Prosecutor charges 6 Baltimore officers in man’s death

Walter Newsome, of the Bronx, participates in a news conference in front of New York City Police headquarters, Thursday, April 30, 2015, in New York, to demand an end to violent, hyper-aggressive policing. AP

BALTIMORE— Baltimore’s top prosecutor announced criminal charges Friday against all six officers suspended after a black man suffered a fatal spinal injury in police custody, saying “no one is above the law.”

Freddie Gray’s arrest was illegal and his treatment in custody amounted to murder and manslaughter, she said.

“Mr. Gray’s death was a homicide,” State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby declared.

The announcement came after nearly two weeks of growing anger over Gray’s death, and only hours after Mosby received the results of a police investigation.

Mosby announced the stiffest charge — second-degree “depraved heart” murder — against the driver of the police van. Other officers face charges of involuntary manslaughter, assault and illegal arrest.

Mosby said the switchblade officers accused Gray of illegally carrying clipped inside his pants pocket was in fact a legal knife, and no justification for his arrest.

Mosby said she comes from five generations of police officers, and that the charges against these six officers should in no way damage the relationship between police and prosecutors in Baltimore.

Her announcement came as the city braced for two move waves of protests Friday and Saturday focused on the case.

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