Attorneys representing the six Baltimore police officers involved in the arrest and death of Freddie Gray are seeking the dismissal of all charges against them.
According to the New York Times, lawyers for the cops allege that State's Attorney Marilyn Mosby's office was motivated by "conflicts of interest" when they filed the charges a week ago. The Times adds that, aside from asking for the charges to be dropped, the lawyers hae also requested that Mosby be removed from the case:
The defense motion also seeks dismissal of the charges — which include second-degree murder, manslaughter and assault — against the six officers. If that request is not granted, then the motion asks for the removal of the prosecutor, Marilyn J. Mosby, the state’s attorney in Baltimore, and the appointment of an independent prosecutor to determine how the case proceeds.
Rarely in the history of any criminal case has a prosecutor so directly maintained so many conflicts of interest, the defense lawyers stated in the motion.
The motion adds: At best, the charges levied against these officers are extraordinary prosecutorial overreaching. At worst, they are something far more nefarious.
The lawyers’ 109-page document marks the first full-throated defense that any of the six officers have had since Ms. Mosby announced the charges during a nationally televised news conference on May 1 after several days of civil unrest over Mr. Gray’s death. Mr. Gray was injured while in police custody on April 12 and died a week later.
The officers—Brian Rice, Alicia White, William Porter, Caesar Goodson, Garrett Miller, and Edward Nero—will next appear in court on May 27.
[via New York Times]
