Where Is the Pursuit of Truth in the First Trial of Killer Cops in Baltimore?
Where Is the Demand for Justice for Freddie Gray?

December 14, 2015 | Revolution Newspaper | revcom.us

 

From a reader:

The trial of William Porter, the first of the six Baltimore cops facing trial for the murder of Freddie Gray, is drawing to a close—with the case expected to go to the jury on Monday, December 14. Trials for the other five cops are expected to begin in January.

 

Freddie Gray, a 25-year-old Black man, was brutally arrested on April 12 this year after he made “eye contact” with the cops. He was first restrained with his legs and hands behind his back and a cop's knee on his neck until he screamed in agony. When released from that hold his legs appeared inoperable, so the cops dragged him still screaming to the van and pushed him into it. By the time they reached the station, Freddie was unconscious. He died a week later.

As Carl Dix of the Revolutionary Communist Party said in his recent statement: “[W]e need to be clear on some things. First, these murdering pigs are going on trial because people exploded in rebellion after these pigs murdered him. And second, putting the murdering cops on trial doesn’t equal justice... In the few cases where cops have been put on trial for murdering or brutalizing people, the killer cops either get off scot-free or with a slap on the wrist. The prosecutors who are so skilled at sending Black and Latino people to prison forget how to prosecute.” (“From Carl Dix: Justice for Freddie Gray—Convict the Killer Cops & Send Them to Jail“)

This is what we have been seeing in the courtroom. If you rely on what has been presented in court by the prosecution, you would scarcely know, for example, that Freddie Gray had been chased, beat down, and hog-tied, his back bent—as is shown in widely seen videos and described by witnesses who said that his back was being bent “like a pretzel.” (See the videos here and here.) Those videos were not part of the prosecution’s case and were never even referenced in their presentation. Indeed, the prosecution has repeatedly asserted, contrary to what is seen in those videos, that Gray was not seriously injured prior to being put in the police van. This is an ominous assertion, considering that they are supposedly going to be prosecuting in a later trial the two cops who are seen carrying out this violence against Freddie in those videos.

Meanwhile, you have a vicious defense team showing utter contempt for Freddie Gray and bringing out infamous “medical expert” Vincent Di Maio, who testified at the trial of George Zimmerman in Florida to support Zimmerman’s outrageous claim that he killed 17-year-old Trayvon Martin “in self-defense.” In the Baltimore trial, Di Maio made a number of outrageous claims, contradicting widely held medical understanding of the nature of neck injuries. And he concluded by testifying that he felt no crime had been committed leading to Freddie Gray’s death—and that this was just an unfortunate “accident”!

As I’m writing this, we still do not know what will come out in the closing arguments or how exactly this trial will impact the trials of the other cops. What is clear is that in this situation, it is vital that the interests of the people be heard loud and clear:

Justice for Freddie Gray—Convict the Killer Cops and Send Them to Jail!

The whole damn system is guilty!

 

 

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