This is an incident which begs an emotional response, but is poorly served by one. Some people are quite ready to blame this on a racist police force, ignoring the fact that it is composed of approximately 50% black officers. Others are ready to exonerate police actions in the situation due to Gray's arrest record and the story of him thrashing around in the police van. What needs to happen is a thorough and open investigation that includes a panel of impartial judges, black, brown, and white. Such a panel should be established to examine future instances of deaths in the event of the deaths of people who die in the process of arrest or during custody, black, white and brown. Body cams should be thoroughly examined as a means of heading off unwarranted police violence.
What I do not agree with is the notion that a situation like the Gray death is obviously an example of police abuse or brutality and the officer(s)involved is already guilty. This is why we have a justice system. If you don't agree with the way it works, then you are certainly free to go elsewhere, or join a vigilante mob. Hearing demonstration leaders chant "no justice, no peace" is to me simply a ploy to use the riot, arson, and lootings as a threat to put pressure on the authorities to manufacture a guilty verdict without a thorough examination of the facts.
Is there police injustice and unnecessary police violence in cities like Baltimore? I absolutely think so. Should our response be based on anger and hate? I should think it should instead be calm, measured, thoughtful, and thorough, with an eye toward true justice and not appeasement of the mob, toward learning lessons that will prevent future events like this if proper procedures can be met, and toward allowing police departments to engage in the work they have to do...dealing with people from the model citizen to the traffic violator to the most sick, violent, disturbed, irrational individuals on earth in a measured and reasonable way. That's a job no one in this conversation would be willing to do, I would guess.