Hung jury in Freddie Gray case a ‘major setback’

Sessomes, who has lived across the street from Porter’s family in North Baltimore for 30 years, also watched along with the city and nation as the rookie policeman became the first officer to be tried in the arrest and death of Freddie Gray.

Prosecutors say Porter is partly responsible for failing to buckle Gray into a seatbelt and for not calling an ambulance when Gray indicated he was in distress.

Baltimore City Circuit Court Judge Barry Williams has imposed a gag order on all attorneys involved in the case and Mosby’s office said it would have no comment on the mistrial. The Porter trial made this abundantly clear, as the prosecution and the defense sparred over what it means to be a reasonable police officer in Baltimore.

The case hinged not on what Mr Porter did, but what prosecutors said he did not do. Shortly after Gray’s funeral in April, Baltimore was convulsed by riots and angry demonstrations. A 16-year-old protester was arrested earlier, she said, and now he has been sucked into a system that has ruined thousands of black lives in this city.

The Porter trial was closely watched by Black Lives Matter activists across the country, yet its racial dynamics are complex.

Porter, who like Gray is black, was charged for having put Gray in the back of the van without seat-belting him and with being too slow to pass on his request for medical assistance.

Freddie Gray’s stepfather, Richard Snipley, issued a statement and thanked the jury for their service to the public, their quest for justice, their personal sacrifices, time and effort.

Gray’s family and officials, including Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake, called for calm, eager to avoid a replay of the unrest that followed Gray’s death. “We must respect the outcome of the judicial process”, she said.

Officials in Baltimore had come under heavy criticism for a restrained initial response to April’s riots, which some observers contended allowed arson and looting to spiral out of control.

“I urge everyone to remember that collectively, our reaction needs to be one of respect for our neighborhoods, and for the residents and businesses of our city”.

Large numbers of police had been stationed around the city over the past days.

Goodson, a black officer who is the lead defendant in the indictment, is charged with the most serious offense, that of second-degree murder with a depraved heart.

About two dozen demonstrators walked a few blocks to the Baltimore City Juvenile Justice Center to check on the teen who was arrested outside the courthouse.

Protesters Tuesday said when the jury deadlocked, that’s exactly what they wanted to see because that showed there was healthy dialogue going on upstairs. Seven of the 12 jurors were black.

Porter was charged with involuntary manslaughter, second-degree assault, reckless endangerment and misconduct in office.

The defence said Mr Porter went beyond the call of duty when he moved Mr Gray to a seated position at one point, and told the van driver and a supervisor that Mr Gray had said “yes” when asked if he needed to go to a hospital.

Prosecutors argued Porter ignored Gray’s pleas for medical help and that Porter went against department policy by not securing Gray properly in the back of the vehicle. He died a week later.

Toobin said he believes the hung jury will benefit the defense – not just in Porter’s case, if he’s retried, but in the cases of the other five officers as well.

“In some ways, a hung jury might be better than an acquittal”, Deray McKesson, a prominent United States civil rights activist, said on Twitter.