Prosecutors are calling more witnesses Friday in the trial for Officer Edward Nero, one of the Baltimore police officers facing charges stemming from Freddie Gray’s arrest and subsequent death after being injured in a police van.
Advertisement
Gray was arrested April 12, 2015, and died a week later from an injury prosecutors allege he got in a police van.
Nero, 30, of Bel Air, is charged with second-degree assault, reckless endangerment and two counts of misconduct in office related to the detainment of Gray.
Nero, Schatzow said, made no attempt to find out why Gray was being arrested and, after Gray was placed in a police wagon, did not put a seat belt on him as required by department rules.
Zayon said Nero didn’t belt Gray because the man was putting the officers at risk by “passively and actively resisting arrest, banging in the wagon, kicking the wagon”.
After all the delays and shifts police Officer Edward Nero has to stand before the jury facing multiple misdemeanor charges.
Rice was out of Nero’s view when he called out over the radio that he was involved in a pursuit, and Officer Garrett Miller was the one who caught and handcuffed Gray, Zayon said.
He said that Nero’s role in Gray’s stop and arrest appeared to be minimal. A grand jury indicted the six officers, State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby said Thursday, May 21, 2015.
But Marc Zayon, Nero’s attorney, tried to poke holes in Ross’ testimony by asking about a discrepancy between Ross’ statement to investigators previous year that he believed Gray had been shocked by a Taser, and his account in court, when he said he wasn’t sure.
The defense said the chase and arrests were legal.
Officials have reportedly said the trial may span five days.
An officer’s safety is essential when securing prisoners in the van, Zayon told the court.
Baltimore police Officer Edward Nero, accused of assaulting Gray, elected Tuesday to have a bench trial, meaning a judge will make the final decision on the verdicts. Part of Nero and the other involved officers’ is that Gray ran away, unprovoked, in a high-crime area.
“There are times when it is impossible to seat-belt”, Zayon said during the defense’s opening statements. Nero’s attorney said he acted reasonably and followed his training. Bartness said that while police rules are not law, officers who violate them are subject to disciplinary action and can be fired.
Since he was not restrained, Gray bounced around in the back of the van, hitting the walls. They called numerous witnesses from the Baltimore City Police Department to show that Nero should have been familiar with policies and practices that were woven into the department’s training and day-to-day operations.
Nero’s attorneys have pushed back against the charges made against their client, saying if officers on the street mistakenly arrest someone, the solution is to drop the charge, not prosecute the officer.
Gray had a lengthy criminal record and was sentenced to four years in prison in February 2009 for drug possession with intent to deliver.
There was no discussion Thursday of the knife found on Gray, which the officers had cited as justification for his arrest.
Nero opted for a bench trial, rather than a jury trial. Prosecutors showed a video made by police investigators almost a month after the officers were charged.
Advertisement
Ross, who was with Gray that morning, testified that he saw Nero help throw his friend into the back of a police van, grabbing his feet.
