Carson: ‘Somebody did something inappropriate’ during Gray arrest

Ben Carson on Thursday said that “somebody did something inappropriate” during the arrest of Freddie Gray, the Baltimore man who died after sustaining a fatal injury while in police custody.

When asked on CNN’s “New Day” whether he supported the decision of Baltimore prosecutor Marilyn Mosby to charge six officers in the case, the GOP presidential candidate said he believed she was in a tough position.

“I certainly recognize the fact that there is something that went wrong, somebody did something inappropriate, and therefore she understood, I believe that, she was sitting on a powder keg and needed to do something to calm the situation down,” Carson said while appearing on CNN’s “New Day” Thursday morning.

{mosads}“I look at six police officers. … I don’t think all of them did something wrong,” the he added. “But probably, during the arrest process, considering the kind of damage that was done to the spinal cord, some inappropriate pressure was applied to the spine by someone.”

Mosby’s office has alleged that the officers failed to strap Gray into a police van following his arrest and then ignored his cries for help. They also say the arrest was based on a groundless charge.

The Gray case led to weeks of peaceful protest over problems with the justice system in the Maryland city. Last week, a group of people in Baltimore rioted — drawing national media attention.

Carson is meeting community leaders in Baltimore, The Baltimore Sun reported, where he once led the pediatric neurosurgery department at Johns Hopkins Hospital, on Thursday — though not in the section of the city that experienced the greatest violence.

He said on Thursday that he thinks that one way to address tensions between communities and police is to introduce officers to the community in a “pleasant, nonthreatening way.”