Marilyn Mosby, the youthful state’s attorney for Baltimore City, Md., quelled the violence in the streets of Baltimore when she announced that her office had filed criminal charges against six police officers involved in the arrest and death of Freddie Gray. The people in the streets were elated, but many of those in law enforcement accused Mosby of being politically motivated.
She rebutted that assertion when Mosby revealed that she had conducted her own investigation into the death of the 25-year-old black citizen while in police custody, and had concluded that even Gray’s arrest was unlawful. Gray was improperly charged by the police with having a switchblade knife, but Mosby asserts that the knife was legal. That remains an issue to be decided at the trial.
Editor’s note:
About 50 Boston police officers earned $243,162 in 2014, which is the salary of the highest-ranking U.S. military officer, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
Regardless of the legality of the late Freddie Gray’s knife, the weapon he might have been packing was not the offending issue. The police were angry because Gray ran away when they tried to hassle him. Another black man, Walter Scott, was shot in the back on April 4 in North Charleston, S.C. for the same discourtesy to a police officer. That incident is indisputable because it was recorded on video.
The usual procedure is for the district attorney, or state’s attorney in Maryland, merely to express regrets to the family of the deceased and assure the crowd that there will be every effort to see that justice is done. However, the close relationship between the police and the DAs usually prevents that result.
In cities across the country the police and the district attorney are joined at the judicial hip. The police arrest those accused of a crime and gather the evidence against them while the district attorney prosecutes them in court. A conflict of interest arises when criminal charges are brought against the police. There is an expectation that the DA will be tolerant of criminal behavior by the police in performing their official duties. For this reason, observers did not expect much from Marilyn Mosby when she made her major public announcement on May 1.
The lawyers for the police charged in the death of Freddie Gray have filed a motion to replace Mosby as the prosecutor because of an alleged conflict of interest. They assert that she cannot fairly and objectively prosecute the case because her husband, Nick Mosby, is a member of the city council. Nonetheless, the damage is done. The reputation of the nation’s urban police forces has suffered another blow and continues to deteriorate.
In Boston, and undoubtedly elsewhere, the police have been able to use their political clout to enhance their earnings. The highest ranking U.S. military commander is the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, who earns $243,162 per year. There are about 50 Boston police officers who earned more than that in 2014. The highest paid Boston police officer tallied $415,709 that year.
Because of ignorance and blind respect for law and order, citizens of Boston have concluded that a police captain should be paid $172,547 more than the nation’s highest military officer.
Some metropolitan police forces have begun to lose the stature that they have enjoyed for many years. Cell phone photos and videos by private citizens have revealed that the police are not always innocent as they claim of the violence against individuals. There is a growing repugnance against the police behavior and one wonders whether the people will continue to tolerate such an income inequality.
