A judge further hollowed out the case against six police officers charged in the death of a young black man, delivering a third consecutive acquittal and ruling once again that prosecutors failed to prove officers intentionally hurt Freddie Gray.
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The highest-ranking officer charged, Lieutenant Brian Rice, was acquitted on all charges Monday.
Baltimore Circuit Judge Barry Williams dealt the state a significant blow Monday when he issued his third straight acquittal.
Rice faced charges of involuntary manslaughter, reckless endangerment and misconduct in office.
In late June, Mr. Banzhaf filed a complaint against Baltimore State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby. Two other officers await trial.
In separate statements, Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake and Congressman Elijah Cummings, who represents the district Gray lived in, urged city residents to respect Williams’ decisions.
At a news conference, Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 3 President Gene Ryan called for the remaining cases to be dismissed, calling it “malicious prosecution against the remaining three officers”.
But now that the first four of the six trials have resulted in three acquittals and one mistrial, legal experts, including Brown, are skeptical of whether or not Mosby should even continue with the remaining trials.
Gray was arrested after he ran from police officers in a high-crime area of the city.
Almost all of the 16 witnesses who testified had taken the stand in trials against other officers charged in the case.
Prosecutors had argued police had a responsibility to put Gray in a seat belt to keep him safe during the van ride, while defense lawyers said Gray had acted belligerently, and it was too unsafe for officers to seat-belt Gray.
The 25-year-old subsequently suffered a fatal neck injury in April 2015 after being bundled into the back of a police transport van. Earlier this year, officers Edward Nero and Caesar Goodson, the van driver who was facing a murder charge, were also found not guilty. She said the state’s failure to convict an officer in the case stifles progress in addressing police brutality.
A police officer on trial over the death of a black man in police custody has been acquitted.
“This has been a very hard time for our city and I thank the community for their patience during this time and ask their continued respect for the judicial process as we move forward”, the mayor said.
Brian Rice, right, is escorted to a waiting vehicle after being found not guilty on all charges related to the death of Freddy Gray, July 18, in Baltimore. A fourth officer’s trial ended in a hung jury.
“The reality of what happened is not clear cut”, he said. The officer made the correct split-second decision while Gray was being combative and a hostile crowd looked on, they said.
Prosecutors and defense attorneys gave different characterizations of the onlookers.
Williams said prosecutors had failed to meet their burden of proving the charges beyond a reasonable doubt, instead asking the court to rely on “presumptions or assumptions” – something it can not do.
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Warren Alperstein, a prominent lawyer in the city who has been observing the case, questioned whether the other cases should go to trial.
