In a new court filing submitted Wednesday, State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby’s office claims their actions in charging six police officers helped restore order and calm the crowd after Freddie Gray’s death, saving Baltimore “before the entire city became an armed camp or was burned to the ground.”
“Mrs. Mosby was trying to calm the crowd, not incite it,” wrote Michael Schatzow for Mosby’s office, in a response to a defense motion, according to the Baltimore Sun. “Her repeated pleas for peace while the criminal justice system does its work served a legitimate law enforcement function.”
Mosby’s office was responding to attorneys for the police officers, who have asked the judge to throw the case against the officers out, and claim that Mosby’s actions have tainted the jury pool.
Mosby’s now-famous speech from the steps of Baltimore’s War Memorial where she said, “I heard your call for ‘no justice, no peace.’ Your peace is sincerely needed as I work to deliver justice on behalf of this young man,” was appropriate in light of the fact that Baltimore was reeling from a night of riots, arson and looting, Schatzow argued in his response.
He dismissed defense attorney arguments that a single news conference could have an outsized impact on the case, according to the Sun. “While there has been an extraordinary amount of publicity about this case, there has been no prosecutorial misconduct,” Schatzow wrote.
This filing comes during a critical week for the Freddie Gray case. Mosby’s office has until Friday to turn over evidence to the defense and to respond to motions they filed to have her recuse herself from the case.
Earlier this week, Gray’s autopsy was leaked to the public after Mosby’s office had tried to withhold it as “sensitive” information.
“The state is outraged that the autopsy was leaked to the public,” wrote Deputy State’s Attorney Janice Bledsoe, again urging a judge to bar trial participants from disclosing information publicly. “Even in death, Mr. Gray is not being provided with the appropriate respect that all humans deserve.”
Defense attorneys have been selectively leaking favorable information to reporters, according to Bledsoe.
