One of six Baltimore police officers charged in the death of an unarmed black man was on Monday found not guilty of all six charges he faced, APA reports quoting Anadolu Agency.
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Nero was the second of six city police officers who are being charged in the case to stand trial.
Prosecutors had no comment; they are under a gag order.
Gray died a week after his neck was broken in the back of a police van, where he was shackled, handcuffed but unrestrained by a seat belt.
It “would send a message that police brutality is unacceptable in Baltimore city”, he says.
Tim Maloney, a Maryland lawyer who has handled police misconduct cases but was not involved in this trial, said Nero’s acquittal raised questions for the prosecution about the remaining five trials, including whether to have police officers testify against each other.
David Weinstein, a Florida attorney and former federal civil rights prosecutor who has been following the case, said the verdict will probably serve as a “wake-up call” for prosecutors.
“Judge trials of police officers nearly always result in not guilty verdicts because defense lawyers know that judges will credit the danger of a police officer’s job on the reasonable doubt scale”, said James A. Cohen, a professor at Fordham University School of Law in New York City.
Westley West, a 28-year-old minister in Gray’s West Baltimore neighborhood, said after the verdict that he was frustrated by what he sees as a lack of accountability in Gray’s death.
Gray’s death sparked a firestorm of protests across the city of Baltimore and six officers were charged. There are videos of the incident that show Gray being put into a van obviously injured, but according to Baltimore Circuit Judge Barry Williams, it didn’t show enough to convict Nero. What’s more, the judge said Nero was reasonable in believing that the wagon driver, or his immediate supervisor who was also on scene, would belt Gray before the van drove away.
The first trial, against Officer William G. Porter, ended with a mistrial in December.
In a statement, defense attorney Marc Zayon said Nero appreciated Williams’ “reasoned judgment” and called on Mosby to dismiss charges against the five other officers accused in the case.
“Are we aware of administrative shortcomings that have existed in the Baltimore Police Department?”. Reporter: The 30-year-old police officer entered court, facing up to ten years in prison for assault.
After Gray was taken into custody, police found a knife on him.
“The state’s theory has been one of recklessness and negligence”, the judge said. Defense attorneys said the decision has set a precedent that prosecutors can cite in future cases.
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Although the judge’s ruling referred specifically to Nero’s case the other officers will be tried separately for their alleged roles he rejected almost every claim the state made at trial, repeatedly telling prosecutors they’d failed to prove any of the counts beyond a reasonable doubt. Here’s a timeline for the four other officers’ trials: Officer Garrett Miller, Lt. Brian Rice, Sgt. Alicia White and Officer Caesar Goodson Jr.
