A “rough ride” is police lingo for teaching someone a lesson by putting him in a police wagon without a seat belt and driving so erratically that he is thrown around. Goodson is on trial in Gray’s death.
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Goodson faces charges alleging second-degree depraved-heart murder, second-degree assault, misconduct in office, involuntary manslaughter, manslaughter by vehicles (gross negligence), manslaughter by vehicle (criminal negligence) and reckless endangerment. “Freddie Gray’s death was a tragedy, but convicting a good officer just to assign blame would make a tragic situation worse”.
Before opening statements, Williams criticized prosecutors for withholding evidence.
Critics say the city’s top prosecutor Marilyn Mosby was too hasty when she brought charges against six officers a year ago, but as the trials moved through the system, Williams’ mentors, advisers and colleagues unanimously agree that there’s nobody more prepared to handle a case with such weighty implications.
Williams concluded that prosecutors committed a discovery violation by failing to tell defense attorneys about a meeting they had with Donte Allan, the only other arrestee in the police van with Gray.
Herbert Reynolds was the state’s second witness in the trial of Officer Caesar Goodson, who faces murder, manslaughter and other charges stemming from Freddie Gray’s death.
Friends and colleagues describe Baltimore Circuit Judge Barry Williams, an African-American, as an even-handed judge who has a sense of humor but doesn’t tolerate any courtroom grandstanding.
BALTIMORE (AP) – The officer at the wheel when Freddie Gray suffered a fatal spinal injury in the back of a police van caused the young black man’s death by deliberately giving him a “rough ride”, prosecutors said for the first time Thursday as the driver went on trial on murder and manslaughter charges.
Williams will decide perhaps the most important trial in the Gray case.
He argued, instead, that Gray died of a “freakish accident” and that if he had remained on the floor of the van he would not have been injured.
Among his cases was the trial for Washington police officer Lawrence Holland, who was accused of severely beating a man at a traffic stop.
Gray died April 19 of previous year, a week after he suffered a critical spinal injury in Goodson’s wagon.
During the November trial of Officer William Porter, which ended in a hung jury, Williams placed small bowls full of candy in front of each juror, and obliged a request during deliberations for a refill. Gray had been arrested for fleeing officers unprovoked in a high-crime area.
“He did his job, and he followed instructions”, Graham said.
CNN legal analyst Andrew Alperstein said a bench trial could help Goodson. Two blocks from the arrest site, the wagon stopped again, and three officers took Gray out of the van to put him in leg shackles.
Last month, one of the arresting officers, Edward Nero, was acquitted during a bench trial.
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Police have said Allen told investigators that Gray was thrashing around in the van. Schatzow is a former federal prosecutor and longtime white-collar lawyer, while Bledsoe is a former defense attorney who briefly led police misconduct investigations under former State’s Attorney Gregg L. Bernstein.
