US Politics Mega-thread - Page 1912

A leaked police document that claims Freddie Gray was “intentionally trying to injure himself” while in the back of a police van in Baltimore after his arrest is being questioned due to inconsistencies with earlier reports.

Gray died a week after his videotaped April 12 arrest due to injuries sustained under uncertain circumstances while in police custody, sparking protests in Baltimore and around the nation.

The Washington Post reported on Wednesday night that a prisoner who was in the van with Gray allegedly told investigators he could hear Gray "banging against the walls" of the police vehicle, and said he believed Gray was "intentionally trying to injure himself," according to a document written by a Baltimore police investigator.

The initial shock of the report quickly transitioned to uncertainty and skepticism after questions were raised over the details. WBAL's Jayne Miller told MSNBC that the Post’s story was “inconsistent with what we reported.”

“We have reported for some time that by the time that prisoner is loaded into that van, Freddie Gray was unresponsive. Secondly we have no medical evidence that Freddie Gray suffered any injury that would indicate that he had injured himself,” Miller told MSNBC's Chris Hayes on Wednesday night.

Gray was only in the van with the second prisoner for the final five minutes of the ride, Miller told Lawrence O’Donnell on Wednesday evening. There is “no evidence [Gray was] banging [his] head against van,” Miller tweeted. Jane Cook, an attorney for the Gray family, called the report “speculation” as she had seen no evidence supporting it.

Jason Downs, another attorney of the Gray's, told the Post the prisoner's statement was new to them.

"We disagree with any implication that Freddie Gray severed his own spinal cord," Downs said. "We question the accuracy of the police reports we’ve seen thus far, including the police report that says Mr. Gray was arrested without force or incident."

On April 30 2015 21:37 Plansix wrote:
I am pretty suspicious of a statement from a person the post cannot confirm exists and the original record is sealed. Its 3rd hand information without corroboration or support. And I have zero trust of any statement from the police union, as their solo purpose is to defend the interests of officers.

And I don't even know the logistics of severing your own spine. Like, how do you accomplish that in a moving van?

On May 01 2015 02:46 wei2coolman wrote:
Would definitely suggest listening to this NPR article.

Racism runs a lot of ways.

On May 01 2015 03:42 Millitron wrote:

All I got from this is that Travis Fonseca is an asshole.

Can you really blame the shops for not hiring locals if they're the kinds of people who loot and steal?

Can you really blame that shop for not letting him borrow a shirt? I mean what the fuck. What kind of moron expects to be able to borrow something from a store. How stupid do you have to be to think they might let you?

On April 30 2015 23:48 heliusx wrote:
I have to concur, I wouldn't believe anything the union says. Its literally their job to protect their members.

On May 01 2015 03:59 Anesthetic wrote:

So then we can say the same for any pro-black organization/figure?

I think this is basically what this whole issue boils down to. We have a police force that disproportionally targets blacks (minorities) and then proceeds to try to excuse it and lie.However on the other hand we have the pro-black organizations and the the social justice movements that will do the very same thing and absolve any responsibility from the victim and accuse police officers without any proof. Both sides are wrong in a large number of aspects and are very hypocritical. The only difference between the two is that the police force has actual power and can get away with their wrongdoing much easier.

On May 01 2015 04:02 Plansix wrote:
Well the pro-black organization/figures are not preforming internal investigations or claiming to provide "evidence" that was found in the case. They also don't collect dues directly from the black communities paycheck.

And the answer is yes if they are lying or fabricating things. But there also are not "sides". There are many players in these and trying to boil it down to "sides" is oversimplify the entire event.

And yes, I am aware that some of the very leaders are trying to boil it down to sides. But those folks suck.

On May 01 2015 04:09 Anesthetic wrote:

While I understand this sentiment I have to point out that one of the biggest iconic chants from the protests "hands up don't shoot", was based on the single testimony of a friend of Mike Brown's and there is absolutely zero evidence to support this from any other witness so its pretty clear that this was made up.

Like I said, if blacks were in power they would pretty much be doing the same thing. As someone that has actually lived around blacks for the vast majority of my life I can guarantee you that they harbor just as much racism as whites, but like I said they simply don't have the power to do anything and get away with it.

On May 01 2015 04:24 Plansix wrote:

Yeah, and a black reporter for the Times came out and said it was wrong, receiving a ton of abuse for it. People bet on the wrong horses sometimes. However, there is no denying the fact police kill way to many people in this country and a lot of them are black. To many of them are unarmed and the events surrounding the death are questionable. That the police are buying up to much surplus military gear.

We have a problem with our police in many parts of this country.

And I don't give a shit about who is more racist than who. Trying to justify one sides shit by proving the other side is shitty is bush league. Its just an excuse not to look at your own problems. I'm not black, so I'm not going to pontificate to them how they should handle their problems. But I sure as hell am going to point out racism among whites.

Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) said in a recent interview that he'd "look at" a planned U.S. military training exercise that conspiracy theorists believe may be a cover for the implementation of martial law.

Des Moines, Iowa radio host Jan Mickelson asked the Republican presidential candidate in an April 21 interview whether he was up to speed on the training exercise dubbed "Jade Helm" that's scheduled to take place in several southwestern states.

"You know I've gotten a few questions about it on the road and I really don't—" Paul responded. "I'm not sure about exactly what is going on with that."

"It's making some people nervous, but it doesn't take much to make people nervous nowadays," Mickelson said. "If you get a chance to, I'd like to know what the rest of the story is on that."

"We'll look at that also," Paul assured him.

A spokesman for Paul did not immediately respond to a request for comment from TPM on Thursday.