Another officer’s trial ended in a hung jury; he’s scheduled to be retried in September.
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Rice, 42, is the highest ranking officer charged in the death of Freddie Gray, who died in April of past year, one week after suffering injuries in a police transport van.
“You, your office, whoever, didn’t do what you were supposed to do”, Williams said. The prosecution indicated they could not know if those documents were relevant given they could not prove whether Rice attended training or what the training curriculum was if he did attend. A grand jury indicted the officers on all of the original charges except false arrest and illegal imprisonment. She is pressing forward in her persecution by prosecution of police officers even when this case has clearly run out of steam.
Now Rice wants a bench trial as well, on charges that also include assault, misconduct in office and reckless endangerment. He is free on $350,000 bail. Like the other cases, this one will center on whether Rice is criminally liable for Gray’s death for not properly seat belting him, and for not seeking medical attention for Gray when he asked for it. He is the fourth of six officers – three white and three black – to go before Williams, who acquitted two other officers last month.
Moments before these opening statements, prosecutors told the judge they won’t pursue one of two misconduct charges Rice faces. Rice did not place Gray under arrest; Nero, who was present for the arrest, was acquitted in May. After a brief chase, the officers shackled Gray’s wrists and legs and loaded him into a police van without seat-belting him. Williams found that the officers’ failure to follow the order did not rise to the level of criminality.
The judge refused a defense request to dismiss the case entirely.
The team headed by prosecutor Michael Schatzow turned over the material to the defense only last week, and Williams scolded Schatzow about the delay. Prosecutors have said in some cases police didn’t give them the documents in question.
Defense attorneys argue that two recent disclosures in the case revealed prosecutorial misconduct. Prosecutors allege that the officers knowingly acted against Police Department guidelines in their arrest and transport of Gray.
People who believe criminal trials are unwarranted in Gray’s death could see this as yet another example of incompetence or bad motives in the prosecutor’s office, he said, while those who believe a crime occurred will likely instead blame the police instead. The trial comes as some are questioning whether the prosecution should continue with its cases against the officers.
The judge says they can’t use 4,000 pages of Rice’s training records as evidence because they didn’t turn copies over to the defense in time.
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Williams said prosecutors should have pushed city officials or sought intervention from the courts.
