In January 2014, all charges were dropped against the several police officers responsible for killing Kelly Thomas in Fullerton, California on July 5, 2011.
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It was the fourth straight trial prosecutors failed to win in the case.
“The reality of what happened is not clear cut”, he said.
Charges against Rice of second-degree assault and misconduct had been either previously dismissed by the judge or put aside by prosecutors.
Sen. Catherine Pugh, the Democratic nominee for mayor, also released a statement, reminding residents to “exercise patience and respect for the judicial process”. It can be hoped that this most recent acquittal will serve as a wake-up call to Mosby, though she has demonstrated so far that reading the writing on the wall is not her strong point. While Brown was not involved in the Freddie Gray trial, his legal expertise presents a harsh and sobering look at the case that galvanized the nation, motivated a movement, and threatened to tear a city apart at its seams. Gray was arrested on April 12, 2015 after he ran from officers after making eye contact with one of them. Gray was allegedly originally arrested for possessing an illegal switchblade. Gray’s death triggered protests and rioting in the mainly black city and stoked a national debate about how police treat minorities.
An activist law professor at George Washington University is calling for the disbarment of Baltimore Chief Deputy State’s Attorney Michael Schatzow and Deputy State’s Attorney Janice Bledsoe for their roles in the Freddie Gray trials. A third officer, William Porter, faces a retrial after a jury deadlocked.
The verdict renews questions about whether the state should move forward with charges against the remaining officers or drop them.
Earlier this year, Officers Edward Nero and Caesar Goodson were acquitted by Baltimore Circuit Court Judge Barry Williams.
Rice faces charges of involuntary manslaughter, reckless endangerment and misconduct in office.
The prosecution claims that Gray’s fatal injury was caused by a “rough ride” when the officers deliberately left Gray unrestrained by a seatbelt and then drove in such a way to cause him to be tossed around in the back of the van. Gray died a week after his arrest. Prosecutors have yet to secure a conviction. Prosecutors say the officers were criminally negligent when they failed to buckle Gray into a seat belt or provide medical attention after he indicated that he wanted to go to a hospital.
A judge has acquitted a Baltimore police officer on all charges in the death of Freddie Gray, a black who died after he was injured in a police transport van.
Baltimore State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby vowed to bring justice to an aggrieved citizenry when she announced the charges past year. Schatzow answered that it did. Prosecutors, he said, failed to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Rice acted with gross negligence, putting Gray’s life at risk.
Ryan spoke hours after a Baltimore judge acquitted Lt. Brian Rice of manslaughter and other charges he faced in the death of Freddie Gray past year.
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Protests were thin outside the courthouse. And again. And again.
