Freddie Gray Shooting: Top Ranking Officer Reportedly Has 'History of Erratic Behavior,' Once Mentally Evaluated
The Baltimore police officer who first "locked eyes" with Freddie Gray, prompting cops to chase and apprehend him in the arrest ending in his death, once tried to use his power to have a man involved with his ex-wife arrested.
According to The Guardian, Lt. Brian Rice has "a history of erratic behavior" that also includes him once being hospitalized for mental health issues and having his service revolver confiscated.
In the most recent incident, the New York Daily News reports on March 29, Rice contacted the nearby Westminster police department around 4 a.m. demanding that Andrew McAleer be arrested for violating a restraining order against the officer's ex-wife and mother of his son.
"Heads will roll if something happens to her or her children if you do not go arrest him," Rice told officers. He reportedly later barked, "(McAleer) would be locked up instantly," if he was working the case.
After agreeing to do a welfare check at the home of Rice's ex, fellow Baltimore police officer Karen McAleer, Westminster cops tried contacting Rice, only to realize he had given them a fake phone number.
When officers were finally able to track him down by using a police officer's directory, he endlessly quizzed them as to how they were able to get his number. Karen McAleer later told investigators she had no idea how Rice was able to obtain a copy of her restraining order.
Westminster Sgt. Nicole Ensor reported the incident to the Baltimore department, but it's unknown if Rice was ever disciplined or evaluated over the incident.
Roughly two-years earlier, Rice had a restraining order taken out against him after Karen McAleer told authorities he was stalking her and had even threatened to kill her.
The 25-year-old Gray died of a broken neck last month after being taking into custody by Rice and five other officers who have since been charged with a slew of crimes ranging from second degree murder to involuntary manslaughter to false imprisonment. His largely unexplained death led to days of protests and unrest across the city.
Rice was specifically charged with involuntary manslaughter, two counts of second-degree assault, two misconduct in office charges and false imprisonment. If convicted on all the charges, he could face up to 30-years behind bars.
The Department of Justice also recently announced it has opened a federal investigation into the case.
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