A digest of Baltimore news from local sources.
From The Washington Post: A Look at Recent Payouts in Police Custody Deaths Nationwide
"A city in South Carolina approved a $6.5 million settlement Thursday with the family of an unarmed black man who was fatally shot by a white police officer.
"The North Charleston City Council voted 10-0 in favor of the settlement with the family of Walter Scott.
"Scott, 50, was fatally shot April 4 by North Charleston officer Michael Slager while trying to run from a traffic stop. A bystander recorded the shooting with a cellphone.
"The settlement follows several other million-dollar-plus payouts in recent years involving police deaths."
Read about other settlements in the full article
From The Baltimore Sun: Jury Selection Offers Preview of Freddie Gray Prosecutions
"Fifty prospective jurors sat in a stately Baltimore courtroom for the trial of a young black man arrested during the April protests when Circuit Judge M. Brooke Murdock posed a question:
"Does anyone 'have strong feelings regarding the protest and the ensuing response following the death of Freddie Gray?'
"Four stood up. But then, someone asked Murdock to repeat the question.
"Twenty-one stood up.
"The scene playing out in downtown's Clarence M. Mitchell, Jr. Courthouse Wednesday could provide a glimpse of the challenges ahead for prosecutors, defense attorneys and a judge in seating an impartial jury in the high-profile trials of six Baltimore police officers charged in Gray's arrest and death. The first trial — of Officer William Porter — is scheduled for Nov. 30."
From The AFRO American: Faced with Lawsuit, Housing Asks Baltimore Residents to Report Sexual Abuse
"The Housing Authority of Baltimore City (HABC) recently sent a letter to residents explaining the agency’s sexual harassment policy and requesting residents report any instances of the same by housing employees, contractors, and vendors to the police or HABC.
"‘Signed’ by Housing Commissioner Paul Graziano, the letter states that, 'I am writing to let you know personally that the Housing Authority of Baltimore City . . . prohibits its employees, contractors and vendors from engaging in vulgar, unprofessional or inappropriate conversations and conduct, including sexual harassment. Sexual harassment involves unwelcome sexual advances, requests or demands for sexual favors and/or verbal or physical conduct and physical contact of any nature.'
"Recently, lawyers representing seven women residents of Gilmor Homes, the Sandtown-Winchester housing project where Freddie Gray grew up, filed a lawsuit against HABC, claiming that the women were subjected to demands for sexual favors in exchange for maintenance and repair work required by law.
"The two attorneys who filed the lawsuit on behalf of residents, Cary Hansel and Annie Hirsch, released a statement taking Graziano to task for waiting until now to inform residents about the policy and complaint process."
