Baltimore officers charged in Freddie Gray case get trial dates
BALTIMORE -- A Baltimore judge has scheduled the first trial in the death of Freddie Gray, a black man who died after suffering a critical injury in police custody, for Nov. 30 and the other trials are set for early next year.
Six Baltimore police officers are charged in the case.
Officer William Porter will go on trial first. He is accused of failing to provide or request medical care for the 25-year-old Gray and not securing him safely in a police transport van.
Porter is charged with manslaughter, assault, reckless endangerment and misconduct in office.
Prosecutors said they intend to call Porter as a witness against at least two other officers. CBS Baltimore reports prosecutors have said they wanted to put Porter on trial first since statements he made to investigators make him a critical witness.
According to the Baltimore Sun, Porter reportedly told investigators that Gray asked for medical attention, but he wondered if the 25-year-old man was faking his injuries. Porter also reportedly said that Officer Alicia White, who is also charged in the case, knew Gray needed medical attention. That contradicts White's own statement that she had no knowledge of his injuries, reports CBS Baltimore.
An autopsy revealed that Gray suffered his life-ending injury likely from the force of impact he sustained while in the back of the police van.
CBS News Justice Reporter Paula Reid reports Officer Caesar Goodson's trial has been set for January 6, Sgt. Alicia White's for January 25, Officer Garrett Miller's for February 9, Officer Edward Nero's for February 22 and Lt. Brian Rice's for March 9.
Judge Barry Williams ruled earlier this month that each officer would get their own trial and all of the trials would be held in Baltimore.
According to Reid, all of the officers except for Porter were present for the hearing Tuesday at which the trial dates were set. Baltimore State's Attorney Marilyn Mosby, the prosecutor on the case, was not present.
The officers were indicted in May and face charges ranging from second-degree assault to second-degree murder.
Gray died on April 19, a week after he suffered a critical spinal injury in police custody. His death prompted protests and rioting that shook the city and caused millions of dollars in damage, and has since come to symbolize the broken relationship between the police and the public in Baltimore, and the treatment of black men by police in America.
All six officers, including Nero and Miller, are charged with second-degree assault, misconduct in office and reckless endangerment. Rice, White and Porter also face a manslaughter charge, while Officer Goodson faces the most serious charge of all: second-degree "depraved-heart" murder.
Three of the officers are white. Three are black.