Jurors deliberate over William Porter’s fate

The jury could begin deliberating Porter’s fate as soon as late Monday.

An attorney representing William Porter, one of six officers charged in the death of Freddie Gray, told a jury in closing arguments that the case is based on conjecture and speculation, not evidence.

Porter, who is black, has been charged with involuntary manslaughter, reckless endangerment and assault on Gray, who had been picked up after fleeing at the sight of police.

As the city of Baltimore braced for a verdict, Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake said business should continue as usual and that people must respect the jury’s decision, but the city also opened an emergency operations center as a precaution so that authorities can coordinate any necessary response.

Police had not secured Gray with a seatbelt in the police van, which the defense has said is not unusual in Baltimore.

Prosecutors say Porter abused his power by failing to save Gray’s life after the man was injured in the back of a police van.

“Click – how long does it take to click a seat belt and click a radio and ask for a medic?”

“Click”, she said, and then repeated. Porter said Gray did not appear injured and kicked and yelled for most of the journey.

Porter “knew Freddie was hurt badly, but he did nothing”, Bledsoe told jurors, also accusing the 26-year-old Baltimore native of making misleading statements and covering for his fellow officers.

“I understand there’s this need to find somebody, to hold somebody accountable for the death of Freddie Gray”, Murtha said.

Gray was arrested on April 12 about seven city blocks from the station, and yet police stopped the van repeatedly along the way, turning the trip into a 45-minute ordeal.

Other witnesses also testified that the driver was responsible for buckling Gray to the bench.

Defense attorney William Murtha, during his closing arguments, went through all of the witnesses who testified during the trial and said the state didn’t meet its burden to prove its case, citing “the absence of evidence in this case, the absence of real evidence”. In any case, the van detoured again to put another prisoner in a separate compartment before Gray finally arrived at the station in critical condition. He also told jurors how to determine each charge: Manslaughter means he acted in a “grossly negligent manner” and “created a high degree of risk to human life;” assault also requires a finding of gross negligence; reckless endangerment means disregarding a substantial risk of death; and misconduct requires “evil motive” and “bad faith”. The charges against the other officers range from second-degree murder to misconduct in office.

As for why he didn’t buckle Gray into a seat belt, Porter told the jury that the wagon is “pretty tight” and said that of his 200 arrests involving the transport van, he has never belted in a prisoner.

With that in mind, Baltimore Police Commissioner Kevin Davis canceled leave for all officers through Friday, saying “the community has an expectation for us to be prepared for a variety of scenarios”.

The researchers made recommendations similar to those in an earlier report, including the development of policies for mass demonstrations and improved intelligence-gathering, according to a statement from Rawlings-Blake, the mayor.

In a sign of how badly the case was going for the prosecution, two policemen who were granted immunity to testify against Porter were called instead by the defense, and gave what appeared to be damaging testimony about the department’s practice of not using seat belts on prisoners.