Mosby's office takes credit for calming crowd, saving Baltimore from being 'burned to the ground'

In a new court filing submitted Wednesday, State's Attorney Marilyn Mosby's office claims their actions in charging six police officers helped restore order and calm the crowd after Freddie Gray's death, saving Baltimore "before the entire city became an armed camp or was burned to the ground."

"Mrs. Mosby was trying to calm the crowd, not incite it," wrote Michael Schatzow for Mosby's office, in a response to a defense motion, according to the Baltimore Sun. "Her repeated pleas for peace while the criminal justice system does its work served a legitimate law enforcement function."

Mosby's office was responding to attorneys for the police officers, who have asked the judge to throw the case against the officers out, and claim that Mosby's actions have tainted the jury pool.

Mosby's now-famous speech from the steps of Baltimore's War Memorial where she said, "I heard your call for 'no justice, no peace.' Your peace is sincerely needed as I work to deliver justice on behalf of this young man," was appropriate in light of the fact that Baltimore was reeling from a night of riots, arson and looting, Schatzow argued in his response.

He dismissed defense attorney arguments that a single news conference could have an outsized impact on the case, according to the Sun. "While there has been an extraordinary amount of publicity about this case, there has been no prosecutorial misconduct," Schatzow wrote.

More