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Baltimore: Video Disputes Police Account Of Shooting

By Justin Fenton for the Baltimore Sun. The lawyer for a man shot by Baltimore police three years ago is claiming a new video shows that officers lied about the circumstances that led up to the shooting. When police officers shot Shaun Mouzon in January 2013, an officer wrote in charging documents that they did so because Mouzon had driven his car at them. But attorney A. Dwight Pettit said surveillance camera video he obtained from the city under a public records request tells a different story. "The car was stopped in traffic," Pettit said. "The allegation that their lives were in danger by the movement of the car is absolutely ridiculous and is an absolute misstatement of the facts." Mouzon filed a lawsuit in April 2014 against the Police Department and several officers involved in the incident. He filed an amended suit this week in part based on his attorneys' observations on the video. His attorneys broadened the scope of the lawsuit to allege a "pattern and practice" of brutality by the Police Department.

Who Says They Don’t Protest In DC: Protest Year In Review

By Luke for DC Indy Media. Below is a month-by-month video review of activism, primarily in the Washington, DC region. If you think there are no protests in DC this video will disabuse of that thought. In fact, it was a busy year of protests on a wide range of issues. If these videos were shown on the commercial media or covered regularly by the corporate press it would look like the United States was in revolt. Luke who made the video is based in DC but he cannot cover all the protests that go on here. For example, few protests inside of Congress are included in this video, even though there have been many. Highlights of the past year include Black Lives Matter, the Baltimore Uprising, the TPP, the Pope, the climate protests and more. Below the video is a list of the protests covered by Luke, a DC independent media maker. Luke is primarily covering DC-area protests. In reality, many cities across the country have regular protests on the economy, climate, racism, wars, low wages and more. In the last couple of years as pipelines and other carbon infrastructure is being put in place we are also seeing protests outside of urban areas. When we are in the midst of the struggle, even if we are aware of many protests, we often can still not see how active the movement for economic, racial and environmental justice is.

Hung Jury For Officer On Trial In Death Of Freddie Gray

By Julia Craven for The Huffington Post - The jury could not reach a verdict in the case of Officer William Porter, the Baltimore cop charged in the death of 25-year-old Freddie Gray. Porter, 26, is one of six officers who will stand trial in connection to the death of Gray, a black man who died after a “rough ride” in police custody in April. Porter was charged with manslaughter, second-degree assault, misconduct in office and reckless endangerment. He pleaded not guilty to all charges.

Free Your Voice Occupies MDE To Demand They Uphold Law

By Destiny Watford. Baltimore, MD - Yesterday was an intense and powerful display of commitment to our basic human rights. Nearly 200 people gathered at the Maryland Department of the Environment Headquarters to follow up on the 1000's of Marylanders calling upon MDE to enforce the law regarding the trash burning incinerator's expired permit. The plan was simple - we would form a single file line and one by one we all would drop off hand cut sunflower petitions and comments directly to MDE. What happened next was shocking. Instead of welcoming residents who have taken the time to participate and express their views on an issue of great concern - MDE locked us out with security posted at the front gate to "greet" us by telling us to go away. We did not go away. Instead we stood strong guided by what drives us - the call for justice.

Jury Hears Closing Arguments In Freddie Gray Trial

By Stephen Janis for The Real News - This is Stephen Janis reporting from the Real News Network in Baltimore. We're outside Mitchell Courthouse where closing arguments in the case of William Porter, the first officer being tried in the death of Freddie Gray, have just concluded. Our reporter Jaisal Noor has been inside the courthouse during the arguments, and is here with an update. So give us a little bit of outline of what first the prosecution said in closing. JAISAL NOOR, TRNN: I'd say that the prosecution provided a much more compelling closing argument. Jan Bledsoe, who presented the closing argument, she had the seatbelt that Freddie Gray was not buckled in

Newsletter: Heroes In The War At Home

By Margaret Flowers and Kevin Zeese for Popular Resistance. Forty six years ago this week, 21 year old Black Panther leader Fred Hampton was murdered in his bed by Chicago police and the FBI. Hampton was a hero to many in his community for the work he did to feed hungry schoolchildren, create peace in his high school and within his community as a leader of the Black Panthers. His crime was being intelligent, talented and effective. In his short life, he rattled the power structure. In the war at home - the elite's war on the poor, hungry, homeless, sick, young and old - there are many heroes. Maybe this is one aspect of the US' war culture we can embrace - honoring our heroes and sheroes. In memory of the late Howard Zinn, let's honor those who work everyday for justice and peace. We are making a difference. Let's change the culture by lifting up the change-makers - those who make the world a better place - as our role models and heroes. Let's remember people like Fred Hampton. As Bill Simpich writes about Hampton and others killed for their activism, "They died in the war at home. They died holding this country to its promises. They died so we can be free. Hold them in the place of the highest honor."

Baltimore Jury in Freddie Grey Trial Reflects Racial Makeup Of City

By Julia Craven for The Huffington Post - BALTIMORE -- A majority black jury will ultimately decide if William Porter can be found guilty in the death of 25-year-old Freddie Gray, a black man who died after a “rough ride” in a police van in April. Court officials announced Wednesday that eight black and four white jurors will decide the fate of Porter, one of six Baltimore police officers charged in Gray’s death. Porter, who is black, has been charged with manslaughter, second-degree assault, misconduct in office and reckless endangerment. A lot is hinging on the outcome of the case. Legal experts claim an acquittal couldset the tone for the other five trials.

Trial Of First Freddie Grey Officer Begins, Protesters Return

By Kevin Zeese for Popular Resistance. On Monday, November 30th, the trial of William G. Porter the first Baltimore police officer in the Freddie Grey killing began with jury selection. The Washington Post reports and other news reports all said that inside the courtroom protests could be heard/ The Post writes: "Chants from protesters standing outside in the cold, light rain filtered into the marbled courtroom: “We won’t stop until killer cops are in cell blocks.” Protesters were outside the courthouse in the morning and in the evening when court finished. The trial is expected to continue through mid-December. Protests are likely to occur throughout the trial. The Post reports "Sharon Black, 66, a retired registered nurse, stood among the demonstrators holding a yellow banner that read, 'No police terror; black lives matter.' She said that her group has been at the courthouse during each major development in the case. 'We’ve been out here, primarily to keep the pressure on.

‘Major Shortcomings’ In Baltimore Police Response

By Kevin Rector for The Baltimore Sun - As rioting erupted on Baltimore's streets in April, the city police Command Center — where top decision-makers had gathered to get a handle on the situation — was itself in disarray, according to a new review of the agency's response to the unrest. In a room designed to hold 30 to 40 people, as many as 100 had gathered, some without a clear role. The crowding was so severe that the department's 10-person Analytical Intelligence Section, which was charged with developing information that could help the department deploy resources and anticipate threats, was blocked from its own equipment — and provided just two computers to do its work.

Protestors In Baltimore After Commissioner Davis’ Confirmation

By Kevin Rector for The Baltimore Sun - After the Baltimore City Council voted to confirm Kevin Davis as commissioner of the Baltimore Police Department on Monday night, protesters briefly disrupted the proceedings before converging with other protesters in a waiting area outside the council chambers, chanting, "Back up, back up, we want freedom, freedom! All these racist [expletive] cops, we don't need 'em, need 'em." Police quickly issued warnings that there would be arrests, and the protesters — about 75 of them — moved outside, into the streets. They moved south on Commerce Street, then west on Lombard, with groups of police following them and issuing warnings for them to get onto the sidewalk.

Mock Funeral For Poverty Wages

By Danielle Sweeney in Baltimore Brew - The funeral sendoff was staged New Orleans style with a Dixieland band, Mardi Gras beads, boas and parasols. The deceased was “poverty wages,” symbolized by a black casket and eulogized by a Unitarian minister at a funeral yesterday in front of City Hall organized by Maryland Working Families. A majority of workers don’t earn enough to live with dignity was the take-away message of the afternoon. Their explicit message – Baltimore won’t prosper and move ahead unless wages rise at large institutions like the Johns Hopkins Hospital. About 80 people, many from Service Employees International Union, AFSCME, Casa Baltimore and other organizations, paraded around War Memorial Plaza and listened to speakers who called on city government to support higher wages. A few shared their experiences as low-wage full-time workers who struggle to live in the Baltimore area.

Freddie Gray Died From Same Racial Injustice Of Court System

By Julia Craven in The Huffington Post - Lawyers for the six Baltimore police officers charged in the April death of 25-year-old Freddie Gray recently attempted a similar maneuver. In May, they called for their clients' trials to be shifted outside the city, citing fears that national media coverage of Gray's death and the subsequent protests had tainted the jury pool. Last week, a judge ruled that the criminal trials will remain in the city for now and that the officers will be tried separately. There's still a chance that the trials could be moved if the judge concludes during juror selection that a unbiased jury can't be seated. But no matter where the trials take place, residents from West Baltimore -- where Gray lived -- aren't likely to sit on the jury.

Judge Keeps Freddie Gray Prosecution In Baltimore

By Kevin Zeese for Popular Resistance - In what was the most important pre-trial ruling in the prosecution of the six police offices accused of killing Freddie Gray, Baltimore Circuit Court Judge Barry Williams decided that the trial would continue in Baltimore. He wanted to go to jury selection to see if an impartial jury could be selected in Baltimore saying it was wrong to “assume they cannot be fair.” The judge said that the defense had failed to prove that the officers cannot receive a fair trial in Baltimore city saying in his ruling “The citizens of Baltimore are not monolithic. They think for themselves.” Protesters arrived early at the courthouse. There were concerns among protesters that is the judge moved the trial to the suburbs that a conviction would be impossible to achieve. If the decision had gone the other way and the trial had been moved out of the city protests against the decision would have been likely.

Baltimore To Pay Freddie Gray’s Family $6.4 Million

By Kenrya Rankin Naasel in Color Lines - The criminal trial for the six officers involved in the death of Freddie Gray isn’t set to start until October, but this morning, the city of Baltimore agreed to pay his family $6.4 million in restitution. The Baltimore Sun reports that the city’s spending panel, the Board of Estimates, is expected to approve the settlement at a meeting tomorrow. Gray’s family had not yet filed a civil suit against the city. Gray, 25, died in police custody on April 19, 2015, from spinal injuries inflicted during what Maryland State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby deemed an illegal arrest. As part of the settlement, the city accepts full civil liability for Gray’s arrest and death, but does not acknowledge police misconduct.

B’more: Cellphone Tracking Used To Violate Rights Of 2K Defendants

By Josie Duffy in Daily Kos - A recent investigation by USA Today showed that police in Baltimore have been tracking cellphones during investigations but have failed to disclose the tracking to defendants and their attorneys. As a result, public defenders in Baltimore are expected to request that "a large number" of criminal convictions be thrown out. Baltimore police have used cellphone trackers, commonly known as stingrays, to investigate crimes as minor as harassing phone calls, then concealed the surveillance from suspects and their lawyers. Maryland law generally requires that electronic surveillance be disclosed in court. […] Stingrays are suitcase-sized devices that allow the police to pinpoint a cellphone’s location to within a few yards by posing as a cell tower. In the process, they also can intercept information from the phones of nearly everyone else who happens to be nearby.
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