Baltimore, ‘our time is now’
MARILYN MOSBY, one of the youngest African- American prosecutors in the United States, holds a crucial role in the latest case to draw international attention to police brutality in that country.
In an unprecedented and largely unexpected move, the Baltimore state’s attorney on Saturday charged six police officers over the death last month of 25- year- old Freddie Gray, which sparked citywide protests. The charges include one of second-degree murder.
Officially ruling Gray’s death a homicide, Mosby, who during her 2014 campaign for state’s attorney promised to prosecute police officers when needed, said: ‘‘Noone is above the law.
‘‘To the youth of this city: I will seek justice on your behalf,’’ Mosby said. ‘‘This is a moment. This is your moment. Let’s ensure that we have peaceful and productive rallies that will develop structural and systemic changes for generations to come. You’re at the forefront of this cause. And as young people, our time is now.’’
In the wake of Gray’s death a week after he was arrested, handcuffed and shackled in the back of a police van without a seatbelt, tensions have mounted in Baltimore between the black community and the police force they so mistrust.
Saturday’s announcement was an extraordinary moment for Mosby, less than half a year into the job. When she assumed office in January, the 35-year-old became the youngest chief prosecutor of a major US city.
Earlier this week, William Murphy, the Gray family’s attorney, expressed confidence in Mosby, noting that she was undertaking her own investigation into Gray’s death and, according to the Baltimore Sun, telling protesters: ‘‘She doesn’t trust the police herself.’’
But Mosby comes from five generations of law enforcement officials. Both her parents were officers, as were an aunt, four uncles and her grandfather, who she said in a campaign video last year was one of the first AfricanAmerican police officers in Massachusetts.
When running for state’s attorney last year, she was endorsed by the city police union, even as she criticised the excessive use of force by officers.
‘‘ Police brutality is completely inexcusable. I’m going to apply justice fairly, even to those who wear a badge,’’ Mosby said .
Her interest in the justice system was largely shaped by a personal tragedy in 1994, when she was just 14. Mosby’s teenage cousin, mistaken for a drug dealer, was shot and killed in broad daylight, side her family home.
In her short time as state’s attorney for Baltimore, Mosby has pledged greater transparency in incidents involving police while not shying away from addressing violence in a city plagued by crime.
‘‘ When thugs and murderers control our neighbourhoods from jail and our mothers,
out- grandmothers and children are afraid to walk down the streets in their own communities for fear of being robbed, hurt, and/ or intimidated by gangs,’’ she wrote during her campaign last year, ‘‘we are failing in every sense of the word.’’
Mosby is married to a city councilman, Nick Mosby, who has spoken out about the socioeconomic factors that have led to the unrest in Baltimore.
‘‘ This is bigger than Freddie Gray,’’ he said on Tuesday, in reference to the rioters. ‘‘Unfortunately, this is their voice – the voice is destruction, the voice is anger.’’
Questions have been raised regarding possible conflicts of interest. Mosby’s husband represents the district Freddie Gray was from. Murphy, the Gray family attorney, donated $ 5000 to her campaign and served on her transition committee.
On Saturday, the president of the Baltimore Fraternal Order of Police, Gene Ryan, published an open letter on behalf of the charged officers to Mosby, requesting that she appoint a special independent prosecutor.
Ryan specifically cited ‘‘ very deep concerns about the many conflicts of interest presented by your office conducting an investigation in this case’’, and called into question Mosby’s relationship with Murphy.
Baltimore residents have cautiously celebrated the news that the officers face criminal charges, a marked contrast to recent rioting over fraught relations between police and the African-American community.
Residents shouted with joy, embraced one another and honked car horns. ‘‘ I am proud for Baltimore,’’ said Mae McKinney, 48, waving an American flag. ‘‘I feel so happy, mostly happy that this wasn’t swept under the rug and someone did something about it.’’
Although largely peaceful protests followed Gray’s death, rioting broke out on Tuesday after his funeral. Dozens of buildings and vehicles were burned, 20 police officers were injured and more than 200 people were arrested.
Mosby’s decision stood in sharp contrast to cases last year in Ferguson, Missouri, and New York City where prosecutors found officers had not broken the law in the deaths of unarmed black men and grand juries declined to indict them. Those cases set off weeks of sometimes violent protests.
Despite the relief that swept through Baltimore, some residents noted it was a single step in an ongoing struggle to improve relations between police and poor minority communities.
No-one is above the law. To the youth of this city: I will seek justice on your behalf. This is a moment. This is your moment. . . . You’re at the forefront of this cause. And as young people, our time is now. Marilyn Mosby Baltimore state’s attorney