“Anyone who has ever struggled with poverty knows how extremely expensive it is to be poor.”
― James Baldwin
The city of Baltimore has reached a settlement with the family of Freddie Gray for $6.4 million, to be paid out over a two-year period.
On Wednesday, Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake and the city’s spending panel are expected to approve the settlement, stemming from a civil claim pertaining to Gray’s arrest and subsequent death while in police custody on April 12.
“The proposed settlement agreement going before the board of estimates should not be interpreted as a judgment on the guilt or innocence of the officers facing trial,” Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake said in a news release. “This settlement is being proposed solely because it is in the best interest of the city, and avoids costly and protracted litigation that would only make it more difficult for our city to heal and potentially cost taxpayers many millions more in damages.”
A mural memorializing Baltimore resident Freddie ‘Pepper’ Gray is painted on the wall near the place where he was tackled and arrested by police at the Gilmor Homes housing project June 9, 2015 in Baltimore, Maryland. In the wake of protests, demonstrations and riots triggered by the April 19 death of Gray, officials said the city experienced 43 murders last month, its deadliest May since 1970. People who live in Gray’s neighborhood say one of the reasons for the spike in shootings is because police have dramatically increased response time, creating an atmosphere of lawlessness in some of Baltimore’s most crime-affected areas. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
All six officers, including Edward Nero and Garrett Miller, are charged with second-degree assault, misconduct in office and reckless endangerment. Lt. Brian Rice, Sgt. Alicia White and Officer William Porter also face a manslaughter charge, while Officer Caesar Goodson faces the most serious charge of all: second-degree “depraved-heart” murder.
Three of the officers are black and three are white.
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