Prosecutor Says Freddie Gray Hurt in ‘Casket on Wheels’

The case of Porter, 26, was sent in mid-afternoon to the 12-person jury-made up of four black women, three white women, three black men, and two white men-for deliberation.

Porter is the first of six officers to be tried in connection to Gray’s death, which occurred seven months ago after suffering a spine injury in police custody.

In the wake of renewed concerns about police use of deadly force against black citizens, including recent protests in Chicago, Minneapolis, and San Francisco, prosecutors in Baltimore – a city long dogged by racial unrest and accusations of police brutality – wrapped up their case Monday by characterizing Porter as part of a policing culture in Baltimore that has little regard for those who churn through the criminal justice system.

Gray died April 19, a week after his neck was broken during a ride in the back of a police van.

Sergeant Alicia White is one of six Baltimore, Maryland police officers charged in the death of Freddie Gray. Prosecutors say Porter is partially responsible for failing to buckle Gray into a seat belt and didn’t call a medic when he indicated he needed aid. Bledsoe said. “Is two, three, four seconds worth a life?”

Baltimore Circuit Judge Barry Williams told them they won’t be asked to stop at 5:30 p.m., if all jurors want to keep working. He is charged with two counts of second-degree assault, two… William Porter is charged with manslaughter, assault, misconduct in office and reckless endangerment. The charges against the other officers range from second-degree murder to misconduct in office. But on the stand, Porter said he had heard Gray say those words when he was first being arrested and not again.

Prosecutors allege Porter was “grossly indifferent” and “criminally negligent” for failing to help Gray, whom the state medical examiner testified was exhibiting signs of injury by the fourth of ultimately six stops.

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.

“With great power comes great responsibility”, she said, accusing Porter and his colleagues of transforming the police van into “a coffin on wheels”.

The van stopped three more times as officers checked on Gray, and at one point, Porter opened the van’s doors and lifted Gray to a seated position, although still unbuckled.

Porter testified that he did nothing wrong to Gray, who was arrested after running from officers in his neighborhood, and his attorney Joseph Murtha said nothing more than conjecture and speculation implicates his client. Porter said he helped Gray from the van floor to a bench.

A defense attorney called Gray’s death a “horrific tragedy” but said that “there is literally no evidence” that Porter’s actions in any way caused it. The defense attorney said expert witnesses disagreed on the timeline of when Gray suffered the spinal injury that eventually killed him, and that constitutes “reasonable doubt”.

To prove that Porter committed involuntary manslaughter, prosecutors must show that his conduct differed widely from what an officer reasonably would have done.

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

Prosecutors said Goodson initially stopped because Gray was acting out inside the passenger compartment.

Last week, Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake and Police Commissioner Kevin Davis cautioned the city to be respectful as the verdict gets closer.

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.