Freddie Gray | The Mind of Brosephus

I didn’t want to post much of my viewpoint on this because I know it would run counter to what many others would perceive. However, I was sickened by the details of Freddie Gray’s final trip that was released this morning. Knowing that he was handcuffed, shackled, and rode face down in the transport van without being secured by a seat belt runs counter to any transport policy that I’ve ever heard of.

There have been so many “leaks” from law enforcement that turned out to be false narratives that it’s almost impossible to think the police or someone close to the officers were not trying to control the narrative in the face of the facts presented this morning. This story has followed the same trajectory as the previous issues of people dying at the hands of the police. It’s always “protect the officer’s reputation/credibility at any cost and slander the victim no matter what the truth says”.

As an officer, I have no problem with defending fellow officers when their actions are lawful and necessary to do the job. At the same time, I cringe when I see people going out of their way to defend officers who are in the wrong. Many times, we’re faced with split-second decisions where there is no right or wrong action at the moment it’s needed. I don’t Monday morning quarterback such decisions because I don’t think you can justifiably criticize those decisions when you are not in the same environment that the decision was made. However, there’s no way to justify covering up every day procedural violations which is what I picked up on first in this case. Even then, I had no idea the issues were as bad as they’ve been told.

C’mon Baltimore, I was hoping better for you. You’re falling into that same trap that springs anytime the Black community seeks to highlight and protest perceived injustices to the community. We’ve seen how this ends several times, and it’s not going to be any different from the previous cases.

Freddy Gray’s death is tragic, even more so because it came at the hands of those who are sworn to protect and serve. While the family has questions they want answered, that doesn’t give others the right to tear down their own community. What does that solve? Ask the people in Los Angeles about that. They’re still recovering from the 1992 riots in some areas.

Instead of tearing up your own community or threatening to kill cops (like that’s going to automatically make things soooo much better), why not do as the protesters did in the 1960s. When marchers were beaten on the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, they didn’t burn down the town, they peacefully completed what they set out to do. The Freedom Riders who were assaulted in Anniston and Montgomery had all the reason in the world to exit their buses with an open can of whoop ass in hand, but they did the complete opposite, even in the face of danger.

Quit tearing things down, because it makes it that much harder to build up. Most of this stuff appears to be done by teenage kids, so that makes me wonder where are the parents in all this? Do you know whereabouts of your child or children? Are they out there acting stupid and setting themselves up to carry a criminal record for the rest of their lives like a dumbass.

That’s all that’s going to happen. You act stupid. You get arrested. You get stigmatized for the rest of your life and then you blame others because you can’t get a job or do anything else. As I tell my daughter every day, “Each and every thing you do causes something else to happen.” You make a dumb or stupid decision, then you have to bear the consequences of your actions just as you would reap the benefits of a good or smart decision.

Don’t use the death of Mr. Gray as some reason to act like an idiot. If you’re angry about how the police is treating you or the people in your community, don’t commit vandalism or threaten violence as a response. You catch more bees with honey than you do with vinegar. If there’s really injustice going on, then use non-violence just as our parents and grandparents did. You can always provoke a bully into lashing out and making himself look bad without having to stoop to his level.