News

The Man Who Witnessed Freddie Gray's Arrest

by April Siese

A witness who happened to film the arrest of Freddie Gray just outside the Gilmor Homes housing complex in Baltimore, Kevin Moore, claims Baltimore police intimidated him by releasing a photo of him and asking the public to come forward in identifying him. Moore gave a video interview with The Baltimore Sun Thursday, describing what he saw and why he kept filming, stating that he was "tired of the police killing us and getting away with it. Black lives matter. Enough is enough." Bustle has reached out to the Baltimore Police Department for comment.

Despite Moore publicly coming forward Thursday on his own and giving the police his video footage, the Baltimore Police Department issued a request on its social media accounts on Friday, asking the public for their help in "identifying the witnesses" in a photo. The photograph, which came courtesy of CCTV in the area, is a still from the footage and only shows Moore in the center of the frame. A secondary tweet describes a lone person who was filming the incident.

Moore gave a follow-up interview with The Baltimore Sun on Saturday, speaking out about the CCTV image used by the Baltimore Police Department. He says the release of the photograph was an attempt to intimidate him, though he did not specify how. The Baltimore Police Department has not responded to Bustle or The Baltimore Sun's request for comment regarding Moore's allegations. Moore told the newspaper of the image:

What is so important that you have to plaster my picture over the Internet? I've already spoken. How do you not know that picture is me? That's me — I know that's all 6-5 and 260 pounds of me. For the police to post that picture and say you don't know who I am, that's B.S. You know who I am.

Moore lives in Gilmor Homes and was a friend of Gray's. It was Moore's uncle who alerted him to Gray's arrest. His uncle allegedly witnessed Gray being tased by police, which sprung Moore into action. Moore says he ran outside and across the street and instantly began filming. Though his video wasn't the only one recorded during the incident, Moore has certainly been the most vocal about what happened. He claims that residents and witnesses fear similar intimidation tactics from the Baltimore Police Department and thus feel less inclined to speak out for fear of retaliation.

According to the Baltimore Police Department, their investigation into what happened to Freddie Gray is expected to be completed by Friday, May 1.