Attorneys say prosecutors hid evidence in Freddie Gray case

August 7, 2015

BALTIMORE (AP) — Attorneys for the six police officers charged in Freddie Gray's death say prosecutors steered investigators away from allegations about Gray's behavior in past interactions with law enforcement. The attorneys claim detectives were told Gray had a history of participating in "crash-for-cash" schemes in which people hurt themselves to collect settlements — a piece of information attorneys say would be useful for their case.

Gray died on April 19, a week after suffering a critical spinal injury in the back of a police van. Gray's death spurred days of largely peaceful protests followed by rioting and looting last April 27.

Six officers were charged with crimes ranging from misdemeanor assault to "depraved-heart" murder.
In a motion filed Thursday in Baltimore Circuit Court, defense attorneys allege that investigators for the Baltimore Police Department had information that Gray had a history of intentionally injuring himself in order to collect insurance money. The attorneys allege in the filing that police investigators knew that Gray once injured himself so severely while in a Baltimore jail that he required medical attention. The attorneys say in documents that when police investigators tried to follow up on the evidence, prosecutors in the state's attorney's office told them "not to do the defense attorneys' jobs for them."

Defense attorneys also say in the motion that high-ranking members of the state's attorney's office met with Dr. Carole Allen of the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner a week before Gray's autopsy was complete and his death ruled a homicide. In addition, attorneys say the prosecutors didn't provide the medical examiner's office with a copy of the statement of Donta Allen, a man who had been inside the police van where Gray suffered his injury. Investigators initially said Allen told them that Gray had been making banging noises in the back of the van. But Allen later told the media that police had exaggerated his account.

Rochelle Ritchie, spokeswoman for State's Attorney Marilyn Mosby, declined comment on the recent filing.

The officers are scheduled to face trial in October, with a hearing on motions set for one month prior. Defense attorneys have asked a judge to move the trial out of Baltimore, arguing that pre-trial publicity will taint the integrity of the jury pool. Additionally, defense attorneys have asked for State's Attorney Marilyn Mosby and her office to be removed from the case, citing alleged conflicts of interest. The most recent filing is in support of that request.

"The statement to investigators 'not do the defense attorneys' jobs for them' would seem to indicate some level of knowledge that exculpatory evidence exists which could benefit the officers charged in Mr. Gray's death and that the prosecutor did not want this information uncovered by investigators," the attorneys wrote in the motion.

An attorney for the Gray family did not immediately return a call for comment Friday.

Interesting stuff. If you can prove that attorneys moved to suppress and even ignore clearly exculpatory evidence, these cops walk on the murder charges and a mistrial will be declared.

You can then follow up with a federal civil rights trial, or maybe even a wrongful death civil trial, but with a clearly tainted investigation, you can easily squash all evidence gleaned from it.

The lawyers telling investigators to ignore evidence? They get disbarred.

If these cops walk out the door untouched because the system tried too hard to appease the black community and convict them at all costs, it will restart the riots 10 minutes after the announcement is made.

Bet on it.

I wonder, will they will be able to see the flames from the White House?

The black DA will not be disbarred.
Bet on it.

It is interesting to me how when the dynamic being a black DA is potentially railroading a black cop facing 2nd degree murder that there is no outcry from the community about the unfairness of the judical system towards black defendants.

Since I am obviously not black I guess I shouldn't really understand.