The judge will allow statements that five of the six officers accused in the death of Freddie Gray to be admitted as evidence at the officers’ trials. Attorneys for three of those officers withdrew their requests Tuesday, with the option of refiling them when their trial date nears.
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An off-duty police officer died Sunday after being shot multiple times, the fourth Memphis police officer to be fatally shot in slightly more than four years, authorities said.
Circuit Judge Barry Williams is presiding over the hearing which begins Tuesday, and is expected to last two days.
The trials will be critical for a city battered by riots and political upheaval after Gray’s death one week after his arrest.
White was involved in Gray’s transport April 12.
An autopsy revealed that Gray suffered his life-ending injury likely from the force of impact he sustained while in the back of the police van.
Lt. Brian Rice, 41, ordered the pursuit of Gray after he made eye contact with law enforcement on North Avenue; Rice was charged with manslaughter, second-degree assault, two counts of misconduct in office and reckless endangerment.
At one point Judge Williams ordered White’s lawyer to “be quiet” when he tried to interrupt Bledsoe’s questioning of Sgt. Tashawna Gaines, who was the supervisor of the two detectives who interviewed White.
The Maryland Law Enforcement Officers’ Bill of Rights stipulates that statements police provide as part of their jobs may not be used against them in court.
All six of the officers charged arrived at court, entering via a side door.
According to the Baltimore Sun, Porter reportedly told investigators that Gray asked for medical attention, but he wondered if the 25-year-old man was faking his injuries.
Five of the six officers had made statements to police carrying out an internal investigation.
The accusations against the officers stem from the April 12 arrest of Gray, 25.
The only one to decline to give a statement, van driver Officer Caesar Goodson, faces the most serious charge: second-degree depraved-heart murder. Miller and Nero also have argued their statements were taken in violation of their rights, though their filings included fewer details about the circumstances surrounding their giving statements.The motions hearing comes about a month and a half before the first officer goes to trial.
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Charges were announced by Baltimore State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby against the six officers on May 1, and the first trial in Gray’s death is set to start November. 30.
