Mr. Gray, who was black, sustained a broken neck and wasn’t breathing on April 12 when he was pulled from a police van after a… Porter is the first of six officers, three of them black, facing trial.
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His death sparked protests over police brutality, with the city of Baltimore erupting in rioting, looting and arson on the day of his funeral. He abused his power. “He failed in his responsibility”.
Police had not secured Gray with a seatbelt in the police van, which the defense has said is not unusual in Baltimore.
In a rebuttal, prosecutor Michael Schatzow angrily responded to Murtha’s impugning of witness integrity, reminding jurors of Porter’s inconsistent testimony and returned to the moment when Gray was in rough enough shape for Porter to ask Gray if he needed help (as Porter recounted in his initial interview with internal affairs).
Prosecutors and defense attorneys will deliver closing arguments in the trial of William Porter, one of six Baltimore police officers charged in the death of Freddie Gray.
Prosecutors said the driver, Caesar Goodson, initially stopped because Gray was acting out inside the passenger compartment. Officers bound him more tightly at the wrists, shackled his ankles and laid him on his stomach on the floor.
This is important because a major piece of the state’s narrative, which follows the journey of the van, is that Porter heard Gray ask for help during an earlier stop, and the officer should have taken action.
Prosecutors said that is a blatant lie.
Prosecutors said Porter is partly responsible because he ignored a departmental policy requiring officers to buckle prisoners in seat belts, and didn’t call for an ambulance when Gray indicated he needed medical aid.
Bledsoe said that Porter had changed his story several times, especially when he denied that he had told an investigator that Gray had told him he could not breathe.
Mr Porter said he checked on Gray during the stops, and he had no signs of injury.
Porter’s attorney has argued he shouldn’t be held responsible for Gray’s death because he never actually came into contact with Gray during his arrest – a claim supported by cellphone video of the incident. He faces the most serious charge of the six officers: second-degree “depraved-heart” murder.
As she wrapped up her case, prosecutor Janice Bledsoe told the jury that Porter and his fellow officers displayed “disregard for human life” in their treatment of Gray. Attorney Joe Murtha called the state medical examiner “unreliable”, NPR notes, saying the autopsy “does not explain… what happened to Gray”.
As the city of Baltimore braced for a verdict, Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake said business should continue as usual and that people must respect the jury’s decision, but the city also opened an emergency operations center as a precaution so that authorities can coordinate any necessary response.
“The community has an expectation for us to be prepared for a variety of scenarios”, Davis said.
Porter’s fate may influence the trials of the other officers and set the tone for the city’s healing.
Baltimore police canceled leave for officers who had days off from Monday through Friday.
The mayor has urged residents to remain calm.
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“Students need to understand that we support their right to express their emotions, and that we will facilitate opportunities for them to do so appropriately”, Baltimore City Schools chief executive Gregory E. Thornton wrote in a letter addressed to parents, families and community members. “We serve because we know so many good and decent Baltimoreans need us to stand in between them and crime, disorder, and chaos”.
