Five of them are reportedly already in custody 
Six officers charged in death of Freddie Gray
Gray suffered a "severe and critical neck injury" as a result of being handcuffed, shackled and not seat-belted in the van, Mosby said.
Lorning Cornish, right, celebrates at the corner of West North Avenue and Pennsylvania Avenue after charges were announced against six Baltimore police officers in the death of Freddie Gray.
Charges against police in Freddie Gray's death prompted celebrations but also concern around West Baltimore. The six Baltimore police officers involved in the arrest of Freddie Gray – who died after being injured in police custody – have been charged criminally, State's Attorney Marilyn Mosby announced Friday. Mosby's announcement on the steps of the War Memorial Building was greeted with cheers and applause. Mosby said she told Gray's family that "no one is above the law and I would pursue justice upon their behalf."
Investigation and medical examiner reports say Freddie Gray's death a homicide. Baltimore City State's Attorney Marilyn J. Mosby will file charges against all 6 officers involved in the arrest. (Baltimore Sun)
The city was gearing up for another round of demonstrations after the announcement. Baltimore City and Maryland state offices granted workers in the city liberal leave early Friday afternoon.
After the charges were announced, Desmond Taylor, 29, shouted in jubilee in front of the War Memorial Building. "I did not expect this, but I prayed for it," he said. "This day means that your actions bring consequences in Baltimore City."
Reacting to news of the charges, President Barack Obama called it "absolutely vital that the truth come out." "What I think the people of Baltimore want more than anything else is the truth," the president said. "That's what people around the country expect."
All six officers were in custody and being processed at Baltimore Central Booking and Intake Center as of 2 p.m., said Gerard Shields, a spokesman for the department of Public Safety and Correctional Services.
Officer Caesar Goodson Jr., 45, who was the driver of a police van that carried Gray through the streets of Baltimore, was charged with second-degree murder, manslaughter, second-degree assault, two vehicular manslaughter charges and misconduct in office. A man who answered the phone at Goodson's home declined to comment and hung up the phone.
Officer William Porter, 25, was charged with involuntary manslaughter, second-degree assault and misconduct in office. Lt. Brian Rice, 41, was charged with involuntary manslaughter, second-degree assault and misconduct in office. Sgt. Alicia White, 30, was charged with involuntary manslaughter, second-degree assault and misconduct in office. Officer Edward Nero, 29, was charged with second-degree assault and misconduct in office. Officer Garrett Miller, 26, was charged with second-degree assault, misconduct in office and false imprisonment. If convicted of all charges, Goodson would face up to 63 years in prison, Rice would face up to 30 years and Porter, Nero, Miller and White would face up to 20 years.
Kevin Moore, who shot video of Freddie Gray's arrest, shows his support for City State's Attorney Marilyn Mosby's decision to charge the officers involved in Gray's death. Gray, 25, was chased down and arrested by Baltimore officers on April 12 and died a week later.
'Thorough' investigation
In a detailed recounting of the events, Mosby described Gray being repeatedly denied medical attention by police officers, even as he asked for medical help and later was unresponsive in a police van. She also said his arrest was illegal, performed without probable cause. A knife found in his pocket was not an illegal switchblade, as police had previously reported, Mosby said.
"I got hugged by someone I don't even know," said Kristyn Porter, 23, of East Baltimore.
Porter said she had business to attend to nearby, but when she heard the announcement would be made at War Memorial, she stopped to listen.
"I'm happy justice was served, and things can calm down now," Porter, who works in security, said. "The only other thing people are angry about is the curfew."
She and her friend, Raquel Burke, 23, said they hadn't been able to attend any of the marches so far.
"Now I want to go to this one," said Burke, eyeing a flyer for a rally at City Hall at 2 p.m. Saturday.
Reactions on the streets were a mix of celebration and lingering concern.
National and local reaction to charges in Freddie Gray case
In West Baltimore, cars honked their horns. A man hanging out of a truck window pumped his fists and yelled; "Justice! Justice! Justice!"
At the corner where Gray was arrested, 53-year-old Willie Rooks held his hands up in peace signs and screamed, "Justice!"
In Gilmor Homes, the neighborhood where Gray was arrested, things were quiet, with a police helicopter circling overhead. At the intersection of North and Pennsylvania avenues, the scene of rioting Monday and demonstrations all week, traffic moved through with many motorists honking their horns.
Meech Tucker, 23, wearing a T-shirt that read, "I Bleed Baltimore," said: "If it was one of us doing that against a police officer, it would be first-degree murder."
Waiting to catch a bus near the Western District Police Station, Joann El-Amin said her husband called to give her the news about the officers being charged. "Everyone should be punished if they did something wrong," she said.
But she wasn't keen on the protests that turned violent.
"I just wish they'd stop this foolishness; the people tearing up their own neighborhoods. It makes no sense. I told my son, who works downtown, to go home and not get caught up in it. ...You don't know if the crowd is peaceful or full of foolish people. I didn't need to protest. I knew it would come out in the wash," she said.
Dwayne Wright, 44, said: "An indictment is not a conviction. They had to do something. I definitely feel leaders could have done it in other cases."
Michael Hall, 52, said he hoped the charges weren't filed just in an attempt to calm violence in the city.
"I hope she doesn't pin it on one of them when it's time for trial," he said. "Are they gonna stick by these charges?"
At Baltimore City College High School, seniors Desmond Campbell and Briana Carrington hugged as they watched in their classroom the announcement that officers would be charged in Gray's death.
"I was feeling very liberated and vindicated – it literally could have been me," Campbell said. "This is such a powerful movement."
Next steps
The arrested officers will have their bail set by a court commissioner within 24 hours. If they are not released or cannot post bail, they will go before a judge in District Court the next business day.
If they are held, Shields wouldn't say where they would be placed in the jail, citing "security reasons."
More statements on the charges are expected over the course of the afternoon. Gray's family and their lawyer are scheduled to speak at 5 p.m.
Baltimore Sun reporters Yvonne Wenger, Meredith Cohn, Erica L. Green, Jessica Anderson, Kevin Rector, Erin Cox, Justin Fenton, Mark Puente, Doug Donovan, Liz Bowie, John Fritze, Jean Marbella and Alison Knezevich contributed to this report.
pwood@baltsun.com
twitter.com/pwoodreporter
, can these isolated outliers please stop already! Some reason police from totally different states seem to be making alot of similarly poor decisions; I wonder why that is?
. CGI must have taken it out of cell phone footage 
.
!
civil rights/rule of law/democracy
