Goose wrote:

TheLagerLad wrote:

I watched the prosecutor's press conference last Friday and the state seems to have a solid foundation for charges if how they described the sequence of events is true. 

The one thing that kept coming up in how over numerous stops to check on Gray, they had an opportunity to simply buckle him into a seat, as is standard operating procedure. That alone may have prevented his death.

As this works its way through the legal system, I'm sure we will find out more as this isn't a case of a secret grand jury going through deliberations. This will all be very public. If the state can prove its case, then the officers should be held accountable. And if the officers can prove reasonable doubt, they'll be exhonerated.

My guess is a lot of this will be plea bargained down.

 

Good points. I think that after a suspect has been restrained, handcuffed, ankles shackled, and as reports state, placed prone in a vehicle, he is helpless and the police become responsible for his safety.

One troubling thing, I saw a forensic pathologist on Morning Joe Friday, and have read some other comments by medical experts. They all stressed that it takes a rather tremendous amount of force to fracture and displace the c-spine of a healthy young man. They said that Gray could not have generated such force simply by banging his head voluntarily.
What on earth happened?

And that's where I think the crack will appear in the prosecutor's case. You're going to have ten different doctors with ten different opinions on how the injuries occurred. And from that can be drawn resonable doubt, or a  hung jury.

It's why I think we need a lot of plea bargaining where some of the officers give up thier badges for a promise of no jail time.

I am not saying this is right or wrong, but based on what I have seen and heard I think it will be extremely difficult to convict these officers on any serious charges.

There seems to be so many conflicting stories and possibilities as to what happened, there will be lots of room for reasonable doubt.

I don't know how many of them will make a plea deal, especially if their lawyers believe there is a good chance they may be exonerated.  I think they will need some officers to make a plea and then testify against the other officer/officers in order to get a conviction, and I don't see officers testifying against each other unless it is necessary to save themselves and the other officer committed a completely egregious act.

Goose wrote:

That may be so. We'll have to wait and see what sort of case the prosecution has.
The tough thing for the prosecuter is that, while most people believe that something outrageous and possibly criminal was done to Freddie Gray, without more information, they cannot know if it was one officer, several, or all. So, absent testimony from the officers the jury might be reluctant to convict them all. And where does that leave them.

In a civil suit they could name the entire Balt PD, and if they win, collect a judgment. This is a likely outcome, but in my opinion the worst possible outcome. No officer gets held accountable, and the tax payer gets stuck with the bill.

Part of the data used to develop the probable cause documents for the charges were the police reports from the officers themselves and other information from the Baltimore PD. So I would suspect they have some of the officer's testimiony already on paper. It's just a matter of whether they testify, or what may change upon further reflection during testimony.
 

TheLagerLad wrote:

Goose wrote:

That may be so. We'll have to wait and see what sort of case the prosecution has.
The tough thing for the prosecuter is that, while most people believe that something outrageous and possibly criminal was done to Freddie Gray, without more information, they cannot know if it was one officer, several, or all. So, absent testimony from the officers the jury might be reluctant to convict them all. And where does that leave them.

In a civil suit they could name the entire Balt PD, and if they win, collect a judgment. This is a likely outcome, but in my opinion the worst possible outcome. No officer gets held accountable, and the tax payer gets stuck with the bill.

Part of the data used to develop the probable cause documents for the charges were the police reports from the officers themselves and other information from the Baltimore PD. So I would suspect they have some of the officer's testimiony already on paper. It's just a matter of whether they testify, or what may change upon further reflection during testimony.
 

I expect there is a lot more info as well including the testimony of the other person that was transported, the video of different cams in the city, etc. etc. All of this can either support or invalidate some of the theories of what is called giving a "rough ride" as well as other things that have been alleged. 

It will also be interesting to see if the false arrest and/or the requirement to have him belted in the van have actual challenges or if it is as cut and dried as the prosecutor has laid out. I have my doubts, but we will see what the trial uncovers in that regard. 

In any case, no matter what you think of the case our system of justice is there to allow for the best possible defense for anyone accused of a crime as are these 6 officers. 



 

Goose wrote:

Why do you think that the driver faces the most serious charge?

Don't know. Not sure we have enough factual supplied info to actually comment at this point. 

Guess that will come out at the trial(s).