by Keith L. Martin | Staff Writer
As a pair of investigations into the death of Jarrel Gray are about to close, numerous questions remain from the 20-year-old’s family attorney and the Frederick County chapter of the NAACP.
On Tuesday, NAACP chapter president Guy Djoken called upon the Maryland Attorney General and the U.S. Department of Justice to conduct a civil rights investigation into the use of Tasers by the Frederick County Sheriff’s Office.
The NAACP is also making its second request since Gray’s death that the sheriff’s office suspend the use of the ‘‘less-lethal” devices until that review and a clearer understanding of policies for their use is available.
The requests came four days after a Frederick County grand jury found that Cpl. Rudy Torres was justified in using his Taser on Nov. 18, 2007.
On that morning, Torres responded to a fight call. When Gray did not comply with his orders, Torres fired a pair of five-second jolts of electricity from his Taser at him. Gray was taken to Frederick Memorial Hospital, where he later died. Torres, a 13-year veteran of the sheriff’s office, has been on paid leave since then.
Torres has been the subject of an internal investigation by the sheriff’s office to determine whether his Taser use was appropriate; the Frederick Police Department has been investigating the circumstances of Gray’s death.
Frederick Police Sgt. Bruce DeGrange said the grand jury proceedings were the culmination of their investigation, a ‘‘common step” in such law enforcement inquires.
Sheriff Chuck Jenkins (R) said on Tuesday he is ‘‘happy with the decision” of the grand jury in clearing Torres of any wrongdoing.
‘‘I was confident knowing what I know that they came back and said the use of force and use of his Taser was justified,” the sheriff said. ‘‘...I’m very confident [in the grand jury presentation]. The handling of the death investigation by the Frederick police allows it to be done in an unbiased manner, and I have complete confidence it was handled that way.”
On Monday, DeGrange said he is finishing up ‘‘loose ends” on that investigation, and will turn over the results to Jenkins by week’s end. Jenkins also expects an internal investigation into whether Torres was justified in using the less-lethal device to be complete in the same timeframe.
‘‘It’s likely that Cpl. Torres will return to work in the near future,” Jenkins said.
Attorney Ted Williams said Gray’s parents are not surprised the grand jury did not indict Torres, as ‘‘in the history of the Frederick County police, they have never indicted a police officer in the murdering of a black man.”
Attorney: Jury did not hear all evidence
Williams said Gray’s family has several concerns about the grand jury deliberations, starting with the use of DeGrange as Frederick County State’s Attorney Charlie Smith’s lone witness on May 9.
‘‘We find it deeply troubling that the grand jury was not presented with the young people on the scene that night and witnessed what took place so they could get a fair and balanced investigation,” Williams said.
Smith said he did not contemplate calling the two other men involved in the fight to the witness stand, as ‘‘we had their statement in the [investigation] file.”
Smith said he presented all the options to members of the grand jury, including a request for further investigation and inquiry, such as hearing from other witnesses besides DeGrange.
Furthermore, Smith said he wrote Williams in February asking for information to present to the grand jury, but he received no reply.
‘‘I did not trust the state’s attorney to do anything in the best interest of Jarrel Gray,” Williams said, adding that Smith could have subpoenaed the two other men, but chose not to. He said his investigation file is the same as police had, and is therefore ‘‘flawed.”
Smith said his role in the grand jury is as ‘‘a conduit to the law and to bring facts to the grand jury.”
‘‘I am not an advocate for Rudy Torres or an advocate for Jarrel Gray ... but present [the grand jury] everything and let them ... ask questions and allow them to call further witnesses to let them make a decision,” Smith said.
Williams also said he was disappointed the Gray family was not contacted by Smith’s office prior to or after the grand jury proceedings on May 9, and that the state’s attorney has not released the complete autopsy report to them.
Initial autopsy results showed Gray’s blood-alcohol level at .18, more than twice the limit that a driver is considered legally drunk.
Smith said the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in Baltimore said that Gray experienced ‘‘sudden death associated with restraint and alcohol intoxication,” but a manner was undetermined.
‘‘[The autopsy] indicated that the Taser deployment — the restraint — coupled with the alcohol, the natural anatomical makeup of [Mr. Gray] could not be understood, so it was undetermined” why he died, Smith said.
At Tuesday’s press conference, Smith said it would be ‘‘prudent and respectful” to withhold the report until a representative of the family or a legal representative for Jarrel Gray formally requests a copy of the autopsy, citing the personal medical information about the young man in the document.
‘‘Mr. Smith has no right whatsoever to withhold that report from the family and we will have Jarrel’s father make a formal request [on Wednesday],” Williams said.
