Maryland Governor Larry Hogan reiterated Tuesday that he doesn’t see the point of moving forward with charges against three officers in the death of Freddie Gray, now that three other officers have been acquitted.
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Gray died on April 19, 2015 after suffering a severe spinal cord injury while in Baltimore police custody.
Pre-trial motions in the trial of Officer Garrett Miller is set to begin at 9:30 a.m. on July 27, 2016 before Baltimore Circuit Court Judge Barry Williams. The case for William Porter, the first officer to stand trial in Gray’s death, was declared a mistrial by a jury, and he was scheduled to be retried in September.
The head of the police union in Baltimore says justice has been served after prosecutors made a decision to drop the remaining charges against three officers awaiting trial.
Miller is the fifth officer to stand trial.
The death of Gray, who was black, ignited a wave of protests as debate surged nationwide over whether police use excessive force, particularly against African-Americans.
Three of the officers who were charged were black and three were white.
Responding to a question at a news conference at his Florida golf course, Trump said on Wednesday that Baltimore State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby “should prosecute herself”.
“We do not believe that Freddie Gray killed himself”, Mosby said.
Baltimore held the global spotlight for weeks in the spring of 2015 after residents there protested and rioted over the mistreatment and death of Gray while in police custody. “However, after much thought and prayer, it has become clear to me that – without being able to work with an independent investigatory agency from the very start, without having a say in the election of whether our cases proceed in front of a judge or a jury, without communal oversight of policing in this community, without real, substantive reforms to the current criminal justice system – we could try this case 100 times, and cases just like it, and we would still end up with the same result”.
All of the officers had pleaded not guilty. The prosecutor, Marilyn Mosby, announced earlier in the day that she was dropping charges against the remaining officers awaiting trial in the case. I disagree. Everybody who played a role – from Gray’s false arrest to the van driver who ignored Gray’s pleas for medical assistance – should be held accountable for his death.
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Attorneys for the officers planned a news conference later Wednesday. Six officers, three white and three black, were charged in Gray’s death. He was called to testify against Officer Edward Nero, where he said he was the lone officer who physically arrested Gray on April 12, 2015. So far, Baltimore has shown rogue police officers even when indicted, they can get away with murder.
