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DAY IN HISTORY
Freddie Gray Dies From Injuries in Police Custody
And becomes one of many names in history
He was a young Black man who had a troubled life in Baltimore city. He was no angel, with a record of getting in trouble. The police knew him well, but you and I wouldn’t know his name; if it weren’t for the events 10 years ago and his death on April 19th, 2015.
Freddie Carlos Gray Jr’s death sparked several days of chaos and rioting in Baltimore, Maryland. Our city became a hotbed of demands for justice and outright chaos against the police. The story quickly captured the national news audience and Freddie Gray became known to all of us.
Freddie Gray was given a “rough ride” in a van by the police. A “rough ride” is a police tactic to subdue unruly combatants. A prisoner is held inside an open van to be tossed around as the driver purposely drives erratically.
The six officers involved in the case were fuzzy on the details on what could have happened while in the van in police custody. Gray went into the police van walking and standing but came out of the police van with severe spinal cord injuries. Three days later, he died. His death created a whirlwind of investigations, allegations, finger-pointing and mayhem in the city of Baltimore.
