BALTIMORE — With a single press conference, Maryland Attorney General Marilyn J. Mosby may have stopped a city from burning.
Amid the cries of “No Justice, No Peace,” Mosby stunningly announced that all six of the Baltimore police officers involved have been charged with murder in the death of Freddie Gray, a 25-year-old black man who died after being taking into custody on April 12, 2015.
The announcement came as protestors continue to demonstrate in the streets of Baltimore and in cities around the country, including New York, Boston and Los Angeles.
“I’m surprised. Pleasantly surprised,” said the Reverend Al Sharpton after Mosby announced the charges on Friday.
Mosby said Gray’s fatal injuries came as a result of an unlawful arrest and not being properly treated in a police van that he was placed in.
One of the officers in the case faces a second-degree murder charge while the others face manslaughter, assault and other charges.
Mosby said the officers failed to get Gray medical help even though he repeatedly requested it.
“I will seek justice on your behalf,” Mosby told a packed news conference. “No one is above the law.”
She said the switchblade officers accused Gray of illegally carrying clipped inside his pants pocket was in fact a legal knife, and no justification for his arrest. She said Gray was no longer breathing after being removed from the police van.
Mosby has issued warrants for the arrest of the officers charged in the case, and, if convicted they could face decades in prison.
Officer Caesar Goodson, Officer William Porter, Lt. Brian Rice, Officer Edward Nero, Officer Garrett Miller and Sgt. Alicia White all face several charges for their roles in the incident.
Goodson was charged with second-degree depraved heart murder, which indicates a “callous disregard for the value of human life,” Mosby said.
“I hope that as we move forward with this case, everyone will respect due process and refrain from doing anything that will jeopardize our ability to seek justice,” she said.