It’s a good thing articles are written, because speechless is the Word of the Day. A Baltimore representative to the Maryland General Assembly is proposing that “rough rides”—or transporting prisoners and suspects to jail with intent to injure them—be prohibited. A “rough ride” is being cited as the reason behind the death of 25-year-old Freddie Gray in April 2015.
Gray was shackled and handcuffed but not buckled into his seat in a van. Video of Gray’s arrest shows him limp and not walking on his own before being taken on the ride to police headquarters. Gray died about a week later from a severe spinal injury. His death sparked several days of unrest in Baltimore, including arson. Six police officers have been charged in his death. The first of the six trials ended in a mistrial and the remaining trials may have to be rescheduled.
It is the policy of the Baltimore Police Department to buckle all detainees with a seatbelt, but it wasn’t done in Gray’s case. It also wasn’t done in several other cases. Even though it is policy.
Lawmakers have proposed legislation that would force every jurisdiction in the state to install seat belts in police vehicles, make it a crime not to seek medical help for a detainee, mandate video recording inside vans and require police to put helmets on prisoners.
The Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee has scheduled a hearing for the rough rides bill and other police-related legislation on Tuesday.
Baltimore police have lost several lawsuits — some with multimillion-dollar awards — that alleged detainees were hurt during rough rides. In 2005, the relatives of Dondi Johnson Sr. won a $7.4 million court judgment because he was paralyzed and later died after a police van ride that left his neck fractured.
Sigh.
