Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake says she will not seek re-election:

“We all know that this is a very critical time in our city; many important decisions lie ahead, both in recovering from April’s unrest and managing our city through the multiple trials that are coming up. Over the past few months as I’ve been making plans for what I know is a vigorous campaign I realize that every moment that I spent planning for a campaign or re-election was time that I was taking away from my current responsibilities to the city. To the city that I love and the city that I took an oath to serve, and because of that I’ve made the decision to not seek re-election.” (more…)

Reporter Andrew Knapp attended the first pre-trial hearing today.  He filed the following reports:

UPDATE: Defense argued that Walter Scott got on Slager during a struggle and pummeled him. Attorney Andy Savage said Michael Slager looks forward to clearing his name. Prosecutor Scarlett Wilson, though, said Slager became executioner and planted evidence, lying to make it look like self-defense.
UPDATE: Michael Slager bond hearing is over. No decision by the judge in impassioned, emotional three-hour hearing for Michael Slager, the former North Charleston policeman charged with murder in Walter Scott’s shooting death. (more…)

Activist Judge Barry Williams gave activist Prosecutor Marilyn Mosby a big assist in her goal to convict six Baltimore police officers.  Williams ruled against a venue change motion while saying there’s no evidence they will be unable to seat an impartial jury.
The pre-trial hearings continue this afternoon.

(Via Baltimore Sun) A Baltimore Circuit Court judge ruled Thursday morning that the trials of six police officers charged in the arrest and death of Freddie Gray will stay in Baltimore, saying the defense had failed to prove that the officers cannot receive a fair trial in the city.

“The citizens of Baltimore are not monolithic,” Judge Barry Williams said in his ruling. “They think for themselves.”

(more…)

Keep in mind:  ♦ no wrongdoing has ever been found;  ♦ Marilyn Mosby’s private attorney is the same attorney as Freddie Gray’s family;  ♦ The Gray family never filed a lawsuit, so this is not a “settlement” per se’;  ♦ The possibility of any police wrongful conduct being found during trial is quite probably nil; ♦ The maximum payout under Maryland state law, if lawsuit filed – and if police misconduct could be identified, would have been $400k.

UPDATE:  The nine-page agreement, obtained Wednesday by The Baltimore Sun, shows that Gray’s mother, Gloria Darden, will receive $5.36 million. Gray’s father, Freddie Gray Sr., will receive $640,000. The remainder, $400,000, will be paid to the “Estate of Freddie Gray Jr.”
The city agrees to pay $1.8 million within 15 days, to be divided proportionately among the parities, according to the document. Another $1 million must be paid by Nov. 1.
The remaining $3.6 million will be paid out in the next fiscal year. (link)
(more…)

Officer Michael Slager has been in jail since April charged with murder.  The first judicial hearing for Officer Slager, and the possibility for bond, will take place this Thursday.

Today media reports begin to surface from attorney Andy Savage which glean a considerable similarity in defense to our initial research discoveries:

• Walter Scott was “on top” of Slager during the initial struggle. (link) [we first discovered this in our initial research]
• Walter Scott’s DNA is on the tazer Officer Slager deployed. (link) [this was anticipated as a result of the visible struggle identified ]
• During the struggle Officer Slager was “tazed” twice by Scott using his own weapon (link) [our research previously identified this distinct probability]
• Walter Scott was “fleeing” Officer Slager due to outstanding warrant (child support)
• A strong possibility exists that a weapon was on the scene between the originating point of the initial chase to the final disposition where the video of the lengthy struggle begins. (link)

Here is the current media release containing defense attorney Savage comments. (more…)

Martin O’Malley was the Mayor of Baltimore from 1999 – 2007.  State Attorney Marilyn Mosby said in an interview this weekend the current explosive murder rate within Baltimore is his fault.
(Via Breitbart)  […]  During the taping of the local show “Square Off,” Maryland Shock Trauma physician-in-chief Dr. Thomas Scalea said the worsening violence in the city “seems temporally related to the riots.”
But Mosby completely disagreed with that assessment. “I think the violence was already going up. When you look at January, it was already like 28 murders,” she said.
Mosby claimed that O’Malley’s “zero tolerance” policies led to a climate of mistrust between residents and the police force and despite that O’Malley hasn’t headed the city for eight years, those sour feelings have somehow fueled the city’s violence this year. (more…)

Numerous reports are surfacing that a Texas police officer was murdered in his home on Monday.  However, there are disputed rumors and sketchy claims about motive and intents surrounding the homicide.   Evaluate cautiously.
(Via Breitbart) – An Abilene, Texas, police officer who was found dead in his home on Monday is now suspected to have been murdered, according to authorities. Officials appear to be holding information about the officer’s death close to the vest.
After finding Abilene Police Officer Don Allen dead in his home on Monday, investigators are now saying it appears his death is a homicide, according to a report by CBS News. It is not believed; however, that he was targeted simply for being a police officer. (more…)

Mosby is a very lucky State Attorney. Maryland state law prohibits cameras and recording devices in court rooms. Her ineptitude, and the weakness behind the false construct of her case, will be masked without sunlight. Unfortunately, we are going to have to rely on reporters and media accounts for details.

Update 6:00pm – SEPARATE TRIALS – A judge on Wednesday ordered that six Baltimore Police officers charged in the arrest and death of Freddie Gray be tried separately.
The ruling was one of three that Judge Barry Williams handed down during the first pre-trial motions hearing in the case. Williams earlier denied defense motions to dismiss charges against the officers and to recuse State’s Attorney Marilyn J. Mosby’s office from the case.
Prosecutors sought to have the six officers tried in groups, while defense attorneys had argued their clients should be tried separately.  Williams said trying the officers together would not be “in the interest of justice.”  (link) (more…)

About three years ago, Shannon J. Miles was charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon after fighting a man at an Austin homeless shelter over the television remote control, said Joe Frederick, a prosecutor in Travis County, Texas.

Miles kicked and punched the victim, injuring his face, back and head, Frederick said. The deadly weapon used in the assault was his hands. (more…)

MILFORD, N.H.  – Sen. Ted Cruz today blamed President Obama for the ambush murder of a sheriff’s deputy in Houston, asserting that the president’s vilification of police has created a dangerous climate.
“Cops across this country are feeling the assault,” Cruz told reporters after a town hall meeting in Milford, N.H. “They’re feeling the assault from the president, from the top on down, as we see — whether it’s in Ferguson or Baltimore, the response from senior officials, the president or the attorney general, is to vilify law enforcement. That’s wrong. It’s fundamentally wrong. It’s endangering all of our safety and security.”
Harris County Sheriff’s Deputy Darren Goforth was killed Friday while filling his patrol car at a gas station in Houston. Authorities said today he was shot 15 times in the ambush. A suspect, Shannon J. Miles, is being held without bond. (more…)