Trial begins for Baltimore officer charged in prisoner death

Since charging the officers last May, Mosby has come under intense scrutiny for her decisions.

As a direct result of the actions of her office, Baltimore City State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby is facing possible disbarment.

Lt. Brian Rice [Photo by Jose Luis Magana/AP Images]With each acquittal in the case, the likelihood that any of the officers will be found guilty diminishes. Yet, even fewer are ever successfully prosecuted on those charges.

His fate will rest in the hands of Circuit Judge Barry G. Williams.

Rice is the fourth officer to stand trial.

A bench trial means a judge determines the verdict. Rice also helped load him into the police van.

Pre-trial motions for Baltimore City Police Lt. Brian Rice will be heard this morning, with Rice’s trial scheduled to begin on Wednesday.

Rice faces charges of manslaughter, assault, reckless endangerment and misconduct in office.

Rice, 42, is seeking a bench trial – rather than one decided by a jury – like two fellow officers who were acquitted. Being in more of a supervisory role, Rice was expected to be a tougher conviction than some of the other officers to begin with, and early indications from the judge are likely giving his defense team reason to be cautiously optimistic. A group defending Mosby said threatening emails she has received are attempts to get her to drop the charges against the officers in the Gray case.

But Schatzow’s explanation – that the police department was reluctant to turn internal documents over to the state – will be viewed quite differently on each side of society’s divide on criminal justice issues, Jaros predicted. Prosecutors allege that they knowingly violated department protocol when they arrested Gray and put him in the wagon without securing him.

Defense attorneys for Rice had said that the late nature of the disclosure prevented them from looking into the documents or interviewing witnesses about them.

She’s been criticized for rushing to charge the officers without a complete investigation. Rice has pleaded not-guilty on all counts.

Rice was the first officer to make eye contact with Gray, who immediately fled.

Defense attorneys argue that two recent disclosures in the case revealed prosecutorial misconduct.

Training has been a major part of the cases against the officers.

The prosecution claims that Gray’s fatal injury was caused by a “rough ride” when the officers deliberately left Gray unrestrained by a seatbelt and then drove in such a way to cause him to be tossed around in the back of the van.

– One count of misconduct in office for failing to secure Gray with a seat belt inside a police vehicle.

Six officers, three black and three white, were charged in the case.

Court resumes at 9:30 a.m. Thursday with opening statements.