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n2doc

(47,953 posts)
Thu Apr 30, 2015, 06:06 PM Apr 2015

The Character Assassination Of Freddie Gray

On Wednesday, the Washington Post obtained a Baltimore Police Department document, which states that a prisoner in the vehicle transporting Freddie Gray heard Gray “banging against the walls” and “intentionally trying to injure himself.” The Post was given permission to publish the information, provided that the name of the witness remained anonymous, yet the newly-released details counter previous reports about the events leading up to Gray’s death. What is consistent, however, is police departments’ selective release of information that paints people injured or killed by police in a bad light — and mainstream media’s decision to buy into it.

Since Gray’s death, BPD’s missteps in arresting him have been well-documented. In widely-publicized videos of the arrest, Gray yells in pain as three officers drag him to their van. They refused to give Gray, an asthmatic, an inhaler. They didn’t put his seatbelt on. And sometime between his arrest and hospital admission, Gray’s voice box was crushed and his spinal cord severed.

But of all the documents compiled during the course of BPD’s investigation, the one given to the Washington Post offers a different narrative: that Gray injured himself. That document minimizes officer responsibility for the 25-year-old’s death, and it’s emblematic of a larger police strategy to deflect blame.

In some instances, officers make false claims that are eventually disproved. Before video of Officer Michael Slager shooting Walter Scott in the back surfaced, North Charleston police claimed Scott grabbed Slager’s Taser and attempted to use it. The Cleveland Police Department said Tamir Rice was sitting at a table, was told multiple times to put his hands up, and reached for his gun before officers shot and killed him. Video later disproved the department’s claims.

more
http://thinkprogress.org/justice/2015/04/30/3653118/selective-leaks-character-assassination-freddie-gray/

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The Character Assassination Of Freddie Gray (Original Post) n2doc Apr 2015 OP
It is a very simple calculus FlatBaroque Apr 2015 #1
the cops managed/created the "Riot" to draw attention away from killing Freddy and blame the poor 1handclapn Apr 2015 #2

FlatBaroque

(3,160 posts)
1. It is a very simple calculus
Thu Apr 30, 2015, 06:22 PM
Apr 2015

if there was exculpatory evidence, the police would have released it within minutes, rather than have to deal with riots and unrest. Therefore it is only logical to conclude that the police are conducting themselves in the same fashion as in the Mike Brown affair. i.e., slowly release a false narrative with which they are relatively sure they can get away. The political leaders in this situation ought to gauge whether they can allow this repetitive pattern to continue, or if they should rather insist on the truth.

1handclapn

(105 posts)
2. the cops managed/created the "Riot" to draw attention away from killing Freddy and blame the poor
Thu Apr 30, 2015, 08:06 PM
Apr 2015

the cops are trained in mob psychology, and they created the elements and behaviors that create a mob. they kicked all the students off the busses at the mall hub n wouldn't let them leave to go home. then harassed them they charged any groups that gathered larger than 3. then the mayor said no one would be arrested for looting.. then the cops basically created.. see what we have to deal with everyday.?



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