i am

My photo
harlem, usa
same-gender-loving contemporary descendant of enslaved africans. community activist, feminist, health educator, independent filmmaker, mentor, playwright, poet & spiritual being. featured at, in & on africana.com, afrikan poetry theatre, angel herald, bejata dot com, bet tonight with tavis smiley, blacklight online, black noir, brooklyn moon cafe, gmhc's barbershop, klmo-fm, lgbt community services center, longmoor productions, nuyorican poets cafe, our corner, poz, pulse, rolling out new york, rush arts gallery, saint veronica's church, schomburg center for research in black culture, sexplorations, the citizen, the new york times, the soundz bar, the trenton times, the village voice, upn news, uzuri, venus, vibe, wbai-fm, wnyc-fm & wqht-fm. volunteered with adodi, bailey house, inc., black men's xchange-new york, colorofchange.org, drug policy alliance, east harlem tutorial program, imagenation film & music festival, presente.org, save darfur coalition, the enough project, the osborne association, the sledge group & your black world. worked on films with maurice jamal & heather murphy. writing student of phil bertelsen & ed bullins. mjt975@msn.com.

Tuesday, May 24, 2016

Baltimore Police Officer Acquitted in Freddie Gray Case

baltimore police officer edward nero on monday was found not guilty of all four misdemeanor charges he faced in connection with the arrest of freddie gray. on april 19, 2015, gray died shockingly and tragically after suffering injuries while in police custody.

after the ruling, baltimore mayor stephanie rawlings-blake said, "this is our american system of justice and police officers must be afforded the same justice system as every other citizen in the city, state and country."

reverend westley west, a prominent activist in baltimore, said, "baltimore should be upset. they should also let their voice be heard. take to the streets. how much longer are we gonna lay down and let the same thing to keep happening?"

nero, 30, was not charged directly with the gray's death. nero faced charges of misconduct in office, reckless endangerment and second-degree assault. the high-profile case drew national attention and polarized folks around the country along racial lines: nero is white. gray is black.

multiple police officers face charges in connection with gray's death, including charges of manslaughter and murder. nero is the second of the officers to be brought to court; the first trial, of officer william porter, ended in a hung jury. 

nero was accused of negligence - he failed to buckle gray into a seat in the police van. gray's neck was broken during transport while handcuffed and shackled, yet not safely buckled in. nero was also accused of assaulting gray, 25, by arresting him without probable cause.

as nero entered a parking garage with other police officers surrounding him, one of the protesters outside the courthouse was overcome with emotion. tina thompson, 29, doubled over near the sidewalk and cried. later, thompson screamed, "he's just walking around, looking like he's ok. you killed somebody! you killed somebody's child!    

      

No comments: