by Alexis Taylor
The AFRO
Local officials, residents, family members and friends came together April 19 to honor the life of Freddie Gray exactly 10 years to the date of his 2015 death.
With Gray’s eyes piercing through a mural in the background, Baltimore City Mayor Brandon M. Scott and family attorney William “Billy” Murphy gave remarks alongside Gray’s sister, Fredericka “Missy” Gray.
The three then walked a block away to lay a wreath at the base of one of two memorials to the 25-year-old, who died as a result of a brutal interaction with police a decade ago.
“We all know that we are not the perfect Baltimore that we all want to be … but yes, we are better,” said Baltimore City Mayor Brandon M. Scott. “We will continue to get better each and every day in every way—whether that’s here in Sandtown, across in East Baltimore or all over West Baltimore.”
The somber memorial took place at the intersection of North Mount and Presbury Streets, near the same space where Gray was arrested and hauled into a police van, unbelted. April 12, 2015, was the last time he would be seen in his West Baltimore community alive.
According to information released by the Department of Justice (DOJ), “at approximately 8:39 a.m. on April 12, 2015, Freddie Gray was standing on a street corner with another male when he made eye contact with Lieutenant Brian Rice, a uniformed police officer who was on bicycle patrol in BPD’s Western District.”
That’s all it took to spark the police contact that would ultimately lead to his untimely death.
After the eye contact, Gray ran. Rice chased him, joined by Officers Garrett Miller and Edward Nero. Gray surrendered when threatened with a taser. Only then did officers find an “illegal switchblade knife” in the young man’s pocket. Upon seeing the knife, officers forced him to lay on his stomach.
“Gray began to flail his legs, and Miller placed Gray into a leg lace, which is a leg lock technique designed to stop the legs from moving,” says the DOJ.
Gray was placed into a police van, operated by Officer Ceasar Goodson, and driven a short distance away from the growing crowd to be put in leg shackles. While stopped a second time, the crowd again formed.
Officers tried to put Gray back in the van. “As they did so, Gray went limp, and according to the officers, refused again to walk on his own power,” says the DOJ report.
Then came stop 3, stop 4 and stop 5. Gray was driven around as a new detainee was added to the police van and both were taken to the Western District police station. At stop 4 he said he needed help and—when asked—said wanted to be taken to the hospital. By stop 6, officers “found Gray to be unconscious.”
On April 19, 2015, Gray died of the injuries sustained while in police custody. The DOJ declined to prosecute, but all six officers faced charges filed by then-Baltimore City State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby. Three officers involved were acquitted and the other three had their charges dropped. On April 27, 2015, Gray was laid to rest.
Peaceful protestors tried to maintain calm, but cars were set on fire and buildings burned. A city-wide curfew was put into effect. The governor at the time, Larry Hogan, called in the National Guard and soldiers with guns stood stoic in the streets.
Murphy, who helped the family secure a settlement of $6.4 million, and Mayor Scott say in the past 10 years, there have been measurable changes.
“The memorial for Freddie is expressed in so many different ways,” said Murphy. “There are so many things that have happened because of Freddie Gray—one of the biggest is police reform, body cameras and courageous prosecutors taking after the courage of Marilyn Mosby.”
Still, residents say many things—like mattresses and trash being dumped in their community—have stayed the same.
Scott told reporters during the April 19 memorial that he understands “there has been progress, but not enough.” Some of the improvements in Sandtown include “a brand-new Parkview Rec Center in what was a vacant elementary school.”
“We’ve reduced vacant houses in this neighborhood and the surrounding neighborhoods significantly … we’ve poured money into housing developments … but we still have a lot of work to do,” said Scott.
“Change of this nature was never going to be overnight and it’s going to have to be sustained. That’s what we have to help people understand. These significant challenges and issues were never going to be served in anyone’s one political term.”
Scott said it was a “mistake” to think that “every issue in Sandtown was going to be done away within three, four and five years.”
“You’re talking about West Baltimore, literally the test for racial redlining and purposeful disinvestment,” he said.
Though the struggle for change continues, the family of Freddie Gray remains thankful for the help received and the progress made.
Born 14 minutes after her brother, Missy Gray has found a way to express gratitude 10 years after the death of her twin. “I want to say thank you to all of y’all that supported us throughout this whole process,” said Missy, at the memorial event. “It’s still ‘Justice for Freddie Gray.’”
