Baltimore Police Officer Goodson Acquitted of All Charges

The Baltimore Sun reports that Officer Ceasar Goodson Jr., who faced the most serious charges of any of the six officers indicted in the death of Freddie Gray, has been acquitted of all charges.

Officer Caesar Goodson, Jr., 46, had faced the most serious charges of any of the six officers indicted in Gray’s arrest and death last April, including second-degree depraved heart murder. Goodson was also acquitted of three counts of manslaughter, second-degree assault, reckless endangerment and misconduct in office.

Freddie Gray was 25 years old when he suffered a fatal spinal injury while in the back of the police van driven by Goodson.

Goodson opted for a bench trial before Circuit Judge Barry Williams. Judge Williams said the timeline of Gray’s injuries remains unclear, and the state “failed to meet its burden” to present enough evidence to back its assertions. “As the trier of fact, the court can’t simply let things speak for themselves,” stated Judge Williams.

Judge Expected To Rule Today On Trial Schedules For the Baltimore Six

The six police officers are charged with various crimes in the death of Freddie Gray in Baltimore, Maryland on April 19, 2015. Freddie died a week after he was injured while being transported in a police van to the jail.  An autopsy found that Freddie’s spine was 80 percent severed.

Judge Barry Williams will hold a scheduling conference this afternoon, September 29 2015, to determine when and in what order the officers, who face charges ranging from second-degree assault to second-degree “depraved-heart” murder, will be tried. The first trial is tentatively scheduled for Oct. 13, 2015.

Earlier this month, Judge Williams ruled that each officer will get his or her own trial. The state anticipates that they will need between three and five days to present their case against each officer, and intend to call at least one officer to testify against the others.

Prosecutors plan to first place Officer William Porter on trial. Porter is charged with manslaughter, second-degree assault, and reckless endangerment. The state intends to call Porter to testify against Sgt. Alicia White, who faces identical charges, and Officer Caesar Goodson, who faces an additional “depraved-heart” murder charge.

Garrett Miller and Edward Nero have been charged with misdemeanor assault, misconduct in office and reckless endangerment. Lt. Brian Rice has been charged with manslaughter.

One reason for not having one trial for all of the accused is because they gave investigators conflicting statements. Defense lawyers told the court that the conflicting statements could create problems in a joint trial because it would pit the defendants against each other, depriving them of the right to confront his or her accuser and deprive them of the right to not testify in their defense.