11:10 a.m.
The Baltimore police officers union says the six officers charged in the Freddie Gray investigation aren’t responsible for his death.
Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 3 President Gene Ryan made the comment Friday in a letter to Baltimore City State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby before she announced the charges. It was the union’s strongest statement to date in the officers’ defense.
“As tragic as this situation is, none of the officers involved are responsible for the death of Mr. Gray,” Ryan wrote. “To the contrary, at all times, each of the officers diligently balanced their obligations to protect Mr. Gray and discharge their duties to protect the public.”
Ryan asked Mosby in the letter to appoint a special independent prosecutor. But after announcing charges Friday, Mosby said she would not turn the case over to a special prosecutor.
The union contracts with an attorney, Michael Davey, who has said that five of the six officers gave voluntary statements on the day of Gray’s arrest.
11 a.m.
State’s Attorney Marilyn J. Mosby says six officers in the police-custody death of Freddie Gray have been charged.
One officer faces a second-degree murder charge while the other officers face manslaughter or assault charges, among others.
Mosby says the officers failed to get Gray medical help even though he requested it repeatedly after he was arrested April 12. She called his arrest illegal.
At some point while he was in custody, he suffered a mysterious spinal injury and died a week later.
10:35 a.m.
The Baltimore police officers union is asking State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby to appoint a special independent prosecutor for the Freddie Gray death investigation.
Fraternal Order of Police local president Gene Ryan told Mosby in a letter Friday that the union is concerned about her ties to Gray family attorney Billy Murphy.
Murphy was among Mosby’s biggest campaign contributors last year, donating the maximum individual amount allowed, $4,000, in June. He was also on Mosby’s transition team after the election.
The union says none of the six officers suspended in the investigation is responsible for Gray’s death. The 25-year-old black man died one week after suffering a severe spinal cord injury in police custody.
10:15 a.m.
The state medical examiner’s office says it has sent the autopsy report on Freddie Gray to prosecutors.
Officials made the announcement Friday morning. The report is now in the hands of State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby.
Spokesman Bruce Goldfarb says the Office of the Chief State Medical Examiner will not release the report publicly while the case is under investigation.
Freddie Gray who died April 19 of spinal injuries he suffered while in police custody.
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