Mistrial in 1st officer’s trial in Freddie Gray case

William Porter, left, one of six Baltimore city police officers charged in connection to the death of Freddie Gray, arrives at a courthouse as jury deliberations continue in his trial, Wednesday, Dec. 16… “But thank you for the call”. Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel is scheduled to meet Thursday with Justice Department investigators looking into the fatal shooting of a black teenager by a police officer a year ago.

Maurice Sessomes said he watched William G. Porter grow up, never giving his parents any problems and eventually becoming a Baltimore police officer in 2012. Porter is charged with involuntary manslaughter, second-degree…

It may be that the jurors who wanted to convict Porter of something refused to acquit him of anything unless a compromise verdict could be reached.

But a legal expert said he was surprised to see a mistrial declared on just the third day of deliberations. They also have suggested that he might have deliberately injured himself.

The panel of five men and seven women had said on Tuesday that it was deadlocked, but Williams had told the jurors to keep trying to reach a verdict.

Gray’s death was indeed a “horrific tragedy” but “there is literally no evidence” Porter is responsible, he said. “It is now up to State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby to determine whether to further pursue criminal charges”, she said in a statement on Wednesday.

Property damage was not reported as of Wednesday night, but during April’s protests following Gray’s death, protesters ransacked business and set buildings on fire.

It is up to the state’s attorney to decide what happens next.

“I think it went botched, I don’t feel as if the prosecution was at tight as it needed to be by virtue of the fact that the jury still had a whole lot of unanswered questions”, he said.

Porter was charged with manslaughter, assault, reckless endangerment and misconduct in Gray’s death.

Sketches from the Freddie Gray mistrial for Baltimore officer William Porter.

The allegations against Mr Porter include failing to call for a medic despite Gray’s insistence that he was hurt, and not buckling Gray into a seat belt when he was loaded into the van.

The state has indicated that it will want Officer Porter to testify against at least some of the other officers – and his testimony may be critical to their cases. Although the circumstances remain a topic of heated debate, the young man was fatally injured while riding in the back of the van. Immediately disperse. Reporter: The sheriff’s department has formed a line in front of the courthouse door where officer porter has been leaving the building.

Deputies put his arms behind his back and marched him into the courthouse.

Murphy disputed her assessment, claiming statistics show 70 percent of mistrials result in wins for the prosecution. He was the first of six officers charged in the case to go on trial.

Riots erupted in Baltimore in April after Gray’s funeral.

Minutes after the ruling Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake issued a statement which reads in part: “Our reaction needs to be one of respect for our neighborhoods, and for the residents and businesses of our city”. 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. Upon learning of the mistrial, people chanted “No justice, no peace” and the demonstration spilled from the sidewalk and onto the street. “At the end of the day, whenever someone asks for medical help and didn’t get it, maybe Freddie could still be alive”. A female supporter joined Porter on a marble bench in a corner of the hallway.