Crime & Safety
Baltimore Police Fully Staffed for Freddie Gray Hearings: Reports
Lawyers will meet in Baltimore City Circuit Court this week to lay the groundwork for court proceedings involving six police officers.
The Baltimore Police Department notified personnel Monday that Sept. 3 and Sept. 10 are mandatory work days.
On those dates, hearings are scheduled for six officers charged in the detainment of Freddie Gray, the 25-year-old Baltimore man who died in police custody April 19. Proceedings are scheduled to begin in Baltimore Circuit Court.
The cancellation of police leave on the two days is precautionary, Baltimore Police spokesman T.J. Smith told WBAL.
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“We have hindsight and we would rather err on the side of caution,” Smith said. “We certainly hope we don’t need them.”
Hours after Gray’s funeral on April 27, riots erupted near Mondawmin Mall and in other parts of the city, including the area where Gray was arrested near North at Pennsylvania avenues.
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Millions of dollars in property damage was reported, and Baltimore was placed under curfew for five days after the governor declared a state of emergency and sent in the National Guard to help control the situation.
On May 1, Baltimore State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby announced the officers involved in Gray’s detainment were being criminally charged.
Officer Caesar Goodson, Officer William Porter, Sgt. Alicia White, Lt. Brian Rice, Officer Garrett Miller and Officer Edward Nero were accused of offenses ranging from false imprisonment to second-degree depraved heart murder. All six officers were suspended with pay following Gray’s death from a spinal injury, police said.
Judge Barry Williams will be presiding over the proceedings this week in the 100 block of North Calvert Street, minutes from the Inner Harbor.
At Wednesday’s hearing, lawyers are expected to discuss whether to hold the officers’ six trials separately or together; whether any charges may be dismissed; and if Mosby will be prosecuting the case, The Baltimore Sun reported. The Sept. 10 hearing is to cover whether to move the trials from Baltimore, according to the newspaper.
All six officers have filed waivers excusing them from the pretrial hearings, and Gray’s family has also stated its members do not plan to attend, The Baltimore Sun reported.
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