Baltimore police investigation doesn’t support some of prosecution’s charges, sources says

The Baltimore police investigation into the death of Freddie Gray doesn’t support some of the charges filed by the Baltimore City State’s Attorney, reports CNN.

Baltimore police investigation doesn’t support charges

According to the site, the most serious of the charges, second degree murder against Ceasar Goodson Jr. is not supported by the investigation.

This according to officials briefed on the separate probes conducted by the State’s Attorney and police.

A report released earlier this week announced that one of the officers involved in Gray’s death challenged a finding in Mosby’s case that a knife found on the victim was illegal.

In addition, homicide investigators who were briefed by the medical examiner’s office believed the examiner’s autopsy report would likely find the cause of death to fall short of homicide, according to one official familiar with the case. Instead, Mosby said that the medical examiner concluded that Gray’s death was a homicide and that Gray’s fatal injury to the head occurred in a police transport van that was taking him to the police precinct.

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According to an official with Maryland’s office of the chief medical examiner, where Gray’s autopsy was performed, information was shared with police investigators throughout the process, a common practice. But the official said there is only one conclusion on manner of death and that was contained in the final autopsy report delivered to Mosby on the same day she announced her decision to bring charges.

Another issue could arise from the team Mosby relied on to lead her case: one of her top investigators, Avon Mackel, is a former high-ranking Baltimore police officer who was stripped of his command post in 2009 for failing to follow through on a robbery investigation that two of his officers mishandled and did not report. A Baltimore Sun report said police in the district were accused of classifying serious crimes as lesser in order to log lower crime rates.

Marilyn Mosby

Mosby has made great strides to separate herself from a Baltimore police probe, given the widespread distrust of the department, CNN writes. In a statement, a spokesperson for Mosby defended the charges against the officers.

“While the evidence we have obtained through our independent investigation does substantiate the elements of the charges filed, I refuse to litigate this case through the media,” she said in the statement. “The evidence we have collected cannot ethically be disclosed, relayed or released to the public before trial. As I’ve previously indicated, I strongly condemn anyone in law enforcement with access to trial evidence, who has or continues to leak information prior to the resolution of this case. These unethical disclosures are only damaging our ability to conduct a fair and impartial process for all parties involved.”

You can read more on CNN.