Prosecutors dropped a misconduct charge Thursday against the highest-ranking Baltimore police officer charged in the death of Freddie Gray.
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Lt. Brian Rice has chosen to be tried by a judge, the same one who acquitted two fellow officers in Freddie Gray’s April 2015 death. Both officers who were tried previously opted for bench trials and have now been acquitted. Sgt. Alicia White, Officer Garrett Miller and Lt. Rice filed motions last Monday to have their charges dismissed on the basis of wrongful prosecution, NBC News reports.
Moments before these opening statements, prosecutors told the judge they won’t pursue one of two misconduct charges Rice faces. His death prompted days of peaceful protests and prompted rioting across swaths of the city that suffered millions of dollars in property damage. He is free on $350,000 bail. The officers have said that while resisting arrest, Gray was so violent that they could not restrain him without risking officer safety and that the ride to the police station was not a “rough ride”. They say questions have been raised about the prosecution’s investigation prior to charges being filed. The prosecution will also have to decide during that time about re-trying Officer William Porter, whose case ended with a hung jury. Prosecutors have said officer training is a key aspect of the case against Rice and other officers, as it may prove they violated BPD guidelines.
At a pretrial hearing on Tuesday, July 5, Lt. Brian Rice elected to have a bench trial, according to WBAL, which also reported that Judge Barry Williams ruled against dropping charges in Rice’s case.
The City of Baltimore State’s Attorney’s Office did not immediately reply to Complex’s request for comment.
Later, she clarified that her homicide determination “is a definition that has no standing, legally”, and simply means “death at the hands of another”.
Defense attorneys argue that two recent disclosures in the case revealed prosecutorial misconduct. A few blocks later Goodson stopped the van, and the three officers took Gray out of the compartment to secure him in leg shackles.
On May 1, 2015, Baltimore City State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby announced that the medical examiner had ruled the death a homicide and that her office had charged all six officers involved.
“His conduct was a gross departure of what a reasonable officer would do”, and constitutes criminal negligence, Chief Deputy State’s Attorney Michael Schatzow said.
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But Williams also found that Goodson was not criminally responsible for failing to seat belt Gray and said there was “insufficient” evidence to determine that the failure to secure Gray with a seat belt caused his death. Edward Nero and the van’s driver, Caesar Goodson, were acquitted of all charges.
