Baltimore: First cop on trial in killing of Freddie Gray

AP Photo/Alex Brandon

The trial of Baltimore cop William Porter, the first of six cops charged in the death of Freddie Gray, opened Dec. 2. Gray, a 25-year-old African-American, was arrested April 12 and taken away in a police van. While in custody he suffered a massive spinal cord injury and died a week later. His death sparked a mini-rebellion that won the indictment of the six cops involved. Above, protesters block streets in downtown Baltimore April 25.

Porter — who was allegedly present at five of six stops the van made while Gray was being transported — is charged with manslaughter, second-degree assault, misconduct in office and reckless endangerment. Prosecutors say Porter, in violation of protocol, did not call a medic when Gray requested one, nor did he secure Gray, who was handcuffed and shackled, with a seatbelt in the back of the van.

Porter’s lawyers argue that the Baltimore Police Department is dysfunctional and does not provide proper training. Defense attorney Gary Proctor ended his opening argument by mocking a slogan popularized during protests following Gray’s death, saying, “Let’s show Baltimore the whole damn system is not guilty as hell.”

After the hearing, protesters gathered outside a local police station chanting, “The whole damn system is guilty as hell.”

— NAOMI CRAINE