Judge to hear motion to force officer testimony in Gray case

Porter’s first trial last month ended in a hung jury.

A hearing is scheduled this afternoon in Baltimore City Circuit Court as Judge Barry Williams considers a motion filed by Baltimore City State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby to force Officer William Porter to testify for the state at the trial of the five other accused officers. Previously, they had indicated they wanted his testimony against only two of them.

But last week, the state filed papers indicating that they may also use Porter as a witness against three other officers involved in Gray’s arrest: Edward Nero, Garrett Miller and Brian Rice.

Porter was tried first, with prosecutors saying in the fall that he was a “necessary and material” witness in the trials of Officer Caesar Goodson and Sgt. Alicia White, whose trials were slated to be the second and third, respectively.

Prosecutors are asking Baltimore Circuit Judge Barry Williams to force William Porter to testify against four officers even though Porter’s charges are still pending after his own trial ended in December in a hung jury.

During that trial, prosecutors noted that Porter was at the scene of Gray’s arrest on April 12, at 1700 Presberry Street. Goodson drove the van that transported Gray, a young black man who died April 19, 2015, a week after he broke his neck in police custody. Six officers, including Porter, now face criminal charges stemming from his death.

On the stand during his trial, Porter testified that he did not buckle Gray into a seat belt, but told Goodson, who was driving the van, that Gray wanted to go to a hospital.

The Court of Special Appeals has scheduled a hearing on this issue for March 4.

Wednesday’s hearing is expected to address concerns that attorneys for White, Nero, Miller and Rice have against compelling Porter to testify in their cases.

Porter’s attorneys argued that the ruling violated Porter’s fifth amendment right against self-incrimination because he is also facing a retrial in his own case related to Gray’s death.

The sixth officer charged in Gray’s death, Caesar Goodson, was supposed to begin this week, but it has been put on hold until the court decides whether to order Porter to testify.