NAACP Statement on Decision to Drop Remaining Charges Against Officers in Freddie Gray Case

BALTIMORE, MD — NAACP President and CEO Cornell William Brooks released the following statement on the decision by Baltimore City State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby to drop all remaining charges against the police officers involved in the death of Freddie Gray:

“We are extremely disappointed in today’s decision.  Once again, we face the painful reality that the life of yet another African American young man has been taken without a single person being held accountable.  Freddie Gray and his family will not get the justice they deserve.  Just as Trayvon Martin and his family received no justice and Eric Garner, and Michael Brown and Jamar Clark and so many others .  Lives that meant so much more than just the events on a shocking video and a hashtag.

“As of today, 547 people have been shot and killed by police this year.  Last year, 1,000 people lost their lives in police custody across the United States.  These tragedies, as well as our communities and country, demand wholesale reform.  We must hold our elected leaders accountable and demand their support for passage of policies that preserve and protect our lives.  We must demand policies that require thorough, independent transparent investigations following the shooting of unarmed civilians.  We must demand retraining of our officers on excessive use of force and de-escalation tactics.  We must demand that our U.S. Department of Justice be given the tools and the power to conduct thorough investigations; and we must demand the development of a uniform code of conduct for every single police agency across our country.

“We cannot continue to mourn these tragedies and senseless loss of lives with wringing hands and courthouse protests.  We can only continue to honor and seek justice for those lives lost by seeking and ensuring true reform and accountability.