Verdict In Officer Nero's Trial Expected Monday
BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- Attention will focus on a Baltimore courtroom Monday when a judge is expected to render the first verdict in the case of Freddie Gray more than a year after his death in police custody.
Officer Edward Nero faces four misdemeanor charges for how he handled Gray's arrest. He is one of six Baltimore City police officers charged in the case.
Investigator Mike Hellgren breaks down the impact of the coming verdict and the questions it will answer.
This is one of the most anticipated verdicts ever in Baltimore and it will have a far-reaching impact on the remaining cases and, possibly, policing in the city.
We asked two former Baltimore City prosecutors to weigh in.
The stakes in the trial of Officer Edward Nero couldn't be higher. His freedom and career are on the line and prosecutors are under intense pressure, too: what happens Monday could impact their cases against the other five officers charged.
"The first one sets to some degree---not legally but practically---sets a precedent for the remaining ones so I have no doubt they're gunning very, very hard for a conviction in this first case," said Adam Ruther, Rosenberg, Martin, Greenberg.
"There's always pressure but obviously in this case, it is at a whole other level," said Debbie Hines.
The trial has already broken new legal ground in Maryland; it's the first time a co-defendant facing criminal charges has been forced to testify and it's marked by a new legal theory: that an arrest without cause can be an assault.
Nero was a bicycle officer who responded to the initial encounter with Gray. He faces reckless endangerment charge for failing to seat belt Gray in the van.
If Judge Barry Williams---who is deciding the Nero case alone---acquits him, the state could ask for another judge moving forward.
"That could certainly signal to the state that their theories won't be accepted by Judge Williams in subsequent cases or even by another judge in subsequent cases and that may change their approach to those cases in terms of plea bargains," Ruther said.
Because of a mistrial in the case of Officer William Porter, the rest of the trial went out of the order prosecutors wanted.
"The facts are what the facts are. You can't change the facts; you're working with what you have," Hines said.
"It's not one of the most straightforward in terms of legal analysis so I have no doubt they're not happy to try it first and to get a verdict in it by virtue of the defendant having elected a bench trial," Ruther said.
Stay with WJZ for complete coverage of the Edward Nero trial. We will have a team of reporters in the courtroom Monday and will bring you the verdict as soon as it's read.