Rice is the fourth of the six officers charged to go on trial in the 2015 death of Freddie Gray.
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Williams, who heard the case without a jury at Rice’s request, said prosecutors failed to show the lieutenant was aware of a departmental policy requiring seat belts for prisoners during transport.
Defense attorneys said Gray’s “belligerent” behavior that morning made it too unsafe for officers to climb into the van’s cramped prisoner compartment and seat-belt him. “It’s a waste of time and money”, Hogan said.
Williams acquitted the officer facing the most serious charges last month, as well as another officer in May. Goodson, the van driver, and Nero were both recently acquitted after bench trials.
Porter, who will be retried in September, was forced to testify under immunity granted by the state. Rice faces charges six charges including second degree murder and manslaughter.
The president of Baltimore’s police union on Monday called the acquittal of a third police officer charged in the death of Freddie Gray evidence that the other cases will end in a similar outcome, and urged the prosecutor to drop the charges. Officers Edward Nero and Officer Cesar Goodson were acquitted in a bench trial by the same judge.
Two more officers face trials in the days ahead, and Officer William Porter will face a retrial. While Brown was not involved in the Freddie Gray trial, his legal expertise presents a harsh and sobering look at the case that galvanized the nation, motivated a movement, and threatened to tear a city apart at its seams.
Williams said prosecutors had failed to meet their burden of proving the charges beyond a reasonable doubt, instead asking the court to rely on “presumptions or assumptions” – something it can not do.
Tawanda Jones, West’s sister, stood by West’s mother, Diane Butler, and other family members. He died the same day at a hospital.
Baltimore Police Lt. Brian Rice has worked with the Baltimore Police Department since 1997.
“They rushed to judgment, and I have been saying that for quite some time now”, he said.
Sen. Catherine Pugh, the Democratic nominee for mayor, also released a statement, reminding residents to “exercise patience and respect for the judicial process”.
His death triggered protests and rioting in the mainly black city and stoked a national debate about how police treat minorities. To date, no police officer has been held criminally responsible for Gray’s death while in police custody as the result of what was an unlawful arrest. Gray died a week after this incident. Judge Williams was led to ask prosecutors if the failure to restrain someone is equal to a criminal act?
Defence lawyer Warren Alperstein, who was observing the trial, said he was “not surprised by the verdict whatsoever”. These are the two major people in charge of making the decisions.
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An activist law professor at George Washington University is calling for the disbarment of Baltimore Chief Deputy State’s Attorney Michael Schatzow and Deputy State’s Attorney Janice Bledsoe for their roles in the Freddie Gray trials. Rice is the fourth of the six officers charged to go on trial in the 2015 death.
