July 18, 2016 – The prosecution’s case further unravels when Lt. Brian Rice, the highest-ranking officer charged in Gray’s death, is acquitted by the judge. Officers didn’t put Gray in a seat belt to punish him for making a scene during his arrest. Goodson had faced the most serious charges, including murder, and was portrayed as the officer most culpable by prosecutors.
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A protestor holding a signe in Baltimore, Maryland during the Fredie Gray Verdict of officer Caesar Goodson, who drove the van in which Gray was fatally injured.
Gray died from spinal injuries sustained while in police custody. The city became a focal point of the Black Lives Matter movement and the nationwide debate on excessive police force. Shortly after the announcement that charges would be dropped, a defiant State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby held a news conference, saying there was “a reluctance” and “an obvious bias” among some officers investigating Gray’s death. He is charged with second-degree assault, reckless endangerment and two counts of misconduct in office.
Michelle Dickens, 55, comforted Gray’s mother, a distraught Gloria Darden, who was surrounded by friends and neighbors in a show of support after Mosby spoke. She says she wanted the remaining officers to continue going through the legal process, but that she understands the decision.
“We could try this case 100 times, and cases just like it, and we would still end up with the same result”. Three more trials were scheduled.
“I think it was disgraceful what she did and the way she did it, and the news conference that she had where they were guilty before anybody knew the facts”, Trump said.
“She said we don’t trust the police to do an investigation of their own members so we went out and did our own investigation”, Henslee said.
“As a chief prosecutor elected by the people of Baltimore city, I made a promise that my prosecutors and I will never cower from our obligation to prosecute crimes when we believe that we have probable cause that a crime was committed”, Marilyn Mosby said.
When Mosby first took on Gray’s case, some praised how swiftly she acted. So far, trials for four of the officers have led to three acquittals and a mistrial.
The decision was announced at the start of pretrial motions for Garrett Miller, who was the next officer to stand trial. Alicia White was scheduled for trial in October.
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Defense attorneys representing all the police officers were huddled together in a meeting Wednesday morning in Baltimore discussing the decision by prosecutors.
