Officer found not guilty in Freddie Gray’s death

An officer has been acquitted of all charges in the death of Freddie Gray.

Officer involved in Freddie Gray case

Baltimore Circuit Judge Barry Williams on Monday rejected the state’s case against Officer Edward Nero, acquitting him on all counts for his role in the arrest of Freddie Gray.

The verdict is the first in the widely watched case.

Nero, 30, had faced misdemeanor charges of second-degree assault, reckless endangerment and two counts of misconduct in office.

Gray died last year of injuries sustained while riding in the back of a police transport van.

The Baltimore Sun Reports:

Prosecutors argued that Nero committed an assault by detaining Gray without justification, while the reckless endangerment charge related to Nero’s role in putting Gray into the arrest wagon without buckling a seat belt. In closing arguments Thursday, Williams had skeptically questioned prosecutors about their theory of assault, a theory legal experts said was unprecedented.

No credible facts on officer in Freddie Gray case

In the ruling, Judge Barry Williams said there were “no credible facts” to show that Nero was directly involved in Gray’s arrest, and said testimony showed Nero’s role in putting Gray in the van was minimized by the actions of others and not unreasonable given his training.

“Based on the evidence presented, this court finds that the state has not met its burden to prove beyond a reasonable doubt all required elements of the crimes charged. Therefore, the verdict for each count is not guilty,” Williams said.

Source : Baltimore Sun