| Story Views | |
| Now: | |
| Last Hour: | |
| Last 24 Hours: | |
| Total: | |
Verdict Handed Down In Freddie Gray Case For One Of ‘Baltimore Six’
One of the six officers in the Freddie Gray case was found not guilty on all counts by Baltimore City Circuit Court Judge Barry G. Williams on Monday.
Officer Edward Nero, 30, faced second-degree assault, reckless endangerment, and two counts of misconduct in office, CBS Baltimore reported. Nero waived his right to a trial by jury.
Gray, 25, died on April 19, 2015 from injuries he sustained while in police custody, setting off a week of protests and rioting in Baltimore.
According to CBS Baltimore’s Mike Schuh, who was outside the courthouse on Monday, there was a huge “roar of disapproval” that came from a small number of protesters.
Nero’s case was the first of the so-called Baltimore Six to go to a verdict. Officer William Porter’s case ended in a mistrial in December, 2015.
The other four officers — Officer Garrett Miller, Lt. Brian Rice, Sgt. Alicia White and Officer Caesar Goodson Jr. — have not yet been tried.
Despite the verdict, Gray family attorney Billy Murphy commended Judge Williams for conducting a fair trial. “I have to commend Judge Williams on not being influenced by public opinion,” Murphy said. “It’s a very, very difficult job to sit as a judge under these enormously stressful conditions, and once again Barry Williams has shown he is a fair and impartial man… He showed tremendous courage in ruling against public opinion.”
“I don’t think anybody should be upset with this verdict nor do I think anybody should have been elated about a guilty verdict,” he added. “Only the people who sat through this trial and heard all of the evidence have a right to have an opinion about whether his opinion was fair and whether or not it was warranted under the circumstances. So we should all understand that we all have opinions, but unless they’re based on the facts and all of the facts, those opinions are essentially irrelevant to this process.”
Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake offered similar sentiments. “Today Judge Barry G. Williams found Officer Edward Nero not guilty of all criminal charges. This is our American system of justice and police officers must be afforded the same justice system as every other citizen in this city, state, and country,” the mayor said.
“Now that the criminal case has come to an end, Officer Nero will face an administrative review by the Police Department. We once again ask the citizens to be patient and to allow the entire process to come to a conclusion. In the case of any disturbance in the city, we are prepared to respond. We will protect our neighborhoods, our businesses and the people of our city,” she added.
Officer Caesar Goodson, Jr., the driver of the van transporting Gray, will be the next of the Baltimore Six to be tried. His trial begins on June, 7. The officer faces charges of second-degree depraved heart murder, manslaughter, second-degree assault, two counts of vehicular manslaughter and misconduct in office.
Source: http://www.westernjournalism.com/verdict-handed-down-in-freddie-gray-case-for-one-of-baltimore-six-officers/
