Trial begins for first police officer charged in death of Freddie Gray

William Porter, one of six Baltimore city police officers charged in connection to the death of Freddie Gray, walks to a courthouse for jury selection in his trial, on November 30, in Baltimore.

Another demonstration began Monday evening, even before the court wrapped up its work for the day. Lawyers for the accused cops have said they didn’t think their clients could get impartial juries in Baltimore, but Williams wanted to try anyway, per USA Today.

The start on Monday of the trial of a Baltimore police officer charged in the death of a black man while in police custody could mark a pivotal moment for a city that has been a flashpoint in the U.S. debate on police brutality.

The community is expected to watch this case closely, and the local NAACP chapter plans to have a “court watcher” in attendance throughout the trial, which the judge said would likely not go past December 17.

The six officers are all being tried separately.

A group of about 50 of them later in the evening marched for more than an hour through the Inner Harbor to PowerPlant Live and to City Hall before returning to the courthouse. Porter is accused of ignoring Gray’s requests for medical aid and not putting a seatbelt on him, even though he was shackled and handcuffed.

According to The Baltimore Sun, 75 possible jurors in the case are aware of the story of Gray’s arrest and subsequent death, which made national headlines. Gray was a 25-year-old black man who was critically injured in the back of a police transport van.

Porter is charged with involuntary manslaughter, second-degree assault, misconduct in office and reckless endangerment in Gray’s death, and could face a sentence of at least 10 years in prison if convicted. He said his administration’s security team has been meeting on an nearly on a weekly basis.

Hogan says: “It’s sort of like we’re hoping for the best but preparing for the worst”. Baltimore’s police chief was sacked and “Justice for Freddie Gray” became the demonstrators’ battle cry.

“All night, all day, we’ll fight for Freddie Gray”, some shouted.

The other officers are charged with offenses ranging from second-degree murder for van driver Officer Caesar Goodson to misconduct.

T incident sparked waves of protests in Baltimore that escalated into days of rioting.

Williams and the lawyers for both sides then took some of the jurors outside the courtroom for more questioning Monday afternoon.

For instance, if a prospective juror said he or she had been the victim of a crime, Colbert said the judge would want to understand more about the crime and any interaction with the police.

Legal experts said the process is complicated and that certain answers to questions wouldn’t necessarily disqualify jurors, much less automatically exclude them. His death prompted widespread protests and rioting.

Porter’s defense team is expected to present as many as 25 character witnesses, after Judge Williams last week rejected a prosecution motion to limit the number of character witnesses.

Jurors were read a list of 100 names of people who are potential witnesses, or whose names may be mentioned during the trial.