Trial for Officer Porter to Begin Wednesday

The trial for Officer William Porter is set to begin Wednesday, following two-and-a-half days of jury selection.

More than 100 potential jurors were asked questions this week in an attempt to seat a fair and impartial jury to hear the case involving Porter.

He is the first to stand trial of six officers charged in the death of Freddie Gray, the 25-year-old Baltimore man who died in police custody April 19, a week after his arrest.

Gray reportedly died from spinal injuries suffered in the back of a police van.

Porter, 26, faces charges of manslaughter, second-degree assault, reckless endangerment and misconduct in office.

According to the state’s attorney, Porter twice responded to the police van transporting Gray after the driver asked for assistance.

The driver of the police van, Officer Caesar Goodson, faces the most serious charge among the six officers involved in Gray’s detainment: second-degree depraved heart murder. His trial is next, scheduled to begin Jan. 6, 2016.

Porter will reportedly be called as a witness in the cases against other officers.

“You’re the judges of the facts,” Baltimore City Circuit Court Judge Barry Williams told the 16-member panel of jurors in Porter’s case, after swearing them in Wednesday morning.

The jury of eight women (five black, three white) and four men (three black, one white) will now hear the case of the state of Maryland vs. William Porter. The alternate jurors are four men (three white, one black).

Jury Selection Takes More Than Two Days

Lawyers for the officers previously said they were concerned about the capacity to seat an impartial jury in Baltimore due to the effect Gray’s death had on the city.

After Gray’s funeral in late April, there were riots in parts of Baltimore, drawing the National Guard to help quell the unrest. Days after the riots, State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby announced charges against six officers involved in Gray’s detainment, ranging from misconduct in office to murder.

Judge Williams said the only way to see if Baltimoreans could hear the case and make a decision based upon the evidence presented would be to ask them.

On Monday and Tuesday, he asked approximately 150 prospective jurors a series of questions, ranging from whether they were related to anyone who worked in law enforcement to their familiarity with a list of approximately 200 witnesses, interviewing them in public and later behind closed doors. On Wednesday, the judge and attorneys whittled down the jury pool to 47, then identified the 16 who would make up the jurors and alternates.

Of note during the jury selection, all 150 candidates had heard of Gray and the citywide curfew that went into effect after riots broke out; only one person had reportedly not heard about the city’s $6.4 million wrongful death payout to the Gray family; and two prospective jurors reportedly said they knew Freddie Gray.

Williams is expected to hear opening arguments Wednesday.

He has reportedly said the trial will go until Dec. 17 at the latest. According to WBAL, the judge set this timeline for the trial to accommodate potential jurors who said they could not serve due to plans around the holidays.

• Officer Porter Trial: Jury Selection Continues
• Gray Family to Receive $6.4M in Wrongful Death Settlement
• Baltimore Riots: Fires, Looting, State of Emergency
• Freddie Gray Case: Demonstrators Cheer Decision by Judge