Marilyn Mosby: Baltimore prosecutor says marriage to city councilman is no conflict of interest

Prosecutor has been in spotlight since charging six cops in the death of Freddie Gray

(Getty Images)

Perhaps no star has risen more quickly in the past few days than that of Marilyn Mosby, the Baltimore City state prosecutor who has charged six police officers in the death of Freddie Gray, whose death set off sometimes-violent protests.

But the spotlight has brought out questions of Mrs Mosby, most notably people questioning her marriage to a Baltimore City Councilman Nick Mosby and whether or not that represents a conflict of interest for her as the state’s top prosecutor.

She has shrugged off those claims, saying that her husband’s position as a city-government official does not impact her job.

“He makes the laws, I enforce them,” Mrs Mosby told CNN.

She went on to say that she and her husband live in a part of Baltimore where a number of crimes take place, and that she wouldn’t hesitate to prosecute crimes simply because they happened in her neighbourhood.

The biggest questions about conflict of interest, not surprisingly, have come from the Baltimore Fraternal Order of Police, which has asked the Mrs Mosby recuse herself from the case. She has declined to do so.

Mrs Mosby surprised Baltimore on Friday by revealing charges against all six officers involved in the arrest of Mr Gray, who died last month while in police custody. One officer was charged with second-degree depraved-heart murder.

The protests that began after Mr Gray’s death turned to riots last week, prompting a city-wide curfew and the call-up of thousands of National Guard troops to help maintain order.

The charges filed Friday calmed tensions in the city and the 10 pm curfew was lifted on Sunday. The National Guard is starting its withdrawal on Monday and is expected to be out before the end of the week.

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