Attorneys For Officers In Freddie Gray Case Heading Back To Court
BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- Attorneys for the officers accused in the April death of Freddie Gray head back to court Tuesday. Several more key issues in the case will be under consideration.
Derek Valcourt explains there are two hearings this week for the judge to decide.
At issue here -- will a jury get to hear the statements the accused officers gave to investigators working the Freddie Gray case?
Five of the six accused officers told investigators their own accounts of what they say happened on the April day Freddie Gray was loaded into the back of a police transport van and received the injuries that ultimately ended his life.
Only the van driver, Caesar Goodson, chose not to go on the record with his account of what happened.
Prosecutors for Baltimore State's Attorney Marilyn Mosby now want to use those statements from those five officers in court, especially the statement given by Officer William Porter, who apparently indicated that several of the other officers were aware that Freddie Gray asked for medical attention.
"Might be very difficult to prosecute the officers without at least some of these statements -- because, again, there aren't a lot of other witnesses to this. Most of the witnesses are charged," said Adam Ruther, Rosenberg Martin Greenberg.
Legal expert Adam Ruther expects defense attorneys will argue the officers' statements were not truly made voluntarily and therefore the jury should not see or hear them.
"In a case like this, obviously, there are implications of, 'Am I going to keep my job if I don't give a statement? What's going to be the impact on my career and my livelihood?' And that's a whole different level of voluntary analysis that's going to be a subject of a great deal of debate," said Ruther.
Judge Barry Williams will have the final say on whether the officers' statements will be allowed as evidence.
The motion hearings get underway Tuesday at 9:30 a.m. They resume on Wednesday.
The first trial for Officer William Porter is set to begin November 30. The rest of the trials will stretch into the first half of 2016.
