All charges dropped against cops in Freddie Gray death
BALTIMORE - Prosecutors dropped their case against the final two of six officers not yet tried in
the Freddie Gray case in Baltimore on Wednesday.
Officers Garrett Miller and Alicia White were awaiting trial over the death of Gray, a black man, on April 19, 2015, a week after he suffered a spinal injury sometime during a police van ride.
Miller, who was set to stand trial Wednesday, faced charges of second-degree assault, misconduct in office and reckless endangerment,
reports CBS Baltimore. Before today's pretrial hearing, Chief Deputy State's Attorney Michael Schatzow told the judge that prosecutors were dropping the charges against Miller and the rest of the officers.
White was set to undergo her trial later this year.
Also charged in connection with the case besides Miller and White were Officers Edward Nero, Lt. Brian Rice, William Porter and Caesar Goodson.
Rice was the last officer acquitted by a judge earlier this month.
Goodson was acquitted by a judge back in June.
Nero was also acquitted by a judge in May. In December of last year,
a Baltimore judge declared a mistrial for Porter in the first trial over Gray's death, because the jury in his case
remained deadlocked.
Porter's charges were also dropped Wednesday. He was set to face a retrial later this year.
Photos released by the Baltimore Police Department show the six officers charged in the death of Freddie Gray. Top row (from left): Officer Garrett Miller, Lt. Brian Rice, Sgt. Alicia White; bottom row (from left): Officer Caesar Goodson, Officer William Porter, Officer Edward Nero
BALTIMORE POLICE DEPARTMENT
The Baltimore City State's Attorney's Office had said Gray was illegally arrested after he ran away from a bike patrol officer and the officers failed to buckle Gray into a seat belt or call a medic when he indicated he wanted to go to a hospital.
State's Attorney
Marilyn Mosby wasted little time in announcing charges after Gray's death - one day after receiving the police department's investigation while
a tense city was still under curfew - and she did not shy from the spotlight. She posed for magazine photos, sat for TV interviews and even appeared onstage at a Prince concert in Gray's honor.
Defense lawyers had argued for separate trials for each of the six officers because not all of the evidence applies to each defendant and they argued they do not want jurors prejudiced against their clients based on evidence that was brought into the trial against another defendant.
There had been increasing pressure on prosecutors to drop the remaining cases after Rice was acquitted. Civil rights advocates said afterwards they expected to shift their focus from the courtroom to improving rules for police conduct since a central part of this case is that safety procedure was not clear which is part of why these officers have not been deemed "criminal."
