Sunny and cooler today, with highs in the upper 80s and a reasonable amount of humidity. Clouds will roll in tomorrow, with more humidity and a chance of afternoon storms.
The state medical examiner’s autopsy report on Freddie Gray leaked to The Baltimore Sun. The report describes how Gray’s lethal spinal injury came from a “high-energy” impact, likely when the police van made a sudden stop or turn. Based on the injuries and the known timeline of events, the medical examiner marked Gray’s death as a homicide, not an accident, due to acts of omission by the involved officers (failures to properly restrain Gray or to seek immediate medical attention for his injuries).
Last night’s storms took down trees and knocked out power for thousands across the area. BGE says it’s restored power to 60,000 customers overnight, but a few thousand more are still in the dark.
Gov. Larry Hogan will ask the Maryland Motor Vehicle Administration to stop issuing Sons of Confederate Veterans license plates featuring a Confederate flag design. Some state lawmakers want to go one step further, recalling the currently-issued plates with the design (there’s about 175 of the plates in circulation). Last week, the US Supreme Court ruled that state’s could reject Confederate flag license plates without violating the 1st Amendment.
“The unrest had nothing to do with my decision to charge, I just followed where the facts led. This is not something that was fast, or in a hurry. From the time that this incident occurred, we were out there conducting our own investigation and working with the police department. There is nothing that we’ve done differently in this case.”
+ Also receiving the national magazine treatment: Baltimore City Health Commissioner Dr. Leana Wen, “the Busiest Woman in the World.”