By CATHERINE PALMER
The six Baltimore Police Department officers implicated in the death of Freddie Gray will be tried in Baltimore per the ruling of Judge Barry Williams on Thursday.
Defense attorneys argued that the jury pool in Baltimore was too tainted for the officers to have fair trials. Williams disagreed.
"The citizens of Baltimore are not monolithic," he said in his ruling. "They think for themselves."
However, Williams said he would allow for the possibility of reconsidering a change in venue if an impartial jury cannot be found in the city.
Officer Caesar Goodman, Jr., the driver of the van that transported Gray, is charged with second-degree depraved-heart murder as well as manslaughter, second-degree assault, two counts of vehicular manslaughter and misconduct in office.
Officer William Porter, Lieutenant Brian Rice and Sergeant Alicia White are charged with involuntary manslaughter, second-degree assault and misconduct in office.
Officers Edward Nero and Garrett Miller are charged with second-degree assault and misconduct in office.
Williams also denied a defense motion to subpoena documents and files from the state’s attorney’s office.
Freddie Gray, 25, died in April from a severe spinal cord injury, one week after being arrested by BPD officers. His death sparked more than a week of largely peaceful protests and one day of rioting following his funeral.
Correction: This article previously misspelled Officer Caesar Goodson Jr.'s last name as Goodman.
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