By Canadian Press

Top Baltimore prosecutor Mosby wins Democratic primary

Jun 26, 2018 | 9:15 PM

BALTIMORE — Marilyn Mosby won the Democratic nomination Tuesday for a second term as Baltimore’s top prosecutor, despite a tenure that has been marred by discord with police and a soaring homicide rate.

The dominating win for the tough-talking prosecutor in the hard-fought primary effectively means she gets another four-year term as the state’s attorney in Baltimore, as the city is overwhelmingly Democratic and no Republican filed to run.

Early in her first term, Mosby made international headlines in 2015 when she declared that six police officers would be held accountable for the broken neck of a young, black man whose death in custody triggered riots and protests.

Even without delivering a conviction, Mosby trumpeted her leading role in the Freddie Gray case since many Baltimore residents admired her decision to swiftly charge the officers involved in the case. She is popular in neighbourhoods whose residents have a strong mistrust of city law enforcers due to years of discriminatory and unconstitutional policing.

At a polling station in West Baltimore, not far from where riots erupted following Gray’s April 2015 death, many voters said they were backing Mosby.

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“Honestly, she had my vote when she charged those police. Nobody is above the law, and when she charged them it made me feel like more of a citizen,” retired train conductor Warren Lee said after voting in Sandtown.

Lamont Crosby, another registered Democrat, said he supported Mosby because he felt she stood up to the Baltimore Police Department.

“If the Baltimore city police doesn’t like her for charging their officers, then she’s definitely my candidate,” 42-year-old voter Lamont Cosby said with a laugh.

In Tuesday’s contest, Mosby beat Democratic challengers Ivan Bates and Thiru Vignarajah. The two lawyers both ran aggressive campaigns, hammering away at details of her record and questioning her decision-making during the 2015 tumult.

Baltimore’s soaring rate of homicides was another lens through which many residents viewed Mosby’s re-election bid.

But she was able to counter her rivals’ criticism by saying her staff had a felony conviction rate of 92 per cent and her prosecutors had targeted violent criminals, decreased recidivism, and protected crime victims and witnesses.

There’s a lot at stake: Her job is one of the few city posts with power to tame the city’s scourge of violent crime.

The challenges for Mosby will just keep coming during her second term. Baltimore is struggling to tackle its high rates of violent crime, her office still has a strained relationship with city police, and a federal consent decree mandating sweeping police reforms is gradually ramping up.

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David McFadden, The Associated Press