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In reply to the discussion: Back pay approved for officer acquitted in Freddie Gray case [View all]lapfog_1
(29,199 posts)Before his encounter with the police Mr. Gray was, as far as anyone knows, completely healthy, or at least free of a spinal cord injury.
Shortly after his encounter with them he is dead as a result of an injury to his spinal column.
something happened to him, either on the ground, being picked up by the police, or in the van ride.
Maybe it was an accident, maybe it was intentional, however...
During that time he was in the care and custody of the police.
They failed in their DUTY to ensure his life if not his well being (he was not yet even accused of a crime, only under arrest).
That the prosecutor cannot make a case against a given police officer for even a misdemeanor does not change any of the above facts.
Is it any wonder why there is now a BLM movement?
I would hope that if I was thrown into the back of an all metal (no cushions) police van with my hands and feet restrained, and died as a result of an injury most likely caused by being tossed around like an unwanted sack of potatoes... someone would seek justice for my life.
I don't have a problem with the verdict, I don't have a problem with the accused officer getting his back pay... I have a problem with our justice system that says "nobody was responsible for what happened".
This was really a "negligent murder on the orient express" and that, apparently, cannot be prosecuted because no single person can be shown to have been responsible for the injury to Mr. Gray.
That "everyone knows" that the Baltimore police give arrested people "rough rides" if they were uncooperative or, possibly, just because they are black men... is reason enough to indict the entire police department of crimes against humanity... if there was justice.
At the very least there should have been cameras recording the entire ride just to ensure the safety of Mr. Gray and to provide the police officers with evidence of innocence (if they were innocent) of any crimes done in the names of the citizens they are sworn to "serve and protect".
I'm not a religious person, but sometimes I really do wish there was this "Sky God" being that watches our every action and knows what is in our hearts (minds, but the emotional side of our mind) and will punish the guilty in the afterlife. Because in this case, I think the fictional Sky God would actually find some fault with one or more of the police involved in this case.