Baltimore Mayor Calls for ‘Unified City’ After Mistrial

Prosecutors said they won’t retry him.

The city has been on edge while awaiting for the verdict in the case against police officer William Porter to be handed down.

CBS Baltimore reports Williams previously decided the jury would not be sequestered, but would remain anonymous for the trial.

A defense attorney declined to comment, saying he was subject to a court gag order.

“I think there were always questions as to whether they would be able to get Porter on the stand in those cases anyway”, says University of Baltimore law professor David Jaros. The letter drew criticism from the American Civil Liberties Union of Maryland, which said it was wrong to equate students’ desire to demonstrate with potential violence.

Rawlings-Blake, who is black, said, “Our reaction needs to be one of respect for our neighborhoods”. “While certainly nothing will return Freddie Gray to his family, we ask that the public continue to allow the judicial process to find its way to a final resolution”.

“We are prepared to respond”.

Unable to reach a verdict against a Baltimore police officer accused of killing Freddie Gray, a judge declared a mistrial today, angering protesters who were standing outside the courthouse. Freddie Gray was treated as less than human and killed in police custody.

Will the mistrial affect other trials?

Wednesday the judge denied the jury’s request for a transcript of witness testimony.

That same day, Williams ordered the panel members to continue deliberating.

If the trial ends with a hung jury, prosecutors would have the opportunity to try the case again.

Sunny Hostin, a former federal prosecutor and current CNN legal analyst, agreed. That didn’t happen in the Gray case.

Porter, 26, is the first of six Baltimore officers charged in the case to go to trial. Mr. Porter said he had never seen anyone seat-belted in a police van after an arrest, and he told jurors he deemed it risky to buckle Mr. Gray because Mr. Gray could have grabbed the officer’s gun.

Officer Porter was facing charges of involuntary manslaughter, reckless endangerment and second-degree assault and misconduct in office in the death of 25-year-old Gray. It carries a maximum sentence of 30 years. He was the first of six officers to go on trial.

The city of Baltimore appears to be ready for more riots.

Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake issued a statement after the mistrial was declared. “We are calm, you should be calm too”, he said. “We will fight for Freddie Gray”.

Armored vehicles and police were stationed around the city ahead of any verdict. The defense mainly cast blame on the van driver, Officer Caesar Goodson, whose trial is scheduled to begin January 6.

Mr Gray’s injury in police custody sparked weeks of protests and fuelled the nation’s scrutiny of how police treat black suspects.

Gray family attorney Billy Murphy said the family wasn’t angry with the outcome, and urged that protesters remain calm as well.

The defense argued that Porter did not believe Gray was seriously injured until the van’s final stop. By the time the van arrived at its destination, he was unresponsive.

He said Porter remains suspended from the force without pay. An autopsy concluded his head was probably slammed against inside the van as the van turned a corner or stopped.

Critics said his death was the result of a “rough ride”, with police purposely driving recklessly to intentionally injure him and then failing to give proper medical attention afterward.