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Prosecutors remove false imprisonment charge, add reckless endangerment.

Photography: Megan Sherman

Scripted: Stephen Janis


Story Transcript

STEPHEN JANIS, INVESTIGATIVE REPORTER, TRNN: A major development today in the case of six officers charged in the death of Freddie Gray, who died shortly after his arrest in April. Baltimore prosecutor Marilyn Mosby announcing that a Baltimore grand jury had indicted all six officers on a variety of charges, from second degree murder to reckless endangerment, excluding the charges of false imprisonment. It is another step in the process that separates this case from other controversial police-involved deaths where the grand jury declined to charge, including the case of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri and Eric Garner in New York. It is also a blow against critics who have been calling the case weak, among them the Baltimore City Police union, or the FOP, which was the subject of a protest yesterday. And lawyers representing Alicia White, one of the six officers charged in connection with the case, who also called the charges specious. – I think what you’re going to see as the covers are yanked off this investigation, you’re going to see a number of things that will raise concerns. JANIS: The public announcement from Mosby comes just a week after her first public appearance since the indictments were announced, when she said she couldn’t talk about the details of the case, but did say she was not surprised about the onslaught of criticism of her decision to charge the officers following the death of Gray. BALTIMORE STATE’S ATTORNEY MARILYN MOSBY: I’m just doing my job. I’m not surprised by anything. Nothing surprises me at this point. JANIS: Next up for the six officers will be an arraignment hearing that has not yet been scheduled. Reporting for The Real News Network, Stephen Janis in Baltimore.

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Host & Producer
Stephen Janis is an award winning investigative reporter turned documentary filmmaker. His first feature film, The Friendliest Town was distributed by Gravitas Ventures and won an award of distinction from The Impact Doc Film Festival, and a humanitarian award from The Indie Film Fest. He is the co-host and creator of The Police Accountability Report on The Real News Network, which has received more than 10,000,000 views on YouTube. His work as a reporter has been featured on a variety of national shows including the Netflix reboot of Unsolved Mysteries, Dead of Night on Investigation Discovery Channel, Relentless on NBC, and Sins of the City on TV One.

He has co-authored several books on policing, corruption, and the root causes of violence including Why Do We Kill: The Pathology of Murder in Baltimore and You Can’t Stop Murder: Truths about Policing in Baltimore and Beyond. He is also the co-host of the true crime podcast Land of the Unsolved. Prior to joining The Real News, Janis won three Capital Emmys for investigative series working as an investigative producer for WBFF. Follow him on Twitter.