Officers In Freddie Gray Case Blocked From Suing Mosby: Judge

RICHMOND, VA — Five of the six city of Baltimore Police officers charged in connection with the death of Freddie Gray are suing the Baltimore state's attorney for defamation. A federal court on Monday blocked the case.

Police van driver Caesar Goodson was the only one of the six officers charged in the case who did not file a lawsuit against the state. The five others said they were charged without sufficient evidence in a strategic move to ease public unrest after Gray died following a ride in a police van, which prosecutors said left him fatally injured.

The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the lawsuit against Baltimore State's Attorney Marilyn Mosby would not be proceeding since Mosby had immunity as a prosecutor in bringing the charges.

The decision overturned a 2017 ruling in the U.S. District Court that gave the officers the green light to take the state's attorney to court on charges of invasion of privacy, defamation and malicious prosecution, The Baltimore Sun reported.

"They claim that her role in independently investigating their conduct strips her of absolute prosecutorial immunity and that their bare allegations of malice or gross negligence overcome Maryland’s statutory immunity protections," Chief Judge Roger Gregory, of the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals wrote in his opinion, released Monday; read it in full at the bottom of the article.

"We resoundingly reject the invitation to cast aside decades of Supreme Court and circuit precedent to narrow the immunity prosecutors enjoy," Gregory wrote. "And we find no justification for denying Mosby the protection from suit that the Maryland legislature has granted her."

The officers were just like "most defendants" who disagreed with the state's decision to prosecute them and took issue with the statement of charges, "which inherently contains defamatory information," Gregory wrote. He said that these sentiments did not mean that the officers would be entitled to recover damages or litigate the case in court.

Sgt. Alicia White and Officer William Porter, whose charges — including involuntary manslaughter — were dropped after three other officers were acquitted, filed suit against Mosby, Baltimore City Sheriff's Office Major Sam Cogen and the state of Maryland in May 2016. They filed the lawsuit about one year after they were suspended from duty pending trial.

Gray was arrested on April 12, 2015, after making eye contact with a lieutenant and running. He died a week later from what prosecutors alleged were spinal injuries suffered while Gray was in police custody. After the funeral for 25-year-old Gray, riots erupted in parts of the city, requiring the National Guard to help quell the unrest. Days later, Mosby announced charges against six officers.

White, Porter and colleagues who joined the lawsuit — Officer Edward Nero, Lt. Brian Rice and Officer Garrett Miller — said that Mosby maliciously prosecuted them and omitted key information about a witness who said Gray was banging his head against a wall of the van.

None of the charges stuck against any of the six officers. All were cleared for duty following police reviews after the criminal justice proceedings ended.

RELATED: Freddie Gray Case: 2 Baltimore Cops Sue Prosecutor for Defamation

"I'm not shocked," Ivan Bates said in an interview with WBAL Radio Monday after learning a judge was blocking the case. Bates, who is also running for Baltimore state's attorney, represented Sgt. Alicia White.

Mosby issued a statement indicating she did nothing other than her duty as the state's attorney.

"I support the court's opinion that the people of Baltimore elected me to deliver one standard of justice for all," Mosby said in a statement Monday, "and that using the legal system to reach a fair and just resolution to Gray's death was not a political move but rather it was my duty."

According to The Baltimore Sun, the officers have 90 days to petition the Supreme Court to hear the case.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Photo of Marilyn Mosby via Baltimore State's Attorney's Office.