This is the first time in more than 11 years that I've posted three diaries in one day, and I don't think I've ever posted two in a day. I'm worked up about the Freddie Gray case. That's partly based on the fact that Baltimore is only 30 miles from where I live; I took the Bar Exam in Baltimore; my wife and I go there frequently; I've presented many immigration cases at the Federal Building in Baltimore; I'm a Baltimore Orioles fan; we have plans to go there for dinner downtown in just a few weeks; etc... Baltimore is close in my heart.
I think the prosecutor's statement this morning, which I saw in full, was incredibly impressive, to the point where I published a diary today suggesting that she should eventually be the U.S. president. http://www.dailykos.com/... It shouldn't need to be said, but I'm serious about that.
But one point in her statement still rankles. She dropped the bombshell that the Medical Examiner had declared the death a homicide. But then, in the course of describing a long timeline of events, she said the fatal injury occurred in the van.
I don't think that can be true. The Baltimore Police Commissioner, as I recall, said a day or two ago that Mr. Gray was injured before being put in the van. The video that has been released shows that he was severely injured as he was first dragged into the van. Some commenters say he was wetting himself at that point, which is a sign of brain or spinal injury.
The question is: Who delivered the death blow? Was it one of the cops who kneed him in the throat right after he was stopped? Or was it a cop who did that in the van on one of the many stops as they ignored his pleas for help and transported him in a big circle for 45 minutes, although the trip to the police station should have taken 2 or 3 minutes?
Who delivered the death blow? I don't believe the prosecutor's story that it happened while he was bouncing around in the van, much as I admire her incredible courage in standing up as she did today.