Trial over Freddie Gray death begins

30 November 2015

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Officer William Porter has pleaded not guilty

Jury selection has begun in the first trial over the death of Freddie Gray, a Baltimore man whose death in police custody set off days of protests.

Officer William Porter is charged with manslaughter, accused of failing to give medical help to Gray despite complaints and warning signs.

Gray sustained a severe spinal cord injury while riding in a police van and died a week later.

The case became a lightning rod in the US movement against police brutality.

Mr Porter is one of six police officers charged over Gray's death. All have pleaded not guilty. They will be tried separately and prosecutors hope to use Mr Porter as a witness in the other trials.

The case has already shaken Baltimore. After the riots, some police union police officials said the Gray case made officers "hesitant" to stop crime.

In a media campaign, police officials publically criticised the mayor and the city council, saying the force lacked their support.

City Police Commissioner Anthony Batts has been fired and the once-popular Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake has agreed not to run for election in the ensuing fallout. The city recently surpassed 300 murders within a year for the first time since 1999.

BALTIMORE, MD - NOVEMBER 30: Protestors hold up signs in front of the courthouse where jury selection began in the trial of William Porter, one of six Baltimore city police officers charged in connection to the death of Freddie Gray on November 30, 2015 in Baltimore, Maryland. Porter is the first to go to trial in the death of Gray who died from an injury incurred in the back of a police transport van on April 19 (

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Protesters supporting both Gray and police officers are expected to appear

"Everything is at stake. The future of the city is at stake," Police Commissioner Kevin Davis said.

Finding an impartial jury is expected to be difficult given how Gray's death affected the city. A Baltimore judge denied a defence request for a change of venue in September.

The six police officers facing the charges (top row from left): Caesar Goodson Jr., Garrett Miller and Edward Nero; bottom row from left: William Porter, Brian Rice and Alicia White

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The six police officers who have been charged (top row from left): Caesar Goodson Jar, Garrett Miller and Edward Nero; bottom row from left: William Porter, Brian Rice and Alicia White

Officer Caesar Goodson: 2nd-degree depraved heart murder, involuntary manslaughter, 2nd degree negligent assault, manslaughter by vehicle by means of gross negligence, manslaughter by vehicle by means of criminal negligence, misconduct in office for failure to secure prisoner and failure to render aid
Officer William Porter: Involuntary manslaughter, assault in the 2nd degree, misconduct in office
Lieutenant Brian Rice: Involuntary manslaughter, assault in the 2nd degree, assault in the 2nd degree [second of two similar charges], misconduct in office, false imprisonment
Officer Edward Nero: Assault in the 2nd degree (intentional), assault in the 2nd degree (negligent), misconduct in office, false imprisonment
Sergeant Alicia White: Involuntary manslaughter, 2nd degree assault, misconduct in office
Officer Garrett Miller: Intentional Assault in the 2nd degree, assault in the 2nd degree, negligent misconduct in office, false imprisonment