Hillary Clinton Tweets About Freddie Gray's Death

After a night of protests that turned violent, Hillary Clinton tweeted about Freddie Gray's death, and the message she expressed was an important one from such a high-profile figure. In a tweet that was signed -H, marking that Clinton herself actually penned the statement, the presidential hopeful wrote that she was praying for everyone in Baltimore and also called Gray's death a "tragedy." Clinton wrote:

Tonight I am praying for peace & safety for all in Baltimore, & for Freddie Gray's family - his death is a tragedy that demands answers. -H

Gray died after suffering a spinal cord injury that left his spine 80 percent severed at his neck, according to an autopsy. The injury was sustained while he was in police custody, and Gray died a week later. Six officers have since been suspended, but how the injury happened is still unclear. The Baltimore Police Department is investigating the incident, and Bustle has reached out to the department for comment. But there are answers that are desperately needed, and soon, as Clinton so succinctly stated.

Clinton didn't comment on the death of Michael Brown in Ferguson until a few weeks after it happened. But when she did, it was poignant. During a prepared speech, she asked white people to imagine what it would be like to be black and face the injustices that black Americans face every day. That statement still rings true today.

She said about Brown:

Imagine what we would feel and what we would do if white drivers were three times as likely to be searched by police during a traffic stop as black drivers instead of the other way around. If white offenders received prison sentences ten percent longer than black offenders for the same crimes. If a third of all white men – just look at this room and take one-third – went to prison during their lifetime. Imagine that. That is the reality in the lives of so many of our fellow Americans in so many of the communities in which they live.

In her speech where she spoke about Brown, Clinton said we can't ignore the inequalities that persist in the American justice system. That's exactly what protesters in Baltimore are saying as well. The demonstrators are calling for justice, answers, and accountability by police officers. After the deaths of so many black Americans after meetings with law enforcement — Gray, Brown, Eric Garner, and Tamir Rice are the most well-known — everyone, including Clinton, is asking for answers.