Porter is the first of six officers to stand trial in Gray’s arrest and death in April.
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Gray, who had a history of brushes with the law, had a reputation of causing a scene when being arrested, Proctor said.
The defense attorney told jurors that a man who shared the transport van with Gray from the fifth stop to the final stop at the Western District station house told investigators that Gray was flailing in the van, attempting to injure himself. In one specific instance, the prosecutors said that Gray and Porter conversed, with Gray saying that he couldn’t “get off the floor”. Porter is accused of failing to get him medical help during several stops on the 45-minute trip.
Schatzow said Wednesday that the officer was present at five of six stops a transport van made after arresting Gray and could have easily pushed a button on his uniform to call for help.
So when Porter saw Gray in the back of a police van on April 12, he immediately recognized him.
A jury was seated Wednesday, a selection process that was relatively brisk, given defense assertions in pretrial proceedings that it would be impossible to seat an impartial panel.
A prosecutor said William Porter could have called for a medic to help Freddie Gray as he lay stricken in the back of a police van.
The jury is made up of eight women and four men. He described Gray’s neck injury as similar to that suffered by a diver landing headfirst in a shallow pool.
Porter faces charges of involuntary manslaughter, second-degree assault, misconduct in office and reckless endangerment. She was questioned for more than an hour over her classes, which included Porter for three days in 2013, and how an officer should respond to an injured suspect.
The Baltimore Police Department updated its policy requiring seatbelts in their vans April 9, just three days ahead of Gray’s arrest.
Prosecutors say Porter failed to render aid to Gray, who repeatedly asked for medical assistance.
The other five officers will be tried consecutively, starting January 6.
“If it slams on its brakes, he’s going to move at the speed it was going before it slams on its brakes”, the prosecutor said.
Franz Schneiderman said Wednesday he was interviewed individually by Baltimore Circuit Judge Barry Williams after he indicated that he had been accused in or the victim of a crime.
All officers charged over Gray’s death have pleaded not guilty.
Not only was Officer Porter from west Baltimore, where Gray grew up, but he knew Gray had been arrested the week before and “tried to kick the windows out of a squad auto”, Proctor said.
“In the blink of an eye a situation could be out of control, and at least then you know EMS is on the way”, she said. “Did officer Porter recognize that he had a legal duty and knowingly ignored that legal duty with an awareness that would lead to a serious injury or death of Freddie Gray?” If Porter is acquitted, there could be protests and possibly more unrest.
She was in the courtroom for opening statements.
“To the people of Baltimore and the demonstrators across America, I heard your call for ‘no justice, no peace, ‘ ” said Baltimore’s chief prosecutor, Marilyn Mosby after announcing the charges against the police officers involved in Gray’s death from spinal injuries.
Members of Gray’s family attended the opening statements, shielding themselves with an umbrella when they stepped out of the courthouse during the lunch break. Porter, Proctor claimed, did everything that Gray asked of him.
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The Baltimore Sun reports that the trial is expected to set the tone for the subsequent trials and Porter is up first because he will serve as a material witness against two of the other officers.
