Charges dropped against final officer in Gray case

After facing state criminal charges, a federal criminal investigation and internal disciplinary charges, all six Baltimore Police Department (BPD) officers implicated in the 2015 arrest and death of Freddie Gray will be allowed to remain on the force.

The highest-ranking officers, Lieutenant Brian Rice and Sergeant Alicia White, were the last to have their cases closed. Rice was acquitted of administrative charges by a trial board on Nov. 17 and, according to The Baltimore Sun, was reinstated later that day.

According to former Deputy Commissioner Jerry Rodriguez, Rice was the first officer to see Gray on the morning of April 12, 2015. Rice, Officer Garrett Miller and Officer Edward Nero were on bike patrol in the Sandtown-Winchester neighborhood of West Baltimore where Gray, a 25-year-old black man, grew up.

After Rice made eye contact with Gray, Gray immediately began running. The officers then pursued Gray and arrested him after finding a knife on his person. Amateur videos shot by witnesses showed the officers kneeling beside and behind Gray, who was lying facedown on a sidewalk with his hands behind his back.

Officers then lifted Gray up and walked him over to the police van. Gray’s feet dragged along the ground, and he cried out. Gray was put inside with his hands cuffed behind his back, but he was not buckled into his seat.

According to The Sun, Rice’s charges included not securing Gray with a seatbelt, which was in violation of a new BPD policy that had gone into effect a few days before Gray’s arrest, and not answering radio broadcasts.

White’s trial was scheduled to begin on Dec. 5, but Baltimore Police Commissioner Kevin Davis dropped the administrative charges against her on Nov. 22.

Davis chose to the dismiss the charges in light of the acquittals of Rice and Officer Caesar Goodson Jr., according to a statement released by the BPD.

“Two separate boards have examined the evidence and have reached the same conclusion. The evidence and allegations against Sergeant White are the same,” the statement read. “Commissioner Davis feels proceeding with this administrative hearing would not be in good faith.”

White was most strongly implicated in playing a role in Gray’s death by Officer William Porter, who has not faced any administrative charges. Porter told investigators that he had asked Gray if he needed medical attention and that Gray had answered affirmatively.

Porter said he had informed White. She told investigators she did not recall being aware of the request. However, she did call for a medic when the van arrived at the Western District police station and Gray was found not to be breathing.

Gray died one week later from a severe spinal cord injury, sparking both peaceful and violent protesting that gained national attention.

Rice, Porter and Goodson would all have faced termination had any of the disciplinary charges against them been upheld.

Miller and Nero chose to accept internal discipline last month in lieu of going before trial boards and, according to The Sun, have since returned to active duty. They are the only the officers who have been punished in connection with Gray’s death.

State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby brought criminal charges against all six officers, including Porter, in May 2015, the day after the state’s medical examiner’s office ruled Gray’s death a homicide.

However, following Porter’s mistrial and the acquittals of Nero, Goodson and Rice, Mosby believed the possibility of securing any convictions was unlikely. She dropped the charges against Porter, who was set to be retried, as well as Miller and White in July 2016.

Rice, White, Goodson and Porter were suspended without pay while under indictment. They were put back on the payroll after being acquitted or having the charges dropped, and they all received back pay. Miller and Nero were suspended with pay because they faced misdemeanor charges.

The Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division began its own investigation into Gray’s death in 2015 under former Attorney General Loretta Lynch but concluded in October that none of the officers should be charged. That decision foreclosed the possibility that any of the officers would be held criminally responsible for Gray’s death.

The internal disciplinary charges came after the BPD asked neighboring Montgomery County and Howard County police departments to review its officers’ actions, according to The Sun.

The officers’ suspensions were not lifted until after they went through that process, which was completed with the dismissal of White’s charges.

While the case has now closed with no lasting consequences for the officers, Baltimore city accepted civil liability in Gray’s arrest and death in 2015 and pledged to pay $6.4 million to Gray’s family.