Freddie Gray Anniversary 4/16/2016
Baltimore, MD— Families of unarmed Blacks who were slain by police rallied in West Baltimore one year after Freddie Gray died of injuries sustained in police custody. Six families joined protesters to tell stories about family members who had also been killed by police. They marched to the site where Gray had been apprehended and dragged into the police van, paused for a moment of silence and then proceeded four blocks past the local police precinct.
Video of the violent arrest of Freddie Gray was released on the Internet in April 2015, and his death a week later due to a severed spinal cord touched off protests and property destruction in Baltimore. Six police officers were subsequently indicted for their involvement in the “rough ride” leading to Gray’s fatal injury. Their trials were put on hold by a Maryland appeals court. Baltimore City settled a civil case with the Gray family for $6.4 million.
“This is 21st-century lynching at its best,” said Reverend C.D. Witherspoon. “And it goes by the name police brutality.”
People gathered in front of the CVS at the corner of West North and Pennsylvania Avenue. The store became infamous when rioters smashed the windows, looted and set fire to it a year ago. Today, large signs saying “Now Open” are displayed on the building.
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http://www.dcmediagroup.us/2016/04/16/baltimore-police-condemned-freddie-gray-anniversary/
