BPD Officer Charged In Freddie Gray Death First To Speak Out
BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- One of the officers charged in the death of Freddie Gray has broken her silence. Sergeant Alicia White did a series of interviews with our media partner, The Baltimore Sun.
"I got up that morning not anticipating any of that to happen," White said, speaking out to The Sun.
For the first time, Sergeant Alicia White is talking about the moment she was charged in the death of Freddie Gray.
"I watched it on TV, just like everybody else. I felt blindsided. I didn't see that coming at all," White said.
On April 12, 2015, after public complaints about Freddie Gray's arrest, Sergeant White went to check on him inside a police van.
"When he did not respond, she did nothing further despite the fact that she was advised he needed a medic," said Baltimore City State's Attorney Marilyn Mosby, on May 1, 2015.
White's attorney says she only interacted with Gray for a matter of seconds, and when she realized something was wrong, she checked on a medic herself.
Three weeks later, Alicia White was charged with manslaughter.
"It was hard. It was a hard pill to swallow," White said.
The days after Gray's death, tensions boiled over in the city.
For White, who grew up in West Baltimore, what was happening on the streets was even more distressing.
"Seeing Mondawmin, the mall I shop at, you know, being destroyed. Seeing the community I walk through being destroyed, that bothered me," White said.
For 18 months, White watched as her fellow officers stood trial. None were convicted.
In July, all charges against her were dropped.
White maintains she did everything she was trained to do.
"I just had to rely that through this all, God would bring me through it," she said.
Now, she hopes to return to the streets to serve her hometown.
White is on administrative duties pending the outcome of an internal police investigation.
To read more of White's interview, CLICK HERE.