Skip to main content

The context you need, when you need it

When news breaks, you need to understand what actually matters — and what to do about it. At Vox, our mission to help you make sense of the world has never been more vital. But we can’t do it on our own.

We rely on readers like you to fund our journalism. Will you support our work and become a Vox Member today?

Join now

The grand jury has indicted all 6 officers in Freddie Gray’s death

The Baltimore police officers charged in Freddie Gray’s death
The Baltimore police officers charged in Freddie Gray’s death
The Baltimore police officers charged in Freddie Gray’s death
Baltimore Police Department
  1. Baltimore State's Attorney Marilyn Mosby announced that a grand jury found probable cause to indict all six officers involved in the death of Freddie Gray.
  2. Gray, a 25-year-old black man, died on April 19 from a spinal cord injury after an allegedly brutal arrest and being handcuffed in the back of a police van.
  3. The charges against the six officers include second-degree murder, manslaughter, and assault charges.
  4. Mosby said the officers will be arraigned on July 2.

The indictments

The prosecutor’s office revised its originally announced charges to add reckless endangerment counts to all of the officers’ cases, and remove false imprisonment charges.

ABC News’ Christian Schaffer tweeted the full list of indictments, which was handed out to reporters at Mosby’s press conference.

Gray’s arrest was unlawful

Mosby announced on May 1 that an investigation by her office determined Gray’s arrest was unlawful, and that his death had been ruled a homicide by the medical examiner. Police said they arrested Gray for allegedly possessing a switchblade — but Mosby said the knife wasn’t a switchblade and was therefore legal.

That announcement largely put an end to the protests and riots that broke out in Baltimore in response to Gray’s death, leading local and state officials to impose a weeklong 10 pm curfew and enlist the help of Maryland’s National Guard.

Policy
Is Trump’s Justice Department trying to discredit itself?Is Trump’s Justice Department trying to discredit itself?
Policy

The DOJ used to avoid spectacles like the Louise Lucas raid.

By Ian Millhiser
Politics
What the Supreme Court still has left to decide this termWhat the Supreme Court still has left to decide this term
Politics

Democracy and Donald Trump dominate the Court’s remaining docket.

By Ian Millhiser
Politics
The Supreme Court seems a bit nervous about letting the police track you with your phoneThe Supreme Court seems a bit nervous about letting the police track you with your phone
Politics

The justices were concerned that the Trump administration is asking for too much in a major police surveillance case.

By Ian Millhiser
Politics
The Supreme Court will decide when the police can use your phone to track youThe Supreme Court will decide when the police can use your phone to track you
Politics

Chatrie v. United States asks what limits the Constitution places on the surveillance state in an age of cellphones.

By Ian Millhiser
Policy
Pam Bondi’s ouster makes Trump’s Justice Department even more dangerousPam Bondi’s ouster makes Trump’s Justice Department even more dangerous
Policy

The best thing about Bondi was her incompetence.

By Ian Millhiser
Culture
Me Too revealed a lot of villains. Why is Epstein the one we still care about?Me Too revealed a lot of villains. Why is Epstein the one we still care about?
Culture

How the Epstein story became an American parable.

By Constance Grady