A judge had already acquitted three other officers, including the van driver who prosecutors considered the most responsible and another officer who was the highest-ranking of the group.
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Baltimore prosecutors have dropped all remaining charges against police officers in the death of Freddie Gray, bringing to a close the case which has stretched out over the past seven months. The U.S. Justice Department has also launched an investigation into allegations of widespread abuse and unlawful arrests by the department and the officers have sued State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby, saying she intentionally filed false charges against them.
The death added fuel to the growing Black Lives Matter movement and caused turmoil in Baltimore, including large protests and the worst riots the city had seen in decades.
Over the course of the trials, prosecutors said the officers gave Gray a “rough ride”, and failed to secure Gray in the back of the van as outlined in department protocol or seek medical assistance. Miller was accused of reckless endangerment, second-degree assault, and two counts of misconduct in office.
Mosby: “We do not believe that Freddie Gray killed himself”. She said she thinks the anger will build and build in the community again because police aren’t being held accountable.
“We could try this case 100 times, and cases just like it, and we would still end up with the same result”.
“We’ve all been witness to an inherent bias that is a direct result of when police police themselves”, she said.
Reforms require Baltimore officers to wear body cameras, use seatbelts when transporting detainees, install cameras in police wagons and make it mandatory for officers to call a medic when requested, she said. “I know they lied, and they killed him”, she said.
When Mosby first took on Gray’s case, some praised how swiftly she acted. Three other officers were acquitted.
Mosby spoke Wednesday near the site of Gray’s arrest in April 2015.
“We are pissed about the decision of the trials and the outcome of all the trials that have happened here in the city”.
Richard Shipley said during a news conference Wednesday that the family “is proud to have her represent us”.
“The state’s attorney could not accept the evidence”, Ryan said. “She had her own agenda”.
Davis says those same detectives investigated and criminally charged a Baltimore police officer who is presently on trial for attempted murder. “It gets it right”, he said.
Instead of another pretrial hearing in the criminal case related to the 25-year-old’s death, prosecutors chose to drop the remaining charges against three police officers that awaiting trial.
“I think (Mosby) made a wise decision, because the judge has found in the past that the cases were thin”, she said.
The commissioner’s office said the officers are on administrative duty until a review by the Montgomery County Police Department is finished. At the time of Gray’s death, so was the police chief.
Video of Gray’s arrest drew worldwide outrage as Gray screamed while officers dragged him on the ground.
The development comes with the United States reeling from a series of new deaths of black men at the hands of police, as well as reprisal killings of police.
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His neck was broken and cdavisompressed, prosecutors said in court, comparing the spinal injury to those suffered after a dive into a shallow pool. So far, trials for four of the officers have led to three acquittals and a mistrial.
