Baltimore

Baltimore’s Freddie Gray was laid to rest this morning. 25-year-old Gray died of traumatic spinal injury following his April 12th arrest. He was laid to rest in Baltimore with funeral services held at New Shiloh Baptist Church. Hundreds showed up at his wake to pay their respects and over 3,000 turned out for Gray’s funeral as well.

Baltimore police have announced that there is a real threat against law enforcement officers. Police have expressed concern that members from gangs including the Bloods, Crips, and Black Guerrillas are banding together to take out law enforcement officers according to ABC News. Police released a statement regarding this matter shortly before the Baltimore funeral of Freddie Gray.

Gray’s lawyer, William Murphy, said that Gray never should have been arrested. Gray supposedly ran from police along with another man. Kevin Davis, who is the Deputy Commissioner, said that when the officers caught up with Gray they held him down and discovered a knife in his pocket. Police then handcuffed him and put him into a van. Davis added that Gray should have received medical attention but did not according to USA Today. The article also stated that a bystander at the scene caught on video Gray being dragged into the van, yelling out in pain. Supposedly Gray asked for medical attention many times but was ignored. Paramedics were not called until more than thirty minutes later. Authorities have not offered up an explanation as to how or when Gray was injured the article went on to say.

 A protest was held on Saturday to honor Gray. The protest started peacefully with thousands marching through downtown Baltimore. By night the protest turned violent. Gray’s sister even pleaded for peace alongside the Mayor claiming that her brother would not want this violence. She added that she just wanted the violence to stop and she wanted her brother to be laid to rest in peace. Despite her pleas, the protestors continued to march onward. Police cars were vandalized and numerous fights broke out and thousands of police were called to the scene.
USA Today said that the people involved in the march felt that there had been no justice for Gray, so they decided to take matters into their own hands. police have acknowledged that Gray should have received medical treatment sooner, but many still believe that this was a hate crime because of Gray’s race and he was deliberately targeted for no justifiable reason. People feel that justice needs to be served and Gray needs to be supported and honored.
CNN reported that bystanders at the scene that day claimed that Gray said he could not breathe and needed help. They also said that they were surprised by the actions of the police and thought that they were better trained than that. They went on to say that if someone was in trouble they would do all they could to help and not just ignore their cries. Even people who did not know Gray personally attended the Baltimore funeral in his honor. These individuals said that even though they did not know Gray, they knew someone like him and he represented the justice that should be served for such people. The Gray family of Baltimore said that they appreciate everyone’s support and just wanted to honor Freddie in the best way possible. They hope that he can be laid to rest in peace finally and that he will be remembered always as ABC stated.
By Heather Granruth
Sources:
CNN
ABC News
USA Today
Fox News

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