BALTIMORE, Va. — Attorneys for the six Baltimore police officers charged in the death of Freddie Gray want the case dismissed or State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby’s office to be taken off the case.
A lengthy motion filed Friday in Baltimore City District Court cites a variety of concerns, including conflicts of interest and questions about the office’s independent investigation.
Earlier this week, Mosby told CNN she would stay on the case.
“There is no conflict of interest. I’m going to prosecute. I’m the Baltimore state’s attorney. My district includes every city in Baltimore city. A number of crimes that take place in Baltimore city and unfortunately in the district we live. Where is the conflict?” she said.
The court document spells out what the defense sees as five conflicts of interest:
- Mosby and her husband, City Council member Nick Mosby, stand to gain financially and politically;
- She has personal relationships with potential witnesses;
- Her office took a role investigating the case;
- There is a pending civil lawsuit against her office;
- An attorney for Gray’s family, William “Billy” Murphy, is a close friend, supporter and a lawyer who represented Marilyn Mosby in an ethics complaint.
The motion also says Mosby “egregiously violated” the officers’ rights to due process when she “publicly and with inciting rhetoric” announced the case against the officers by reading every word of the charging documents. The motion also says Mosby’s statements to the young people of Baltimore revealed her political and personal motivation in the case and betrayed the U.S. Constitution and ethical requirements of prosecutors.
The motion calls for the case to be dismissed, and if not, for a special prosecutor to be appointed.
Gray was arrested April 12 for possessing an illegal knife and suffered a fatal spinal injury while being transported in a police van to a booking center, Mosby said.
The officers face various charges that could lead to decades in prison.
Officer Caesar R. Goodson Jr., who drove the police van, faces the most serious charge, one count of second-degree depraved-heart murder. If convicted he would face up to 30 years in prison. Other officers have been charged with crimes like involuntary manslaughter or second-degree assault.
The six officers have a preliminary hearing on May 27.
In announcing the charges, Mosby said the incident began when two police officers on bike patrol “made eye contact” with Gray, who then ran.
When officers caught up to him, he surrendered and was placed on the ground, arms handcuffed behind his back. He said he couldn’t breathe and asked for an inhaler, but he did not get it, according to Mosby.
Although police found a knife in Gray’s pants, it was a variety allowed by Maryland law, and police had no reason to detain him, the prosecutor said.
The motion says the knife was illegal under Baltimore city code.
“If, in fact, the knife was unlawful … the foundation of the state’s argument (that the arrest was illegal) collapses,” the document says.
After Gray was arrested he was put in a police van that started off for a police station.
Goodson stopped the vehicle four times over the course of the approximately 40-minute ride to the police station. At the first stop, officers took Gray out, put shackles on his ankles and placed him — still handcuffed — headfirst and on his stomach in the back.
At the last stop, Goodson picked up another man who was put in the back of the van on the other side of the partition that keeps prisoners separated.
Mosby said the officers were “grossly negligent” for failing to get Gray medical help, despite his requests, until arrival at the Western District Police Station.
By then, he was no longer breathing.
Gray was rushed to a hospital, where he underwent surgery.
He died a week later.
