He says officers from out of town and tactical equipment will be used only “if absolutely necessary”.
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Gray’s death sparked protest and rioting.
Baltimore Police Officer William Porter, 26, is the first of six officers to be tried.
The jurors – three black men, four black women, three white women and two white men – resumed deliberating around 8:30 a.m. Wednesday. The autopsy concluded the injury probably occurred as Gray was slammed against a wall during cornering or braking. “The crux of the state’s charges is that Porter failed to act as a ‘reasonable officer, ‘ which, according to Brown, the state failed to do”, according to recent reports.
Baltimore City Councilman Brandon Scott took exception Tuesday to something Gov. Larry Hogan said about Baltimore in a visit to C4’s show Tuesday.
Deliberating began around 2:30 p.m., Monday after hearing closing arguments from the prosecution and the defense, as well as a rebuttal from the prosecution.
City officials are preparing for widespread protest should Porter be acquitted.
Porter is the first of six officers to go to trial for charges stemming from Gray’s injury and death, and it likely will set the tone for the others and for the city’s healing. They will continue their work on Wednesday. “It has nothing to do with being proactive or going out doing anything right now”, Smith said. The Carroll County Sheriff’s Office also is prepared to help. He’s one of six officers charged. Gray was arrested on a weapons charge, though prosecutors say the knife was a type allowed by Maryland law and police had no reason to detain him.
The other five trials are scheduled for next year.
Baltimore City Public Schools Chief Executive Greg Thornton sent a note to parents, students and staff saying that safety was the schools’ paramount concern and that violence would not be tolerated.
Gray was unresponsive by the time the van arrived at a police station after making several stops in between.
“If things were thrown at them or what have you again, we hadn’t experienced things like we saw in April in 47 years so equipment was old, outdated, dry-rotted”, he said.
Gray told Porter he needed medical aid and Porter put him onto a van bench.
The jury has been deliberating over Officer Porter’s guilt or innocence for two days, and is considering over 100 pieces of evidence as well as the testimony of over two dozen witnesses.
The jury is in its third day of deliberations.
Williams, meeting the jurors in open court, instructed them to return to deliberations. Jurors received about 100 pieces of evidence, and at one point, they took a trip outside the courtroom to look at the police wagon in which Gray was injured. Porter faces charges of manslaughter, assault, reckless endangerment and misconduct.
Baltimore has opened an emergency operations center and police leave has been canceled. The county surrounds most of the city and extends north to Maryland’s border with Pennsylvania.
Gray’s April 19 death was followed by peaceful demonstrations. Williams on Tuesday rejected a request by defense lawyer Gary Proctor to declare a mistrial and order a change of venue. Williams also denied that request. Of about 150 potential jurors called for Porter’s trial, all said they were familiar with the case.
The note came a little more than an hour after the jury told Williams it was deadlocked. White is charged with involuntary manslaughter, second-degree… She says it will help agencies co-ordinate any necessary response. Williams said the water and note paper would be provided, but that the exhibits list was not part of evidence and would not be provided.
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But Porter’s attorneys say he did more than enough for Gray on the day the detainee’s neck was broken in the back of the van.
