Baltimore's spending panel on Wednesday approved the payout of $6.4 million to the family of Freddie Gray to settle the threat of a federal lawsuit; a decision the head of the police union calls "obscene."
Baltimore City Fraternal Order of Police President Lt. Gene Ryan criticized the decision by Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake's administration to reach a settlement before the trials of six officers charged in the death of the 25-year-old who died week after his arrest.
"To suggest that there is any reason to settle prior to the adjudication of the ending criminal cases is obscene and without regard to the fiduciary responsibility owed to the taxpaying citizens of the City," Ryan said in a statement "There has been no civil litigation filed nor has there been any guilt determined that would require such a ridiculous reaction on the part of Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake and her administration."
The union's president went on to say that the decision will further strain the already rocky relation between police officers and lawmakers in the city.
When the settlement was approved Wednesday morning, Ryan told a local radio show host that "Baltimore taxpayers should blow up the Mayor's phone expressing their dissatisfaction."
Rawlings-Blake contends that the settlement agreement should not be interpreted as a judgment on the guilt or innocence of the police officers facing trial.
" The settlement is in the best interest of the city, and avoids costly and protracted litigation that would only make it more difficult for our city to heal and potentially cost taxpayers many millions more in damages," she said in a statement.
A hearing on whether to move the criminal trials for the six charged police officer out of Baltimore is scheduled for Thursday morning.
Paul Peluso | Editor
Paul Peluso is the Managing Editor of OFFICER Magazine and has been with the Officer Media Group since 2006. He began as an Associate Editor, writing and editing content for Officer.com. Previously, Paul worked as a reporter for several newspapers in the suburbs of Baltimore, MD.
