A total of six officers had been charged in connection to the death.
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The announcement closes the books on the the April 19, 2015 death of Freddie Carlos Gray, Jr., 25, who had been in a coma after being arrested by Baltimore Police the week before following a “rough ride” in a prisoner van. They announced the move at a pre-trial hearing for Mr Miller on Wednesday.
The decision from Baltimore’s state prosecutor now makes it unlikely that anyone will be punished for what was one of the most inflammatory deaths of unarmed black men blamed on police, fueling a nationwide protest movement.
“For those that believe that I’m anti-police, it’s simply not the case”. The results are expected soon.
Prosecutors also sought to have the officers testify against each other, even though some of them had not yet been tried. “She did what she had to do”, said Tessa Hill-Aston, president of the Baltimore City branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.
“We’re nowhere”, Chuck Wexler, executive director of the Police Executive Research Forum, said.
“She’s immature, she’s incompetent, she’s vindictive and that’s not how the justice system is supposed to work”, former Baltimore police commissioner Anthony W. Batts said on Wednesday.
A week later Gray died; a medical examiner determined that his death was a homicide.
Allegations were made about the police roughing up Gray when they arrested him or driving the van in such a way as to injure him. “We stand behind Marilyn and her prosecuting team and my family’s proud to have them represent us”.
Pugh says the city needs to build confidence that residents as well as police can feel safe when they leave their homes each day.
But, given Williams’ acquittal of Nero, Goodson and Rice and the likelihood that the remaining officers would also choose bench trials before him, Mosby said she had to acknowledge the “dismal likelihood” that her office would be able to secure a conviction. She alleged that “poignant questions” were not asked during interrogations and that detectives declined to serve warrants seeking text messages involving officers.
But after heartbreaking introspection and discussion with her legal team, Mosby made a decision to drop the charges against the final three officers after the others were all exonerated of all charges. The Baltimore state’s attorney has accused police officers of being biased in their investigation.
Attorney Ivan Bates, who represents White and spoke on behalf of all of the officers and their attorneys, described the a year ago as a “nightmare” for the officers.
Changes need to begin at the hiring process, says Professor Chavis-Simmons.
In September, Baltimore officials settled with Gray’s family for $6.4 million. Marc Zayon, Nero’s attorney, said Mosby had “spun a false narrative” in her prosecution of the officers with “no evidence that there was any wrongdoing”. He said the investigation was rushed and ignored findings by police who he said concluded Gray’s death was an accident rather than intentional or negligent homicide.
“We have to let the criminal justice system speak for itself”, Bates said. “It gets it right”, he said. A judge found three other officers not guilty after separate trials in May, June and July.
At the trial for Lt. Brian Rice, the judge prevented prosecutors from using Rice’s training records as evidence. Three of the six officers charged in the case had already been acquitted. “There was a political motivation and the charges were not supported by evidence”. Officer Garret Miller and Sergeant Alicia White had yet to stand trial.
Prosecutors said Gray was illegally arrested after he ran away from a bike patrol officer and that police failed to buckle Gray into a seat belt or call a medic when he indicated he needed medical treatment. He was handcuffed and shackled when he was injured.
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After Gray’s death, Mosby waited just one day after receiving the Police Department’s investigation to file charges.
