Dateline Baltimore — Prosecutors this morning dropped all remaining charges against three Baltimore police officers accused in the arrest and death of Freddie Gray, concluding one of the most high-profile criminal cases in Baltimore history.
The startling move was an apparent acknowledgement of the unlikelihood of a conviction following the acquittals of three other officers on similar and more serious charges by Circuit Judge Barry G. Williams, who was expected to preside over the remaining trials as well.
It also means the office of Baltimore State’s Attorney Marilyn J. Mosby will secure no convictions in the case after more than a year of dogged fighting, against increasingly heavy odds, to hold someone criminally accountable in Mr. Gray’s death.
Officer William Porter’s trial ended with a hung jury and a mistrial in December, before Judge Williams acquitted Officers Edward Nero and Caesar Goodson and Lt. Brian Rice at bench trials in May, June, and July, respectively.
In a hearing this morning meant to start the trial of Officer Garrett Miller, Chief Deputy State’s Attorney Michael Schatzow told Judge Williams that the state was dropping all charges against Messrs. Miller, Porter and Sgt. Alicia White.
Mr. Porter had been scheduled to be retried in September, and Mr. White had been scheduled to be tried in October.
“All of our clients are thrilled with what happened today, and we’ll be making a comment later to address the details of what happened,” said Catherine Flynn, Mr. Miller’s attorney, outside the courthouse.
Mr. Gray, 25, suffered severe spinal cord injuries in the back of the van in April 2015 and died a week after his arrest. His death sparked widespread, peaceful protests against police brutality, and his funeral was followed by rioting, looting and arson.
In clearing Officers Nero, Goodson and Rice, Judge Williams had repeatedly said that prosecutors presented little or no evidence to support their broader theory in the case – that the officers acted unreasonably, and willfully disregarded their training and general orders, when they decided not to secure Mr. Gray in a seat belt, and that the decision directly led to his death.
All of the officers had pleaded not guilty. Their attorneys have said they acted reasonably and professionally, and that Mr. Gray’s death was the result of a tragic accident.
The decision to drop all charges came during what was expected to be a contentious hearing surrounding the prosecution’s ability to proceed with Mr. Miller’s trial without using anything he said on the witness stand in Mr. Nero’s trial against him.
Mr. Miller was compelled to testify at Mr. Nero’s trial under a limited form of immunity designed to protect his constitutional right against self-incrimination while freeing him to speak about the events that transpired on the morning of Mr. Gray’s arrest. Before Mr. Miller’s trial could proceed, prosecutors were required to show that they had not gleaned any evidence or strategic advantage in Miller’s trial from his immunized testimony.
Mr. Miller’s defense attorneys had argued that in order to do so, the prosecutors who argued in Mr. Nero’s trial and the special “clean team” of prosecutors assigned to argue in Mr. Miller’s trial without knowledge of his previous testimony should have to take the stand.
This story originally appeared at www.thebaltimoresun.com
It was clear from the beginning that the criminal prosecution of the officers in this case was inappropriate. It seems that a hung jury and three not guilty decisions by a Black judge involving officers who were white and black finally spoke to the D.A. How was it possible to prove criminal intent when there was no history of prior deaths or significant injuries of a person or persons being transported in the back of a Baltimore police van? How were the police to determine if Freddie Gray was in fact injured given his prior conduct while under arrest and the conduct of others feigning injuries while being transported to jail? How could the Black driver of the van be guilty when there was no evidence that he gave Freddie a “rough ride” or did anything to deliberately harm Freddie? What credibility did Freddie Gray have? While his death was regrettable, the case was always a civil matter. It in fact it was settled civilly for $6.4 million without a civil complaint being filed, even before the criminal case was complete. Was this the People’s way of saying it was in fact a civil matter all along? Was Freddie Gray’s life as a common criminal worth $6.4 million dollars?