Baltimore Circuit Judge Barry Williams acquitted Officer Edward Nero of the assault, misconduct in office and reckless endangerment charges in connection with Gray’s arrest past year outside a West Baltimore housing complex.
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Gray died from spinal injuries previous year after he was arrested and put in the back of a police van, handcuffed but with no seat belt.
Photo of Officer Edward Nero, who has been acquitted in the Freddie Gray custody case.
Goodson was the driver of the police van that was transporting Freddie Gray on April 12, 2015.
Nero had been charged with second-degree assault, reckless endangerment, and two counts of misconduct in office.
“The state’s theory has been one of recklessness and negligence”, Baltimore Circuit Judge Barry Williams said.
The trial of an officer cleared in the arrest of a young black man who died from injuries suffered in police custody revealed deep systemic problems within the Baltimore Police Department: Officers are inadequately trained and routinely ignore rules and regulations created to keep people safe. He waived his right to a jury trial, opting instead to argue his case before judge Williams. A manslaughter trial for Officer William Porter ended in December with a hung jury.
Gray’s name became a rallying cry in the growing furor over the deaths of black men in clashes with police.
Nero is the second officer to stand trial.
Baltimore defense attorney Warren Alperstein, who watched the trial, said Nero wisely elected a nonjury trial, because a judge is more capable of applying the complex constitutional questions involving what is a proper arrest.
Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake said in a statement released after the verdict was announced that Nero will face an internal administrative review, stressing that “police officers must be afforded the same justice system as every other citizen”. “We will protect our neighborhoods, our businesses and the people of our city”.
Prosecutors tried to convince the judge that Nero was reckless for not buckling Gray in, an action required by an updated seat belt policy Nero’s attorney insists the officer never read. “Remember from a jury you get a guilty or not guilty, so it is interesting to have the judge’s full opinion”, Wood said.
Despite the acquittal, Tessa Hill-Aston, president of the Baltimore city branch of the NAACP, said she remained hopeful that someone would eventually be held responsible for Gray’s death.
According to testimony, Miller, who had jumped off his bicycle, caught up with Gray and placed him in handcuffs.
Baltimore reached a $6.4 million settlement with Gray’s family in September.
Nero’s attorney argued that his client didn’t arrest Gray and that it is the police van driver’s responsibility to buckle in detainees. In failing to do so, the officers violated the rules for a routine stop, they said. “Yes”, Police Commissioner Kevin Davis said.
Some legal analysts said the ruling was so narrowly tailored that it provides little insight to what could happen in the upcoming trials.
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“The internal investigation will not be completed until all of the criminal cases against the other five officers are completed because they will likely be witnesses in each case”, Smith said.
