Williams acquitted Baltimore police officer Edward M. Nero of all charges stemming from the arrest, transport and death of Freddie Gray.
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BALTIMORE (AP) – The trial of an officer cleared in the arrest of a young black man who died from injuries suffered in police custody has exposed deep systemic problems within the Baltimore Police Department: Officers are inadequately trained and routinely ignore rules and regulations created to keep people safe. The circumstances leading to his controversial death sparked protests clamoring for justice. The National Guard responded, and a curfew was imposed. Now after two trials and zero convictions, the prosecutor, Marilyn Mosby, seen here, is facing criticism that she rushed to file charges against the six police officers. The trial of the first officer took place back in December. Prosecutors are looking to take him back to court in September.
“The state’s theory has been one of recklessness and negligence”, Baltimore Circuit Judge Barry Williams said. Nero’s parents and his brother sat in the front row; a few rows away, Gray’s stepfather. Cogen signed and filed the initial charging documents in the case, outlining the state’s probable cause. She granted TV interviews, posed for magazine photos, and even appeared at a Prince concert held in Gray’s honor.
After the acquittal, Nero’s lawyers sought to send a strong message to her.
A previous version of this article misstated the sentencing requirements for two of the charges against Officer Edward Nero. He says the prosecution of the officers has destroyed their lives and demolished the relationship between the city’s police department and the state’s attorney’s office.
None of the parties involved is permitted to comment due to a gag order in the case. “The state’s attorney was trying to balance what she had with the public outcry and call to action given the climate in Baltimore and across the USA concerning policing, and I think she was overreaching”. “He was no threat to the officers; the officers were a threat to Freddie Gray”.
In the lawsuit, White said she heard Gray breathing, but concluded he was not in distress, but was being uncooperative.
John Nero, center left, and Edward Nero, center right, brother and father of Officer Edward Nero, one of six Baltimore city police officers charged in connection to the death of Freddie Gray, are escorted out of a courthous.
Gray, 25, died a year ago from spinal injuries prosecutors say he suffered in the back of a police transport van, where he was shackled but unrestrained by a seat belt.
The police commissioner acknowledged the failings on Tuesday and announced a new program to help make sure officers read and understand general orders and policies. “We feel like we must punish people that we perceive as criminals, not realizing that jail time in and of itself is punishment”, she says.
Kelly focused on the legal charges against Nero. “There has been no evidence that the defendant intended for a crime to occur”.
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“The district attorney down there was playing to the crowd”, Bratton told WNYC’s Brian Lehrer. “It’s the prosecution that keeps on giving”.
