Attorneys Seek To Move Freddie Gray Trials Out Of Baltimore

“…this settlement is about fiscal calculation, legal risk and what’s best for the city of Baltimore“, the mayor said.

Gray died of a neck injury earlier this year while in police custody after he was put in the back of a police van without being strapped and with his hands cuffed.

It will have no effect on the criminal trials of six officers charged with Gray’s death in April, the statement said.

Baltimore’s Board of Estimates voted to approve the amount, but Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake emphasized during a press conference following that the sum does no represent an acknowledgement of guilt on behalf of the officer.

Rawlings-Blake said Wednesday that she was “baffled” by Ryan’s statements. Prosecutors filed charges in May against six police officers who were involved in Gray’s arrest and death.

The payout would be the latest in a long line of settlements by Baltimore over allegations of police brutality. Gov. Larry Hogan called in the National Guard to restore order, and Rawlings-Blake implemented a nightly, citywide curfew for a week.

She and others on the panel said that the decision to settle with the family was weighed against the high cost of fighting an anticipated civil suit.

Baltimore’s Board of Estimates approved the $6.4 million settlement with Freddie Gray’s family Wednesday.

The mayor also extended her condolences to the Gray family.

On the way out of the hearing room, Kim Trueheart, a longtime City Hall watcher, asked Nilson how much the Gray family had demanded.

On Sunday, April 12, 2015, Freddie Gray was arrested near the 1600 block of North Avenue for possession of an illegal knife under City law.

This past July, New York City settled with the family of Eric Garner for $5.9 million.

Thursday’s hearing in Baltimore City Circuit Court will be on whether the officers’ individual trials should be moved from the largely black city.

The settlement appeared to be among the largest in recent police death cases.

One week ago, a judge decided that the officers indicted in the case will be given separate trials.

David Harris, a law professor at the University of Pittsburgh, told the Associated Pres that lawyers for the officers will nearly certainly raise the settlement issue in seeking to move the trials out of Baltimore. Rice, Porter and White are additionally facing manslaughter, while Goodson has also been charged with second-degree murder.

The settlement does not resolve any factual disputes, and expressly does not constitute an admission of liability on the part of the city, its police department or any of the officers.

It should be noted that the impetus for the settlement came not from a lawsuit filed by the Gray family, but rather a claim for compensation brought forth by the 25-year-old’s estate.