Dateline Baltimore — The Baltimore Police van driver accused of giving a “rough ride” that killed Freddie Gray was acquitted of all charges this morning by Circuit Judge Barry Williams.
Officer Caesar Goodson Jr., 46, had faced the most serious charges of any of the six officers indicted in Mr. Gray’s arrest and death last April, including a charge of second-degree depraved heart murder.
Mr. Goodson was also acquitted of three counts of manslaughter, second-degree assault, reckless endangerment and misconduct in office.
His acquittal, which comes after Judge Williams considered the charges for three days, throws the rest of the cases into jeopardy. The other officers charged face similar, but lesser accusations.
Prosecutors alleged Mr. Goodson had five chances to render aid to Mr. Gray after his neck was broken in the back of the van, which they said demonstrated a “depraved heart.”
They also said Mr. Goodson was the direct cause of the injuries, driving the van in a reckless manner that threw him in the back of the van’s steel cage, shackled but unrestrained by a seat belt. As a certified field training officer, prosecutors said Mr. Goodson knew Police Dept. rules and broke them.
Mr. Goodson’s defense attorneys said officers who checked on Mr. Gray didn’t know he was seriously injured, and that Mr. Goodson deferred to decisions of other officers not to put a seat belt on Mr. Gray.
His attorneys also disputed the time frame of Mr. Gray’s injuries, placing them later in the van’s journey and therefore offering less chances to intervene, and blamed Mr. Gray himself, saying he had been placed on his stomach in the van and stood up.
Mr. Goodson elected a bench trial, bypassing a jury and leaving his fate in the hands of Judge Williams, a former city prosecutor who also once investigated police misconduct for the Justice Dept.
Four other officers still face charges for their roles in Gray’s death. The next trial, of Lt. Brian Rice, who is charged with manslaughter, is scheduled to begin July 7.
This story originally appeared at www.baltimoresun.com
