All Remaining Charges Dropped Against Cops in Freddie Gray Case
This morning, Baltimore prosecutors dropped all remaining charges against the police officers involved in the death of Freddie Gray who have yet to be tried in court, various sources reported.
The officers who have not had their cases heard were Garrett Miller and Alicia White. A third officer, William Porter, went to trial last December. That case ended in a hung jury and Porter was set to be retried in September.
Pretrial hearings in Miller’s case were scheduled to start this morning. One of Gray’s arresting officers, Miller was charged with second-degree assault, reckless endangerment, and two counts of misconduct in office. White, a supervising officer, was charged with manslaughter for failing to secure Gray in a police van and for ignoring his subsequent injuries.
The possibility of the prosecution dropping these remaining charges was speculated openly in the press following the full acquittal of Lt. Brian Rice, the highest ranking officer of those tried, who was cleared of all charges on July 18th. He was the third officer to be found not guilty, following patrolmen Caesar Goodson—who drove the van—and Edward Nero, who was also an arresting officer.
In May, officers White and Porter filed a defamation suit against Baltimore State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby, Baltimore Sheriff’s Office Major Sam Cogen and the state of Maryland. The officers claim that the group knowingly filed false charges against them.
Speaking to the press this morning, Mosby said her office maintains its belief that Gray’s death, as ruled by a coroner, was a homicide:
BREAKING: Prosecutor says `we do not believe that Freddie Gray killed himself,' stands by finding that his death was a homicide.
— The Associated Press (@AP) July 27, 2016