BALTIMORE (AP) — The latest on the trial of a Baltimore police officer who is charged with manslaughter in the death of Freddie Gray, a 25-year-old black man who was injured in the back of a police transport van (all times local).
2:40 p.m.
A jury has started deliberations in the first trial of a Baltimore police officer charged in the arrest and death of Freddie Gray.
The case went to the jury Monday after closing arguments.
Officer William Porter is charged with manslaughter, assault, reckless endangerment and misconduct in office. The maximum penalty he faces is about 25 years.
Gray died April 19, a week after his neck was broken during a ride in the back of a police van.
Prosecutors say Porter was criminally negligent for ignoring a policy requiring officers to strap prisoners in with a seat belt, and for not calling an ambulance immediately after Gray indicated he needed medical aid.
The defense says the prosecution’s case was based on speculation, not evidence.
Five more officers are awaiting trial.
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2:20 p.m.
Baltimore Circuit Judge Barry Williams read aloud instructions to a jury who will soon begin deliberating whether or not William Porter should be held criminally responsible for the death of Freddie Gray.
Before prosecutors and defense attorneys delivered their closing remarks, Williams gave the jury a series of instructions on how to evaluate the charges.
Porter faces charges of manslaughter, assault, reckless endangerment and misconduct in office.
Williams told jurors that in order to find Porter guilty of manslaughter they must determine that he acted in a “grossly negligent manner” and “created a high degree of risk to human life.”
The judge says the assault charge also requires jurors to find that Porter was grossly negligent, while the misconduct charge requires an “evil motive, bad faith” and “not merely an error in judgment.”
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1:50 p.m.
Baltimore Police have established a Joint Information Center to get information out quickly to community groups and others as the city awaits any verdict in the trial of William Porter, one of six police officers charged in the death of Freddie Gray.
Police spokesman T.J. Smith said that rather than relying on solely on social media, the information center brings invited stakeholders into the same room to answer questions, dispel rumors and disseminate information.
Smith said the center opened at noon Monday at an undisclosed location. About two dozen people were there as of Monday afternoon.
Hospitals, schools and community groups are among those invited. Smith said police can discuss information in person that doesn’t convey easily over social media.
Smith said police established the center at the mayor’s request.
Earlier, the city opened an emergency operations center to help coordinate any necessary response after a verdict.
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1:20 p.m.
An attorney representing William Porter, one of six officers charged in the death of Freddie Gray, told a jury in closing arguments that the case is based on conjecture and speculation, not evidence.
Joseph Murtha spent more than an hour delivering closing remarks Monday.
Murtha called Gray’s death a “horrific tragedy” but said that “there is literally no evidence” that Porter’s actions in any way caused it. Murtha said expert witnesses disagreed on the timeline of when Gray suffered the spinal injury that eventually killed him, and that constitutes “reasonable doubt.”
Gray died April 19, a week after he broke his neck in the back of a police transport van. Prosecutors say Porter is partially responsible for failing to buckle Gray into a seat belt and didn’t call a medic when he indicated he needed aid.
Porter says Gray wasn’t injured when the officer helped the man from the floor of the van to the bench, and that the responsibility to buckle in a prisoner lies with the wagon driver.
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11 a.m.
A prosecutor says Officer William Porter only had to fasten Freddie Gray’s seat belt and call a medic to save his life, and described the wagon Gray was injured in a “casket on wheels.”
Prosecutor Janice Bledsoe made the statement Monday during closing arguments in Porter’s trial. Porter faces manslaughter and other charges in the arrest and death of Gray. He could face about 25 years in prison if convicted on all of the charges.
Bledsoe told the jury there’s no reason not to put a seat belt on someone in the police wagon. She says Porter “just didn’t care enough.”
She also says that even though other officers have said they don’t use seat belts on prisoners, that’s not an excuse.
Gray died in a hospital a week after he suffered a spinal injury in the wagon.
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9:30 a.m.
Baltimore’s mayor says the city is opening an emergency operations center as the first trial of a police officer in Freddie Gray’s death draws to a close.
Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake says in a letter to community leaders that she has “no doubt” city officials are prepared for anything, but the center will open at 10 a.m. Monday as a precaution. She says it will help agencies coordinate any necessary response. Rawlings-Blake says the city also is communicating with outside law enforcement agency partners.
The mayor says business should continue as usual and people must respect the jury’s decision in Officer William Porter’s trial. He’s one of six officers charged.
Gray’s April 19 death was followed by peaceful demonstrations. But unrest broke out April 25 and again on April 27, bringing a curfew and the National Guard to the streets.
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9 a.m.
Prosecutors and defense attorneys will deliver closing arguments in the trial of William Porter, one of six Baltimore police officers charged in the death of Freddie Gray.
Porter’s trial is beginning its third week. He’s charged with manslaughter, assault, reckless endangerment and misconduct in office. Court was set to start at 9 a.m. Monday.
Gray died April 19, a week after he suffered a broken neck in the back of a police transport van. Prosecutors say Porter is partially responsible for not buckling Gray into a seat belt and for not calling for an ambulance when Gray indicated he needed aid. Defense attorneys say that Porter didn’t know Gray was injured and that it was the wagon driver’s responsibility to buckle prisoners into seat belts.
Gray’s death sparked protest and rioting.
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