Prosecutors dropped the charges against the remaining officers accused in Freddie Gray’s arrest and death yesterday, reports The Baltimore Sun.
Three officers had already been acquitted in the case of the 25-year-old Baltimore man who went into a coma and died a week after being arrested. Gray sustained a spinal cord injury while being transported in a police van after his arrest. He’d been handcuffed and shackled, but police didn’t secure him with a seat belt.
Gray’s death and the subsequent trials for the officers accused of being involved inspired protests in the city and across the country at a time that many Black men have died as a result of their interactions with police.
His death was ruled a homicide by the medical examiner, and the officers involved were hit with a range of charges including second-degree depraved-heart murder, second-degree assault, manslaughter by vehicle and misconduct in office.
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Many figures in the Hip Hop community reacted to the news that no one would be held accountable with frustration.
Rapper David Banner released a statement to the press, writing, “In the case of Freddie Gray, America has clearly shown that it has completely turned its back on Black people. Apparently, the laws are not the same for the Police. We lose our lives; they get paid vacation. What are Black people to do about it is a better question!”
Several others took to Twitter with their thoughts.
