Tag Archives: arrests

Report: Thousands Of Suspects In Baltimore Arrests Required Medical Attention

The mysterious death of 25-year-old Freddie Gray, who was denied medical attention and died from a severe spinal injury while in police custody, has led many to question how often suspects obtain injuries from their encounters with police officers, and how many of them receive proper medical care.

The Baltimore Sun reported that according to records obtained through a Maryland Public Information Act request, the Baltimore City Detention Center has “refused to admit nearly 2,600 detainees who were in police custody” between June 2012 and April 2015, with intake officers citing injuries such as “fractured bones, facial trauma and hypertension.”

While the records obtained by the Sun redacted the names of the detainees, the report used the story of Salahudeen Abdul-Aziz as an example of what many suspects endure. Abdul-Aziz was denied entry to Baltimore’s detention center after he was brought in by police with a broken nose, a fractured face and other injuries. He went to court, on the claim that he had been beaten by police and then arrested, and he was awarded $170,000 by a jury in 2011.

In Gray’s case, he was arrested on April 12, after he made eye contact with Baltimore Police Lieutenant Brian Rice, and then took off running. Rice, who had been suspended from the Baltimore Police Department and had his guns confiscated twice for mental health issues and for reported stalking, harassment and threats of violence, pursued Gray and arrested him, claiming that he was carrying an illegal knife.

Both a picture of the knife Gray was carrying, and an explanation behind the cause of the severe spinal injury that led to his death on April 19, have yet to be made public.

State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby announced on May 1 that the knife Gray was carrying was legal, that Gray was arrested illegally, and his death was ultimately ruled a homicide. Six officers have been charged for Gray’s death and they were all released on bonds ranging from $250,000 to $350,000 the same day.

Gray, who was healthy prior to his arrest, is suspected to have severed his spine during the 45 minutes he spent in a police transport van, which made four stops on its way to the jail. According to Mosby, at least five of Gray’s requests for medical attention were not answered by officers.

The Baltimore Sun reported that after investigating over 100 lawsuits against Baltimore city police officers, where the city “paid more than $6 million in court judgments and settlements,” it found that “dozens of residents accused police of inflicting severe injuries during questionable arrests and disregarding appeals for medical attention.”

While some criminologists and law enforcement experts say that suspects often fake injuries to avoid being put in a jail cell, the Sun noted that they also say Gray’s death “shows that police lack adequate training to detect injuries.”

A. Dwight Pettit, an attorney who has sued many Baltimore officers over the last 40 years, told the Baltimore Sun the data proves that the officers don’t really care about their public.

It goes to demonstrate the callous indifference the officers show when they are involved with the public,” said Pettit. “Why would they render medical care when they rendered many of the injuries on the people?”

On Wednesday, Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake announced that she has asked the Department of Justice to investigate the city’s police force for the practices of excessive use of force and civil rights violations.

“This is NOT What Democracy Looks Like”- Sights and Sounds from Baltimore

With our heavy coverage of Baltimore and the riots, protests, activists and policing, TruthinMedia.com along with the crews at RT America have been covering the unrest in Baltimore since the very beginning.

RT America photojournalists have complied these sights and sounds from protests in Baltimore and New York City which gives a clear look at to what protestors are demanding.

The NYPD has effectively stopped working

A few days after the funeral for NYPD officer Rafael Ramos, one of two slain police officers whose deaths have sparked a rift between the police and the mayor in the city, reports are claiming the NYPD have virtually stopped working.

According to the New York Post, traffic tickets and minor offense summonses have dropped in the city by about 94 percent since the funeral. Some officers are saying they feel betrayed by New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, and fear for their safety while on the job.

The overall arrest rate has dropped by about 66 percent throughout the city, and officers are only making arrests “when they have to.”

One source told the New York Magazine, “This is not a slowdown for slowdown’s sake. Cops are concerned, after the reaction from City Hall on the Garner case, about de Blasio not backing them.”

As of right now, according to CBS New York, the slowdown of work is not an intentional or coordinated plan. Rather the drop in arrests is being attributed to the number of officers who are still grieving after the lose of both Officer Ramos and Liu, as well as officers being on edge after their shooting deaths.

The stoppage comes as de Blasio and Police Commissioner William Bratton are scheduled to hold an “emergency summit” with the leaders of five different police unions in the area.

One tweet from the Sergeant’s Benevolent Association read, before it was deleted, the mayor needs to “humble himself” as well as “change his philosophical views on policing,” in order to deal with the new protests and manner in which they are handled by the police in the city.