Up Saloon Sandy's Specialties Scoops Ice Cream Shari's Restaurant Sharon Young Sonda Green Stationary Engineers Local #39 Studio 530 Photography Sugar Shack Susan Price The Thai House Three Generations Arts & Shop 2 Buds BBQ UPC & JA Carpenters Local Union #1599 Unique Boutique Walker Printing Wild Oak Wink Women's Boutique & Tuxedo Rentals A & R Custom Butchering Allene Dering Angelica & Charles Rouse Anne & Jack McGreevy Balloons & More The Banner King Baskin Robbins Bibles Books & More Bill Dixon Bob Grace Photography Bob Mulholland & Jane Dolan Bob's Tire Center California State Auto Assoc California Teachers Association - PAC California United Homecare Workers Union Local 4034 California United Hotel Workers Union Condor Marka Restaurant Cook Kitchen Boutique Copy Center Cozy Diner Crystal Art & Apparel David and Jean DeCamilla, West Coast Products Dominos Pizza Durango RV Resort Egg Roll King Firehouse Pizza Five Counties Central Labor Council Furniture Depot Galactic Garden Center The Gold Exchange Green Barn Hispana Americana News Holly Wilson Impressive Print International Brotherhood of Electrial Workers James Bryant Jeanette Miraglia For more information regarding the activities of local Democrats go to wwwtehamacountydemocrat.or��orphone530-736-7327 Tehama County Democrats thank the unions, businesses and individuals who helped make ourrecent fundraising dinnera success. CANNED FOOD DRIVE *Validonly at H & R Block 1315 Solano St, Corning Call 530-824-7999 for a appointment Bring in 4 cans of food when you come in to get your taxes done, and get $15.00 off your tax preparation fees.* Allcannedfoodswillbedonatedto CorningChristianAssistanceFoodBank. Passages:HICAP, Caregiver Resource Center, Volunteer Services, Multi-Purpose Senior Services Program, Ombudsman, Information and Assistance Health Care Options Independent Living Ser. Of Northern California Medi-Cal Northern Valley Catholic Social Service Rolling Hills Health Clinic Senior Nutrition St. Elizabeth TRAX/METS Community Resource Fair for Adults Join us at the 2015 Community Resource Fair for Adults to learn about available resources for health care and prescription insurance coverage, nutrition services, independent living and more. Take advantage of this opportunity to talk with professionals from different agencies all in one location. 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