Three of the Baltimore Police Department (BPD) officers implicated in the death of Freddie Gray are seeking to block prosecutors’ attempts to appeal a decision made by Judge Barry Williams on Jan. 20 regarding a fourth officer’s testimony.
Prosecutors have been trying for several weeks to compel Officer William Porter, whose trial ended with a hung jury in December, to testify against Officers Edward Nero and Garrett Miller and Lieutenant Brian Rice. Williams denied the motion on Jan. 20, saying he believed prosecutors were simply trying to delay the trials. Nero’s trial is currently set to begin Feb. 22.
The prosecution has now turned to the Court of Special Appeals in the hopes of having Williams’ decision overturned.
According to Baltimore Circuit Court filings, lawyers for Nero, Miller, and Rice are also turning to the Court of Special Appeals in order to prevent the prosecution from appealing William’s ruling. The defense attorneys say that the decision is not appealable and that prosecutors want to delay their client’s trial until after Porter is retried in June, after which he could testify without fear of self-incrimination.
Gray, 25, died from a severe spinal cord injury in April, one week after being arrested by BPD officers. His death sparked more than a week of both peaceful and violent protesting.
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