A judge has just declared a mistrial in the murder case of Baltimore’s Freddie Gray.
Officer William Porter is free for now. Porter, the Baltimore police officer who was the first to be charged for the murder of Freddie Gray, walks after a judge just declared a mistrial minutes ago. Jurors had been deadlocked since yesterday.
25-year old Freddie Gray died last April after being arrested and taken into police custody. He was placed in the back of a police van and, against department protocols, not secured by a seat belt or other device.
ThinkProgress today notes “the officers ignored pleas for help and were slow to get him medical attention. Gray died because his brain didn’t get enough oxygen after the high-impact injury was sustained during the ride. At least one surgeon believes the 25-year-old could have survived if the officers sought help sooner.”
Porter was the first officer to go to trial. He was charged with involuntary manslaughter, assault in the second degree, reckless endangerment, and misconduct in office. The van carrying Gray stopped multiple times, and Porter was responsible for monitoring him between multiple stops. But he did not buckle Gray’s seat belt, and prosecutors argued that he was slow to alert medics when Gray was in distress. The officer pleaded not guilty to the four charges, and says that he did call for help once he realized Gray was injured.
Jurors deliberated over the course of three days for a total of 16 hours.
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Image by scottlum via Flickr and a CC license