Legal expert Doug Colbert and Baltimore activist Tariq Toure respond to developments on Day 12 of the trial of William Porter for the death of Freddie Gray
Story Transcript
TITLE CARD: On Tuesday the jury for the trial of officer William Porter told the court they are ‘deadlocked,’ judge Barry Williams responded by instructing the jury to continue deliberating. The jury will reconvene Wednesday at 8:30 AM. We spoke to legal export Doug Colbert and activist Tariq Toure for their response. DOUG COLBERT: It means that after one day of discussion and exchanging ideas that the jury feels that it cannot reach a verdict. And so giving that information to the judge, tells the judge, go back and keep talking about this and try to resolve your differences. JAISAL NOOR, TRNN: So what do they, what’s the significance of it? COLBERT: Well, that, that we know that the jury’s been working hard. That they’ve been engaged in serious conversation. And that there’s a, a serious difference of opinion of at least one or more jurors. NOOR: Does this increase the likelihood of a hung jury, and therefore a mistrial? COLBERT: Well, it’s still only day one in my mind. So I’m going to hold off on that and see what happens. If we’re still here on Thursday that would be more significant. TARIQ TOURE: I’m out here right now in solidarity of course first and foremost with the people of Baltimore. With the people, the grassroots. And lastly with Freddie Gray’s family who actually had to lose their son to the gestapo policing we’re actually witnessing right now. I’m also here because there’s a story that’s being told in the media right now that, that the city is in complete tension. That everything is right on the tip of the scale of going haywire. And that is not exactly true. People are going about their daily lives right now. And I think it’s unfortunate that places who control the narrative like that are pushing this story, that you know, Baltimore is about to explode. It is not about to explode. People have been working on the ground, have been going about their day. I just came from an after school program that I run with kids, mentoring them. And first and foremost, these kids, they don’t have this case on their mind. The people, adults, they’re going to work, different things like that. What I will say is that’s causing tension is the fact that we have all these militarized troops here, we have this occupation that’s going on that resembles places like Palestine, that resembles places like Iraq. And it’s going on in our neighborhoods in the inner city. And what it is is normalizing military occupations in our neighborhoods. So I think it’s unfortunate, first and foremost, that we had to have this going on right now, because it’s inciting people to do something. It’s inciting people just like when the kids were met with police in riot gear outside of Douglass High School. My nephew was one of those kids. He was met with that. And he said himself that I felt like I was already being attacked, just by their presence being there. So Baltimore police, Anne Arundel police and whatever police department has come here are actually causing more harm just by their presence and all this type of Iron Man crazy gear and all that type of stuff.
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