Thursday, April 30, 2015

A Complete Take-down of the Lies Being Spread by Shaun King - Freddie Gray

Freddie Gray being arrested by police, standing on his own
Today, 4/30, Commissioner Batts told reporters there was another stop that police did not know about until after the investigation.

Baltimore Sun timeline (My comments in red):
8:40-8:46 a.m. 1700 Block of Presbury St ‐ Police pursue Gray and eventually apprehend him two blocks away at 1700 Presbury.  (A transportation van is called)
Stop 1: 8:46 -8:54 a.m. Mount St and Baker St ‐ Police re-position Gray at Mount and Baker streets
Police say Gray is acting “irate” in the back of the van. The van is stopped and Gray is placed in leg shackles and repositioned in the van. Residents again describe a violent encounter. (8 minutes off travel time)
baltimore
Map of Freddie Gray's arrest transport
Stop 2: 8:54-8:59 a.m. Previously unknown stop at N. Fremont Ave. and Mosher St. (five minutes off travel time)
Stop 3: 8:59 a.m. Druid Hill Ave. and Dolphin St.
As the van travels toward Central Booking, the driver again stops near the intersection of Druid Hill Avenue and Dolphin Street and calls for an officer to check on Gray. (I would have to assume this stop took at least 10 minutes for another officer to arrive and check on Gray, so the 8:59 in the next entry could be deceiving)
8:59 – 9:24 a.m. Travel from Druid Hill and Dolphin St. to 1600 North Ave ‐ Police pick up a suspect
The van travels back to W. North Avenue and picks up a second suspect. (A little over 1 mile)
9:24 a.m. 1000 block of N. Mount St, Western District station ‐ Police travel to the Western District station where they call paramedics
The drive alone would take at least 13 minutes - factor in three stops that would, at a minimum, add another 20 minutes = 33 minutes.  



A complete takedown of the lies spread by the Baltimore PD and Washington Post on Freddie Gray
by Shaun King for Daily Kos
(Excerpts - my comments in red)
2. It took the police nearly 38 minutes to get him to the police station, but it's only a two-minute drive away.
 Gray was being transported to Central Booking, not the Police Department.  Central Booking is a 12 minute drive from where Gray was arrested.  Regardless of where they ended up after the 2nd passenger was picked up, they were not going to the police station initially.
4. 8:54-8:59 a.m. Travel from Mount and Baker to Druid Hill and Dolphin St ‐ Police travel to Druid Hill and Dolphin when they get a call to return to 1600 North Ave.
Again, it has now been 13 minutes since Gray was arrested, the police station is two minutes away, and they still have not gotten him there yet.
They were headed toward Central Booking, not the police station.
This certainly lends itself to the theory that the police were doing what's called a "rough ride", where they deliberately drive erratically to injure a passenger.
The second passenger said that was not the case.
(UPDATE) The Baltimore Police just admitted on Thursday, after security camera footage was released from a private business, that the van made at least two more stops that were not reported or included in their original timeline.
One more stop.  Even the source you linked to in the above states ONE.
Perhaps no lie being told, though, is more disturbing than the one the Baltimore police are leaking to/through the Washington Post—that Gray injured himself in the van. It is irresponsible for the Washington Post to advance this lie, and it's corrupt for the Baltimore police to be leaking it to advance a false narrative to protect them.
Your source: Jayne Miller, journalist with WBAL (30 yrs?):
As a guest on Lawrence O'Donnel's MSNBC program last night, Miller says she got the information about Gray being "relatively quiet" from the Baltimore Police Department, not Batts as she stated in the above tweet.

Who's lying? The day before Miller's tweet, Batts told a reporter:

April 22, 2015
Bubala: “What happened in that van?  Do you have any better idea about exactly what happened?
Batts: “The second prisoner who was picked up is that he didn’t see any harm done to Freddie at all. What he has said is that he heard Freddie thrashing about. The driver didn’t drive erratically, wasn’t slamming on breaks wasn’t turning corners fast or in an irrational way.

Bonus article from Jayne Miller:
Jayne Miller interviews witness who says Gray was thrown into the van after being shackled.  Jayne notes this is the second stop.

Monday, April 6, 2015

Kendrick Johnson: Bell Family files Answers to $100 Million Lawsuit


The family of Kendrick Johnson filed a $100 Million lawsuit against 38 individuals in Lowndes County, Georgia, three of those being the Bell family of Valdosta. The suit alleges that Richard Bell, FBI agent, commanded his sons to kill Kendrick Johnson. This is after the attorneys for the Johnson family, Chevene King and Benjamin Crump, were made aware of the fact that both boys had air tight alibis when Kendrick Johnson climbed into a wrestling mat to retrieve a shoe and died. The attorneys know full well that social media would quote the lawsuit countless times, earning money and more recognition for the case, so the facts do not matter.  Anyone can file a suit against anyone for anything.  Lawyers should be held accountable for filing frivolous suits....oh wait, they are sometimes held accountable...Chevene King owes over $90,000 for the last frivolous suit he filed.

The Bells are counter suing and the US Attorney will likely be adversely affected by this sham of a "review" that somehow turned into an "investigation" in the past year. The official cause of Kendrick Johnson's death is an accident.  Attorney Crump is losing favor with the DOJ because of his last high profile case, Michael Brown in Ferguson. The media has seemingly shut him down as well. Hopefully this will be the last time he ruins the lives of innocent people just to make a name for himself.

  Bells Family Answers to $100 Million Lawsuit