Last week, the prosecutors failed for the fourth time to secure a conviction against a police officer in the case, and Baltimore’s police union called on prosecutors to drop the charges against three officers still awaiting trial.
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The money was needed for extra police expenses that resulted from overtime, police assistance from other jurisdictions, preparations for the officers’ trials and other costs related to last year’s unrest after the arrest and death of Freddie Gray, a young black man who was critically injured in the back of a police van. “But in three bench trials, Judge Barry Williams made clear the state had failed to prove its case”.
Persecutors representing the officers said that officers didn’t have anything to do with Gray’s death and that the previous year has been a “nightmare” for the officers.
Mosby said she and her team stood by the medical examiner’s conclusion that Gray’s death was a homicide. “Unlike other cases where prosecutors work closely with the police to investigate what actually occurred, what we realized very early on in this case was that, police investigating police – whether they’re friends or colleagues – was problematic”.
Gray’s stepfather, Richard Shipley, said family members “stand behind Marilyn and her prosecuting team”.
Gray’s case was one in a long series of high-profile deaths of black men at the hands of police over the past two years, which stirred a national debate on race and justice and fuelled the rise of the Black Lives Matter movement.
At press conference after her decision to drop charges, Mosby said her decision was based on a “dismal likelihood” of a conviction after four unsuccessful attempts in netting convictions.
“I have decided not to proceed on the case against Officer Garrett Miller, Sgt. Alicia White or relitigate the case against William Porter”, Mosby said. New prosecutors were expected to take on Miller’s case and Porter’s retrial to maintain the integrity of the immunity offers.
Sgt. Alicia D. White had been scheduled to go on trial October 13.
Wednesday started with a pretrial hearing for Miller, who had faced charges of assault, misconduct and reckless endangerment.
Mosby wasted little time in announcing charges after Gray’s death – one day after receiving the police department’s investigation while a tense city was still under curfew – and she did not shy from the spotlight.
Instead, appearing before television cameras in front of a mural in the West Baltimore neighborhood where Gray grew up, was arrested, and died, she was every bit as passionate as she was when she first announced the prosecutions. “I think it was disgraceful, what she did and the way she did it”.
Gray died of his injuries on April 19, 2015, a week after his arrest.
Prosecutors, the officers and their attorneys were all barred by a gag order from discussing the case, until after all of the officers’ cases have been adjudicated. The internal investigations for Rice, Goodson and Nero – all of whom were found not guilty of any criminal charges in Gray’s death – were already underway.
Angel Selah (left) and local artist PFK Boom gather to remember Freddie Gray and all victims of police violence during a rally outside city hall in Baltimore, Maryland, US, July 27, 2016. Officers illegally arrested Gray and didn’t put him in a seat belt to punish him for making a scene as he was being detained.
Gray “continued to yell and scream” and slam himself against the side of the van, causing the vehicle to shake, so officers removed Gray from the wagon and placed him in flex cuffs and leg shackles, according to the lawsuit.
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“We have to let the criminal justice system speak for itself”, Bates said. She also noted the “countless sacrifices” of her prosecutors in the case, including Schatzow and Deputy State’s Attorney Janice Bledsoe, and said her office will continue to “fight for a fair and equitable justice system for all”.
