President Obama said it is “absolutely vital that the truth comes out” about what happened to Freddie Gray, commenting briefly on Friday’s surprise announcement that Baltimore’s top prosecutor is charging six policemen for the death of the Baltimore man.
The president, who was meeting with persecuted journalists late Friday morning, said he hasn’t had the opportunity to see the nature of the charges. He refrained from wading in any further, saying he has a policy of not commenting on legal proceedings, although he stressed that “justice needs to be served” in the Gray case.
“It is absolutely vital that the truth comes out on what happened to Freddie Gray,” he said. “It is my practice not to comment on the legal processes involved. That would not be appropriate, but I can tell you that justice needs to be served.
“All the evidence needs to be presented,” he added.
Over the last few days as the more violent and destructive riots have subsided, allowing more peaceful demonstrators to gain recognition, the president said he is gratified to see “constructive, thoughtful protests.”
He also emphasized that the police charged in the case are entitled to due process, so “I want to make sure that our legal system runs the way it should.”
The Justice Department and Attorney General Loretta Lynch are in communications with Baltimore officials to offer assistance in the investigation, he said.
“What I think the people of Baltimore want more than anything else is truth,” he said. “That’s what people around the country expect.”
Baltimore State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby on Friday declared Gray’s death a homicide and said his arrest was illegal and the treatment he encountered while in custody amounted to murder and manslaughter.
Mosby leveled the most severe charge — second-degree depraved heart murder — against the driver of the police van while other officers involved face charges of involuntary manslaughter, second-degree assault, false imprisonment and misconduct in office.
All the officers involved the night of the April 12 incident failed to get medical help even though Gray requested it multiple times while in police custody. When police saw Gray that night, he ran and police chased him down, arresting him for carrying what they said was an illegal switchblade.
Mosby, however, said the switchblade that officers accused him of having was in fact a legal knife, giving them no reason to arrest him.
