Tag Archives: police

Native Americans Get Shot By Cops at an Astonishing Rate

by yiszkj53 Posted on July 15, 2015

Mother Jones

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Nearly 100 people demonstrated in downtown Denver earlier this week after police there shot and killed 35-year-old Paul Castaway on July 12. Police said the man was coming towards an officer with a knife, but his family and witnesses on the scene dispute those claims and say he was pointing the knife toward himself.

The shooting comes a little more than a month after two Denver Police officers were cleared in the shooting death of Jessie Hernandez, a 17-year-old girl killed in January when the officers fired into a stolen car she was supposedly driving toward them in an alley.

According to his mother, Castaway struggled with schizophrenia and alcoholism. Witnesses say he was holding a knife to his own throat and didn’t threaten officers, according to the Denver Post. Castaway was shot four times and died later that night. Denver Police Department spokesman, Sonny Jackson, told the Post that the department is reviewing the incident, and that the officers involved will be named soon.

Castaway was a Lakota Sioux. His death brings up a rarely-discussed aspect of the ongoing conversation around police brutality in the United States: Native Americans are more likely than most other racial groups to be killed by police. Indian Country Today noted that according to the Center on Juvenile and Criminal Justice, a nonprofit organization that studies incarceration and criminal justice issues, police kill Native Americans at a higher rate than any other ethnic group.

The center’s analysis relied on data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Center for Health Statistics. It found that Native Americans, making up just .8 percent of the population, are the victims in 1.9 percent of police killings. When the numbers are broken down further, they reveal that Native Americans make up *three of the top five top age-groups killed by law enforcement:

Center on Juvenile and Criminal Justice

“This is a reflection of an endemic problem in the perception of non-white people when it comes to the administration of justice,” Chase Iron Eyes, an attorney with the Lakota People’s Law Project in South Dakota, told Mother Jones. The group put out a report called “Native Lives Matter” in February discussing various ways the justice system disproportionately impacts Native Americans. He said the US Department of Justice needs to address police violence against Native Americans and that Castaway’s death is only the most recent example of the problem.

“You can tell they’re shooting out of fear,” he said. “If it’s not out of hate, for some reason they’re pulling the trigger before determining what the situation actually is. Something does need to happen. Somebody does need to take a look and we need help.”

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Native Americans Get Shot By Cops at an Astonishing Rate

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Decoding the Scene From Dylann Roof’s "Favorite Film"

by TarahFreeland Posted on June 21, 2015

Mother Jones

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Screenshots taken from the film Himizu.

Among the many violent and racist images in the apparent manifesto of Dylann Roof, the alleged mass murderer, is something slightly more exotic: a reference to the 2011 ultra-violent Japanese crime drama, Himizu (a New York Times “Critics Pick”). The manifesto uncovered on Saturday morning reads: “To take a saying from my favorite film, ‘Even if my life is worth less than a speck of dirt, I want to use it for the good of society’.”

The movie, adapted from a popular manga by director Sion Sono, is set in tsunami-hit Japan in 2011, and follows the story of two teenagers—unloved, unwanted—struggling to survive amid the chaos wrought by the earthquake, and corruption. It’s a twisted and dark coming-of-age story (at some points a romance) that is beautifully shot and scored, but I wouldn’t say it’s an easy watch.

More Mother Jones coverage of the Charleston Shooting:


Here’s What We Know About the People Who Lost Their Lives in Charleston


Dylann Storm Roof Identified as Suspected Gunman in Charleston Mass Shooting (Updated)


Should the Charleston Attack Be Called Terrorism?


The Gun Lobby Blames the Charleston Mass Shooting on “Gun-Free Zones”


WATCH: Obama Just Delivered Remarks About the Mass Shooting in Charleston


Charleston’s Hometown Newspaper Is Putting Awful Cable News to Shame


Families of Charleston Shooting Victims: “We Forgive You”

The full scene in which that quote appears is in many ways far more disturbing than the quote in the manifesto, and might contain even darker clues about what might have inspired Roof’s attack at the Emanuel AME church in Charleston, S.C., on Wednesday, which killed nine people. One of the main characters, Sumida—a brooding, angry boy—is recording his own voice onto a tape deck, preparing for an act of mass violence in the streets of Japan:

It’s May 7, the first day of the rest of my life. No police, no suicide. I guess I’m stingier than I figured. Even if my life is worth less than a speck of dirt. I want to use it for the good of society. I must have been born to do some good. I’ll kill idiots who trouble citizens.

Sumida has just brutally attacked and killed his father in a fit of rage in the previous scene. Caked in mud, he returns to a trailer to contemplate his next steps—some kind of vigilante justice—covering his face and body in multi-colored paints, and rather calmly intoning his plans. He then takes a large knife and begins killing people.

The choice of a Japanese film might seem peculiar at first, given the manifesto is a white supremacy rant. But in a section titled “East Asians”, the essay reads: “Even if we were to go extinct they could carry something on. They are by nature very racist and could be great allies of the White race. I am not opposed at all to allies with the Northeast Asian races.”

The film was widely praised by reviewers. The Guardian wrote that the director “Sono retains his go-for-the-throat approach, but the violence here somehow connects with the brutal economic conditions, and he fosters very tender, affecting performances.”

If Roof watched the whole film, he surely missed the point—the moral universe of the film is pretty clear. The film ends with Sumida’s friend Keiko convincing him to give himself up to the police and seek redemption. The end of the film, tracking through the rubble left by the tsunami, is especially haunting.

“Let’s go to the police,” she says. “Sumida. Don’t give up. Live! Sumida. Say something. Don’t give up! Have a dream!”

Roof did the opposite: he extinguished the hopes and dreams of so many innocent people and their families on Wednesday night.

Watch the film’s trailer below:

Himizu (trailer) from Cinefamily on Vimeo.

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Decoding the Scene From Dylann Roof’s "Favorite Film"

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Josh Duggar Resigns From Family Research Council Amid Molestation Allegations

by LaurenMussen Posted on May 22, 2015

Mother Jones

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On Thursday, Josh Duggar resigned as head of the Family Research Council’s lobbying arm amid allegations from a sealed police report obtained by In Touch Weekly that he sexually molested multiple underage girls when he was a teenager.

Duggar, the eldest son of the reality TV family on TLC’s 19 and Counting, expressed regret for his actions in a statement on the Duggar family’s Facebook page:

Twelve years ago, as a young teenager, I acted inexcusably for which I am extremely sorry and deeply regret. I hurt others, including my family and close friends. I confessed this to my parents who took several steps to help me address the situation. We spoke with the authorities where I confessed my wrongdoing, and my parents arranged for me and those affected by my actions to receive counseling. I understood that if I continued down this wrong road that I would end up ruining my life.

Josh’s parents Jim Bob and and Michelle Duggar reportedly knew about the alleged sexual misconduct, which began in 2002, for more than a year before reporting it to the authorities. After the Springdale Police Department received an anonymous tip in 2006, they investigated, but Duggar was never charged with anything. You can read the partially redacted police report here.

The Duggars emerged as political players for the social conservative right in 2007, when Jim Bob, a one-time state representative, endorsed former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee for president. After the 2012 election, when the family backed Rick Santorum, Josh Duggar catapulted into conservative circles in Washington as the executive director of FRC Action.

The family remains an influential force among social conservatives due to its pro-life views and strong Christian faith. In December, Michelle Duggar pushed for the repeal of a measure in Arkansas that would have prevented housing and employment discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation.

In May, Jim Bob and Michelle endorsed Huckabee, calling him “a man of faith.” As of Thursday night, Jim Bob’s endorsement is still on Huckabee’s presidential campaign site. Mother Jones has reached out to the Huckabee camp for comment.

mikehuckabee.com

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Josh Duggar Resigns From Family Research Council Amid Molestation Allegations

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Here Are 13 Killings by Police Captured on Video in the Past Year

by AmberSuttor Posted on May 20, 2015

Mother Jones

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Screenshot from police video of the shooting of Jason Harrison in Dallas on June 14, 2014. Harrison’s family obtained the footage in a civil rights lawsuit and chose to publicize it.

From Ferguson last summer to Baltimore this spring, police killings of unarmed black men under questionable circumstances have sparked outrage, civil unrest, and a heated national debate about policing in the United States. As Mother Jones and others have reported, there isn’t sufficient data available for determining how many people are shot to death or otherwise killed by police each year, or how the issue might be trending. But more such incidents appear to be getting captured on video than ever before, due in part to the ubiquity of cellphone cameras. The footage—not only from cellphones, but also surveillance cameras, dashboard cameras in police cars, and police-worn body cameras—has caused a tectonic shift in public awareness.

More MoJo coverage on police shootings:


Itâ&#128;&#153;s Been 6 Months Since Tamir Rice Died, and the Cop Who Killed Him Still Hasn’t Been Questioned


The Tamir Rice Killing: “I Feel So Disgusted With the City of Cleveland.”


Exactly How Often Do Police Shoot Unarmed Black Men?


2 Shootings Caught on Camera, 2 Young Black Victims, Zero Charges


The Cop Who Choked Eric Garner to Death Won’t Pay a Dime


Philly Cops Shoot and Kill People at 6 Times the Rate of the NYPD


Here’s What Happens to Police Who Shoot Unarmed Black Men

Below are 13 videos of fatal police encounters recorded between March 16, 2014, and April 4, 2015. Most of the suspects killed were black. A majority of the suspects were unarmed. In three cases, the suspects killed reportedly had serious mental-health problems—which may have been known to the police in at least two of those cases at the time of the shootings.

Mother Jones has contacted law enforcement officials about the status of these 13 cases: Investigations are ongoing in eight of them. In one case, now six months old, the two officers involved still haven’t been questioned by investigators. Officers in the five other cases have been absolved of wrongdoing via local or state proceedings. (One of those five cases is currently under review by the US Department of Justice.) Three of the 24 officers total who were involved in the 13 cases are currently facing criminal charges.

WARNING: The videos below contain graphic footage that some viewers may find disturbing.

Suspect killed: James Boyd
Race: White
When: March 16, 2014
Where: Albuquerque, New Mexico
Footage from: Police-worn body camera

What happened: James Boyd, a homeless man who reportedly suffered from mental illnesses for years, was shot by Albuquerque police officers Keith Sandy and Dominique Perez after a standoff over Boyd’s hillside encampment in March 2014. Randi McGinn, the special prosecutor appointed to take over the case in April 2015, told Mother Jones that she is likely to pursue homicide charges, originally brought by the district attorney, and will make a determination in the next few weeks.

Suspect killed: Richard Ramirez
Race: White/Hispanic
When: April 14, 2014
Where: Billings, Montana
Footage from: Police dashboard camera

What happened: Richard Ramirez was in the back of a car that was pulled over by officer Grant Morrison. Morrison later testified that, after he ordered the passengers to put up their hands, Ramirez repeatedly dropped his left hand. Morrison stated that he thought Ramirez—who’d been identified as a suspect in an armed robbery the prior night—was reaching for a gun, so he shot him three times. Ramirez was unarmed. (In February 2013, Morrison shot and killed another man while on duty, and was cleared of any wrongdoing.) In January 2015, a coroner’s jury ruled the action a justifiable homicide.

Suspect killed: Jason Harrison
Race: Black
When: June 14, 2014
Where: Dallas
Footage from: Police-worn body camera

What happened: Harrison’s mother called police saying that her son was off his medication and acting out, and requested help to get him to a hospital. When Dallas police officers John Rogers and Andrew Hutchins arrived at the front door, Harrison’s mother stepped out, letting the officers know that her son was bipolar and schizophrenic. When Harrison came to the door, the officers told him to drop a screwdriver he was holding, and shot him when he failed to comply. According to the Dallas Morning News, the officers’ attorney said that they feared for their lives, because killing someone using a screwdriver would be “pretty easy. It’ll only take one blow.” In April 2015, a grand jury decided not to indict the officers.

Suspect killed: Eric Garner
Race: Black
When: July 17, 2014
Where: Staten Island, New York
Footage from: Bystander’s cellphone

What happened: In July 2014, police approached Eric Garner on a Staten Island street after Garner had broken up a fight, and then started questioning him about selling loose cigarettes. NYPD officer Daniel Pantaleo wrapped his arm around Garner’s neck from behind in a takedown maneuver and held Garner on the ground as Garner repeatedly said, “I can’t breathe.” Garner was later pronounced dead at the hospital. In December 2014, a grand jury decided not to indict Pantaleo.

Suspect killed: John Crawford III
Race: Black
Where: August 5, 2014
Where: Beavercreek, Ohio
Footage from: Walmart surveillance camera

What happened: Crawford, 22, was walking around in a Walmart holding a BB gun that had been for sale on the store’s shelves. Responding to a 911 call about a man waving a gun, Beavercreek officer Sean Williams and Sergeant David Darkow arrived at the Walmart. The officers later told investigators that Williams opened fire after Crawford failed to comply with their orders to drop the gun. A grand jury decided in September 2014 not to indict the officers. The US Department of Justice launched a review of the case last September, which is ongoing, a DOJ spokesperson confirmed to Mother Jones.

Suspect killed: Dillon Taylor
Race: White
When: August 11, 2014
Where: Salt Lake City
Footage from: Police-worn body camera

What happened: Dillon Taylor, his brother, and his cousin were outside a convenience store and allegedly matched the description from a 911 call about three men, including one brandishing a gun. Officer Bron Cruz confronted the trio and began following Taylor, who initially walked away with his back toward Cruz. Taylor then turned around and kept walking backward, and had both hands in his waistband, according to Cruz. Cruz said he thought Taylor had a gun, and he repeatedly yelled at Taylor to get his hands out, before firing two shots. Taylor was unarmed. In September 2014, the Salt Lake City District Attorney determined the shooting was justified.

Suspect killed: Kajieme Powell
Race: Black
When: August 19, 2014
Where: St. Louis
Footage from: Bystander’s cellphone

What happened: A bystander’s cellphone video shows Powell, 25, walking around outside a corner grocery store after allegedly stealing energy drinks and pastries. As he paced back and forth, a police car pulled onto the sidewalk just up the street and two police officers got out. Powell, who was brandishing a knife, began to approach the officers (whose names have not been released), telling them to shoot him. After a pause, he took another step toward the officers and they opened fire. St. Louis Metro police chief Sam Dotson later stated that Powell “came at the officers” while gripping the knife. In February, the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department did not request charges when it handed off its investigation to the circuit attorney’s office, whose probe is ongoing, a spokesperson confirmed.

Suspect killed: Tamir Rice
Race: Black
When: November 22, 2014
Where: Cleveland
Footage from: Surveillance camera

What happened: Rice, 12, was playing in a local park when someone called 911 and reported that a person, “probably a juvenile,” was waving a gun around that was “probably fake.” Police officers Timothy Loehmann and Frank Garmback pulled up to Rice in their patrol car and Loehmann got out and shot Rice almost instantly. No charges have been filed in the case. As Mother Jones first reported last week, the Cuyahoga County Sheriff’s Department, which took control of the case in January, has yet to interview the two officers in its ongoing investigation.

Suspect killed: Jerame Reid
Race: Black
When: December 30, 2014
Where: Bridgeton, New Jersey
Footage from: Dashboard camera

What happened: Reid was a passenger in a car that was pulled over for allegedly running a stop sign. Officers Braheme Days and Roger Worley approached the car, and despite verbal warnings from the officers, Reid opened his door and reportedly got out of the car with his hands up, after saying “I ain’t doing nothing. I’m not reaching for nothing, bro,” according to the Associated Press. Both Days and Worley shot him. The officers were placed on paid administrative leave pending the investigation, and Reid’s family has filed a civil rights lawsuit in federal court against the city of Bridgeton. (Days is also facing a separate lawsuit for alleged rape.)

Suspect killed: Antonio Zambrano-Montes
Race: Hispanic
When: February 10, 2015
Where: Pasco, Washington
Footage from: Bystander’s cellphone

What happened: After responding to a call of a man throwing rocks in a grocery store parking lot, three Pasco police officers tried to arrest Zambrano. They pursued him on foot, shooting at him as he ran, and they fired at close range as he turned around to face them. In the video, his hands appear to have been empty. Officers Ryan Flanagan, Adam Wright, and Adrian Alaniz were placed on paid leave, and an investigation is ongoing.

Suspect killed: Charly Keunang
Race: Black
When: March 1, 2015
Where: Los Angeles
Footage from: Bystander’s cellphone

What happened: Six police officers were responding to a 911 call about an alleged robbery and assault on LA’s Skid Row, in which Keunang was reportedly a suspect. During a struggle with police, Keunang, who reportedly suffered from mental health problems, allegedly reached for an officer’s gun, prompting several officers to open fire. The three officers who fired their guns—Sergeant Chand Syed, and Officers Francisco Martinez and Daniel Torres—have been reassigned to administrative duty and an internal police department investigation is ongoing, the LAPD confirmed to Mother Jones. Keunang’s family has filed a $20 million civil claim against the city.

Suspect killed: Phillip White
Race: Black
When: March 31, 2015
Where: Vineland, New Jersey
Footage from: Bystander’s cellphone

What happened: Responding to a call of a man acting erratically, police handcuffed and restrained the 32-year-old White. According to investigators, White became unresponsive and received CPR in an ambulance on the way to the hospital, where he eventually died. Police called it an “in-custody non-shooting death,” but witnesses on the scene said the officers beat White and that a police dog bit him in the face. An investigation by the Cumberland County prosecutor’s office is ongoing. The officers in the case, Louis Platania and Rich Janasiak, are both on administrative leave, according to news reports.

Suspect killed: Walter Scott
Race: Black
When: April 4, 2015
Where: North Charleston, South Carolina
Footage from: Police dashboard camera and bystander’s cellphone

What happened: Dashboard camera footage showed Scott running away from his vehicle after North Charleston police officer Michael Slager pulled Scott over for a broken brake light. In the following minutes, recorded on a bystander’s cellphone, Slager caught up to Scott in an open field, and after a short struggle, Scott, who was unarmed, broke free and began to run away. Slager then shot Scott multiple times from behind. Slager was fired from his job and faces a felony murder charge.

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Here Are 13 Killings by Police Captured on Video in the Past Year

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Obama Just Announced a Plan to Restrict Police Use of Military-Style Equipment

by DaniloErnst Posted on May 18, 2015

Mother Jones

On Monday, the White House announced a plan to set new restrictions on local police departments from obtaining military-style equipment from the federal government. The limitation on military gear is part of an ongoing effort to rebuild trust between community members and law enforcement officials following the unrest seen in Ferguson, Missouri, particularly the police response to protesters there.

The announcement is in response to a report put forth by a task force created by the president in December to address broken police relations, especially in minority communities, across the country. Banned items include wheeled-armored vehicles, battering rams, grenade launchers, and more.

“We are, without a doubt, sitting at a defining moment in American policing,” Ronald Davis, head of the Department of Justice’s Office of Community Oriented Policing Services, told reporters on Monday. “We have a unique opportunity to redefine policing in our democracy, to ensure that public safety becomes more than the absence of crime, but it must also include a presence for justice.”

For a deeper look into how local police departments became so militarized, check out our in-depth report, “The Making of the Warrior Cop,” here.

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Obama Just Announced a Plan to Restrict Police Use of Military-Style Equipment

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Bonus Friday Cat Blogging – 8 May 2015

by IssacG42rrwyqu Posted on May 8, 2015

Mother Jones

Well, I’m home. I slept in my own bed last night for the first time in two weeks. No cats to greet me, though, since we first have to wait for all my shiny new cells to mature a bit—enough to handle a couple of cats, anyway. The furballs will be back home in three weeks, but in the meantime here are Hilbert and Hopper lounging on my sister’s magazine pile. Sadly, the New York magazine on the far left met with a gory death a few days after this picture was taken. It is the price of cuteness.

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Bonus Friday Cat Blogging – 8 May 2015

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Tales From City of Hope #13: Badass Blogger Edition

by ArleenFriese Posted on May 5, 2015

Mother Jones

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My white blood count is now up to 2.4. More importantly, my ANC level is up to 2000. ANC is the front line of my immune system, and any number above 1000 means it’s working adequately. So if you’re sick and you sneeze on me, you are no longer likely to kill me. You’ll just give me a cold.

So I’m basically out of the woods. But not entirely. I have months of recuperation ahead, and complete success won’t be confirmed until a follow-up biopsy in 60 days. And then I have a difficult decision about whether I should enter maintenance therapy.

In the meantime, one of my sister’s graphic arts pals whipped up the image on the right. It is titled “Kevin the Badass Blogger” and available in a limited edition to those savvy enough to copy stuff from the internet. For extra credit: can you figure out whose body I’ve been shopped onto?

And speaking of images, last night I thought I’d try to improve things around here by downloading Photoshop Express to replace the crappy freeware image editing app I’ve been using. So I did. But apparently PE works only with a keyboard and mouse. It has no touch support. In 2015. WTF?

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Tales From City of Hope #13: Badass Blogger Edition

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These Photos of the Vegas Fight and the Baltimore Protests Perfectly Sum Up Inequality in America

by MohammedNHYS Posted on May 3, 2015

Mother Jones

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On Saturday night, the biggest news story in America was the welterweight championship fight between Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao, in Las Vegas (Mayweather won). The second biggest was probably the continuing demonstrations across the nation over the death of Freddie Gray: Police in Baltimore deployed pepper spray and arrested protesters defying a 10 p.m. curfew.

The two events are completely unrelated, of course, unfolding on opposite sides of the continent. But it’s hard to resist making some simple comparisons, especially when you see a photo like this one posted on Twitter by Los Angeles sports reporter Liz Habib. Just look at McCarran International Airport in Las Vegas:

So much expensive hardware was heading into Las Vegas this weekend that the airport itself urged private plane pilots to consider alternative places to land.

In attendance at the match on Saturday night was a heady mix of the superwealthy, like the CEO of CBS, Leslie Moonves—whose compensation package was worth $57.2 million in 2014, according to the Wall Street Journal—along with the usual actors and models. The match-up itself, at Las Vegas’s MGM Grand Garden, was expected to bring in more revenue than the GDP of 29 countries.

Meanwhile, protesters across the country were taking on what President Obama himself has described as decades of income inequality, lack of opportunity, and conflicts with police. Saturday night, there were more scenes of tension as demonstrators refused to comply with the city-imposed curfew:

A man was arrested and hit with pepper spray as police enforced a 10 p.m. curfew. David Goldman/AP

A woman is loaded into the back of a van after being arrested in Baltimore, Saturday night. David Goldman/AP

The timing is coincidental. But the two unfolding events starkly illustrated what could be a major theme of the 2016 elections.

“We have to be honest about gaps that exists across out country, the inequality that stalks our streets,” Hillary Clinton said on Wednesday, in a wide-ranging speech about policing, race and class. And in January, Senator Ted Cruz told Fox News that “we’re facing right now a divided America when it comes to the economy.” (He blamed President Obama.)

With images like these flashing across our screens, it’s hard to imagine this topic going away anytime soon.

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These Photos of the Vegas Fight and the Baltimore Protests Perfectly Sum Up Inequality in America

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Breaking: Freddie Gray’s Death Is Ruled a Homicide. All 6 Officers Will Face Criminal Charges.

by WalkerB27aru Posted on May 1, 2015

Mother Jones

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All six Baltimore police officers involved in the death of Freddie Gray, the 25-year-old who died in police custody last month, sparking tense protests, will face criminal charges. The announcement was made by Baltimore State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby during a press conference Friday morning. The various charges include manslaughter, murder, and assault:

Mosby told reporters that Gray’s death has been ruled a homicide and that the knife found on Gray during a search was “not a switchblade,” as Baltimore police previously alleged, and its possession was therefore “lawful under Maryland law.”

Officer Caesar Goodson Jr., who was driving the police van that Gray was transported in after his arrest, was charged with second-degree murder, along with manslaughter, assault, and misconduct charges. If found guilty, he could face up to 63 years in prison, according to the Baltimore Sun.

“To the people of Baltimore and the demonstrators across America, I heard your call for ‘no justice, no peace,'” Mosby said on Friday. “To the youth of this city, I will seek justice on your behalf.” Watch the announcement below:

This post has been updated.

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Breaking: Freddie Gray’s Death Is Ruled a Homicide. All 6 Officers Will Face Criminal Charges.

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Why You Should Be Skeptical About the New Police Narrative on Freddie Gray’s Death

by JoeannTobias Posted on April 30, 2015

Mother Jones

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On a relatively quiet night in Baltimore, the Washington Post dropped a bombshell. According to a sealed court document, a witness alleged that Freddie Gray—whose April death has triggered days of protests in the city—may have been deliberately attempting to injure himself while in police custody:

A prisoner sharing a police transport van with Freddie Gray told investigators that he could hear Gray “banging against the walls” of the vehicle and believed that he “was intentionally trying to injure himself,” according to a police document obtained by The Washington Post.

The prisoner, who is currently in jail, was separated from Gray by a metal partition and could not see him. His statement is contained in an application for a search warrant, which is sealed by the court. The Post was given the document under the condition that the prisoner not be named because the person who provided it feared for the inmate’s safety.

It’s easy to see how a sealed document like that, drafted by a police investigator, might have leaked to the press in spite of the court order, and in spite of the police department’s general aura of secrecy. If Gray’s injuries were self-inflicted, the police department is off the hook.

But as WBAL’s Jayne Miller noted, the new exculpatory allegation appears to be at odds with the police department’s earlier narrative, as well as the timeline of events:

And there’s another reason to be skeptical. Information that comes out of jails is notoriously unreliable, for the simple reason that anyone in jail has a real incentive to get out; cooperating with the people who determine when they get out is an obvious way to score points. This report from the Pew Charitable Trust walks through the conflicts in detail. According to the Innocence Project, 15 percent of wrongful convictions that are eventually overturned by DNA testing originally rested on information from a jailhouse informant. Two years ago in California, for instance, a federal court overturned the conviction of an alleged serial killer known as the “Skid Row Stabber” because the conviction rested on information from an inmate dismissed as a “habitual liar.”

Or maybe the witness in Baltimore is right—that happens too!—and what we thought we knew about the Freddie Gray case was wrong. But the department isn’t doing much to quiet the skeptics. It announced Wednesday that it will not make public the full results of its investigation into Gray’s death, “because if there is a decision to charge in any event by the state’s attorney’s office, the integrity of that investigation has to be protected.”

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Why You Should Be Skeptical About the New Police Narrative on Freddie Gray’s Death

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