Maryland law school reflects on Freddie Gray’s death, looks at what work still needs to be done

It’s almost been ten years since Freddie Gray died, and an event in downtown Baltimore Friday aimed to not only remember him but also remember what needs to be done when it comes to ensuring fair policing.

Still Rising 10 Years After Freddie Gray’s Death was put on by the Gibson-Banks Center for Race and the Law, which is apart of the University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law.

The attorney who represented Gray’s family, a former deputy police commissioner, as well as representatives from a number of organizations, spoke at the event.

Remembering Freddie Gray

No one at the event could believe ten years had gone by.

Attorney Billy Murphy represented Gray’s family in all of the legal battles after his death. He said this time of year is always hard for Gray’s family.

According to Murphy, it’s been particularly hard for Gray’s twin sister, Fredericka Gray.

“She can hardly sleep. They were twins, they were born 14 minutes apart,” Murphy explained.

Calls to action

Murphy and other speakers noted that Freddie Gray’s death did spark some needed change, like the consent decree and the implementation of a body camera program.

Though everyone agreed, there’s still a lot of work to be done.

“We are still not where we want to be in terms of public safety,” said Gibson-Banks Center executive director Monique Dixon. “We want to ensure that public safety is available to everyone, regardless of race, color, or national origin.”

Former Baltimore Police deputy commissioner Melvin Russell was in the heart of the unrest ten years ago.

“My heart was breaking for the city. It was breaking for two entities, which I was part of both: the community and the police,” he said.

Russell retired in 2019. He said while the consent decree is helpful, he argues it’s taking too long to implement.

Baltimore’s consent decree has been in effect for eight years. The city and Baltimore Police are still trying to end oversight over two sections, which would be a first in its existence.

There’s a federal court hearing about that next week.

“Don’t drag your feet, don’t treat it like a cash cow, that’s coming off the back of taxpayers mostly,” Russell said.

In his remarks, Murphy also took aim at President Trump’s administration- particularly critical of the moves to end federal oversight of police.

Murphy called the community to remember what it did after Gray’s death and to do it again to bring change to a national level.

“This is gonna be a long, long fight,” he said. “We can’t be fulfilled yet until we stop what’s going on now across the country.”