(TriceEdneyWire.com) - The chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus lambasted the president of the Baltimore Fraternal Order of Police (FOP) Lodge 3 for statements addressed to Baltimore State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby just before charges were brought against the officers involved in the death of Freddie Gray.

In a letter dated May 1, FOP President Gene Ryan asked Mosby to recuse herself from the case and to appoint a special independent prosecutor, citing alleged “conflicts of interest,” including Mosby’s marriage to Baltimore City Councilman Nick Mosby.

“These conflicts include your personal and professional relationship with Gray family attorney, William Murphy and the lead prosecutor’s connections with members of the local media,” Ryan alleges in the letter. He added, “Most importantly, it is clear that your husband’s political future will be directly impacted, for better or worse, by the outcome of your investigation.”

Ryan also asserted the innocence of the six officers charged in the death of the 25-year-old West Baltimore man who died of a severe spine injury while in police custody last month.

“Not one of the officers involved in this tragic situation left home in the morning with the anticipation that someone with whom they interacted would not go home that night,” the letter states. “As tragic as this situation is, none of the officers involved are responsible for the death of Mr. Gray.”

But CBC Chairman G.K. Butterfield chided Ryan for his statements. The North Carolina Democrat claimed the authority of his 30-year legal career—including stints as a Superior Court judge and State Supreme Court justice—to deem Ryan’s demand for a special prosecutor as “illogical and unfounded in the law.” He also said that Ryan’s blanket assumption of the officers’ innocence was “reckless and irresponsible.”

“You do not have the ability to make those determinations,” Butterfield said in a letter dated May 5. “It will be a jury verdict of Baltimoreans that will decide these cases after the parties present substantial evidence of guilt or innocence, not the Fraternal Order of Police.”

The congressman also called Ryan to the mat for questioning State’s Attorney Mosby’s ability to be impartial.

“These frivolous and inflammatory statements are repugnant to any citizen with knowledge of our criminal justice system,” Butterfield continues. “…You have damaged the good reputation of your organization in writing the letter, releasing it to the media, and making accusations that amount to nothing more than propaganda intended to interfere with the proper administration of justice.”