Baltimore state’s attorney Marilyn Mosby brought proceedings against Officer Edward Nero and five other cops after Gray died from a spinal cord injury following his arrest and transport in a police van.
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There’s no question that Officer Nero’s decision to ignore police rules and fail to place a seat belt on Gray led to his death. One of six Baltimore police officers charged in the death of an unarmed black man was on Monday found not guilty of all six charges he faced, APA reports quoting Anadolu Agency.
“The state’s attorney for Baltimore City rushed to charge him, as well as the other five officers, completely disregarding the facts of the case and the applicable law”, Zayon said. Nero, the second to be tried in Gray’s case among the six officers that were charged, was accused of six charges including a second-degree intentional assault. His trial is set to begin June 6.
“It’s called guilty by association”, Tyler said about Nero’s role in the arrest.
Protesters chased a group of Nero’s relatives into a parking garage and yelled, “No justice, no peace”. “Therefore, the verdict for each count is not guilty”, Williams said.
“Gray did not kill himself”, West said. The trial ended with a hung jury.
“If you have an overwhelming legal issue that better plays in front of a judge on the law, as opposed to the emotions of twelve people, you will go for a bench trial”, said Rene Sandler, a Maryland defense lawyer and former prosecutor.
It was not immediately clear what, if any, effect Monday’s verdict could have on the cases against the other officers or if the remaining defendants would also choose to have their cases decided by a judge rather than a jury. Gray was critically hurt while in police custody a year ago, dying a week after he was arrested. Goodson is charged with second-degree murder. She said the corrupt culture of policing in Baltimore is on trial.
Williams also rejected prosecutors’ charges that Nero arrested Gray without justification and assaulted Gray during the arrest. Judge Barry Williams (an African-American) openly scoffed at the prosecutors’ claim that an arrest without probable cause is a crime that is the equivalent of an assault. Bystanders captured cell-phone video of officers restraining Gray with handcuffs and leg before placing him in the back of a police van. The officers, with Nero’s help, loaded Gray back into the van, sliding him into the compartment on his belly and head-first.
So far that’s 0- 2 for Mosby’s office and it’s fair to say that there is little reason for optimism in the Baltimore City State’s Attorney’s office securing the convictions of any of the remaining police officers awaiting trial, and certainly extremely unlikely that all will be convicted in a sudden (and impossible) turnaround of prosecutorial good fortune. However, that charge later was dropped, the Wall Street Journal article notes.
According to testimony, Miller, who had jumped off his bicycle, caught up with Gray and placed him in handcuffs.
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Though Nero is now free of criminal charges, he will still undergo an internal investigation and remains on administrative leave for the time being.
