He argued that the detectives in the case did a thorough job and he called the state’s attorney’s comments “outrageous” and untrue.
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In April 2015, the 25-year-old Gray died while in police custody in Baltimore, one in a series of deaths of African-American men at the hands of law enforcement.
The incident also sparked the growth of the Black Lives Matter movement in the country. Police said his death was an accident.
Mosby was asked about her critics that said all along that she made a rush to judgement. The medical examiner in the case ruled Gray’s death a homicide.
Officer William G. Porter was charged with involuntary manslaughter, second-degree assault, misconduct in office and reckless endangerment. “[The officers] received due process, the verdict was rendered, and, at the end of the day, I believe justice was served”, she added.
The press conference took place on the block in west Baltimore where Gray was apprehended by police.
Mosby, who comes from a long line of police officers, told reporters she isn’t anti-police.
The case also led the police department to overhaul its use-of-force policy.
On Wednesday, after losing the first four trials, she gave up on the case. Others, however, said there wasn’t enough evidence to convict the officers. “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”.
Evidence, he said, showed there was no wrongdoing.
Attorney Ivan Bates, who represents White and spoke on behalf of all of the officers and their attorneys, described the past year as a “nightmare” for the officers. “She acted too quickly”, said David Weinstein, a former state and federal prosecutor now in private practice in Florida. “The criminal justice system is only one of those ways”.
Ultimately, Mosby and her staff felt dropping the charges would still be the best way to continue reforms within the police department despite not getting a conviction. They are still subject to internal investigations.
“We knew the community would need a transparent assessment from an independent third party”, the commissioner said. Yes, that’s basically what she said. “The typical officer, they’re not being given any true incentive to turn in an officer that they know or they see is doing something improper”.
Gray died from spine injuries sustained while being transported in a police van in 2015.
Miller was compelled to testify at Nero’s trial under a limited form of immunity created to protect his constitutional right against self-incrimination while freeing him to speak about the events that transpired on the morning of Gray’s arrest.
By the time the van arrived at the police station, Gray was unresponsive. His neck was broken and compressed, prosecutors said in court, comparing the spinal injury to those suffered after a dive into a shallow pool.
The decision to drop the remaining charges was disclosed during a pretrial motion for Officer Garrett Miller, whose trial was scheduled to begin this week.
Attorneys for the officers planned a news conference later Wednesday.
Wednesday’s decision came after a judge acquitted three of the six officers charged in the case, including the van driver and another officer who was the highest-ranking of the group. A fourth case had initially ended in a hung jury and further scheduled trials will now not happen.
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“Even lawyers are sometimes shocked at how hard it is to hold prosecutors responsible for patently improper actions”, he said about prior cases. But they still face administrative reviews and possible discipline.
