Baltimore State’s Attorney Marilyn J. Mosby said the knife was legal under Maryland law when she first announced charges May 1 against Nero and the other officers, but prosecutors backed away from that argument after the officers argued that the knife was illegal under city code.
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BALTIMORE A police officer charged in the Freddie Gray case chose Tuesday to stand trial before a judge rather than a jury, eliminating a potential wild card in the divisive and emotionally charged case. All are misdemeanors. Five other officers are also facing charges over Gray’s death ranging from misconduct in office to second-degree murder.
Nero was one of two officers who arrested Gray, 25, in April 2015.
Jury selection in Nero’s trial had been scheduled to begin on Thursday, but the request for a bench trial could see witness testimony start as early as Wednesday.
Nero’s decision means Circuit Judge Barry Williams will hear the case. Attorneys for the officers say it was illegal and his arrest was justified.
“The stakes are high”, said attorney Warren Alperstein, who is not involved in the case.
“A judge is more capable and able to properly rule on the legal issues in this case compared to a layperson in a jury”, Alperstein said. They are not charged in Mr Gray’s death.
“Unfortunately it does deprive the community of having a voice and participation in this case and it can only rely upon the judge making an impartial ruling”, said Doug Colbert, a law professor at the University of Maryland School of Law. After finding a knife in Gray’s trousers pocket, police put him in the back of a police van, where he suffered a serious neck injury.
Nero and Miller, both members of the Baltimore Police Department since 2012, are charged with second-degree assault, misconduct in office and reckless endangerment. “Common sense dictates that officers would simply not make arrests if they were subject to criminal prosecution if it was later determined that probable cause did not exist”, the defense wrote in court papers.
The trials for the officers have been on hold for about five months while attorneys argued about whether the officers should be forced to testify at one another’s trials.
Porter, who is set to be retried in September, along with Miller, could be compelled to testify in Nero’s trial.
Gray’s death sparked protests and then riots across the city and fueled national controversy over the deaths of young black men in police custody. He also denied the news organization’s access to sealed documents, and reporters would continue to be barred from taking pictures or copying any evidence presented during the trials.
The first trial, that of Officer William Porter, ended in a hung jury in December.
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Williams also refused to discuss any conversations he may have had with Porter’s jury regarding whether they were instructed not to talk to the media even after the conclusion of their service.
