MARYLAND – Baltimore prosecutors shed new light on their rationale for some of the charges against the officers involved in the death of Freddie Gray, saying in a court filing that Gray had been illegally detained before officers found a knife in his pocket..
In announcing the charges this month, State’s Attorney Marilyn J. Mosby said that the folding knife, which police initially described as a switchblade, was not illegal under state law, and so Gray should not have been arrested.
Defense attorneys for the officers who were charged with falsely arresting Gray, 25, have said prosecutors overlooked city law, which they say forbids possession of such a knife. They have used the distinction to argue that the case against the officers was rushed and flawed.
In a response filed Monday, Chief Deputy State’s Attorney Michael Schatzow wrote that Gray was detained “well before the arresting officers knew he possessed a knife.”
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The often-stinging 11-page rebuttal comes as prosecutors are asking a judge to impose a gag order on the participants in the case. A judge has not ruled on the request.
Monday’s filing is the prosecution’s first detailed response to attorneys for the six Baltimore police officers charged in the case. They have asked that the charges be dismissed and that Mosby recuse her office from the case for what they say are conflicts of interest.
Schatzow wrote that the defense arguments in that motion “bounce from one ridiculous allegation to another, like a pinball on a machine far past ‘TILT.'”
“Whether born of desperation, the desire for publicity, or a gross effort to taint the grand jury and potential petit jury pool, the motion is absurd,” he wrote.
Participants in the case are waiting for the findings of a grand jury. An indictment is expected before May 27, the date of the first scheduled hearing in the case. (read more)