B’MORE OFFICER CLEARED
Drove Freddie Gray
BALTIMORE — A disciplinary panel unanimously found a Baltimore police van driver not guilty Tuesday of all administrative charges related to his role in transporting Freddie Gray, the black man whose fatal injury during the ride sparked riots in the city.
The three-member board found that Officer Caesar Goodson, also a black man, did not violate any department policies outlined in 21 charges against him the day Gray was fatally injured in police custody. Goodson smiled and appeared relieved after the verdicts were read. His lawyers hugged and patted each other on the back with loud thumps.
“This is a vindication of this officer and what was done that day,” Sean Malone, one of Goodson’s lawyers, said outside the University of Baltimore, where the proceeding was held. “This is a tragic accident that happened, and we’re sorry for the loss of Mr. Gray, but we’re glad that our client is not going to be the face of this incident.”
Goodson has remained employed with the department and will keep his job on the force.
Baltimore police lawyer Neil Duke argued that Goodson should have been fired for failing to follow policy by not buckling Gray into a seat belt, failing to get him medical attention and lying about the chain of events following Gray’s arrest in April 2015.
Gray died a week later of a spinal cord injury he suffered during the van ride, prompting civil unrest among people expressing outrage at the treatment of African-Americans by police in Baltimore’s inner city.
None of the six officers charged criminally for their roles in Gray’s arrest was convicted. Three of the officers are black and three are white.
In reforms made as a result of Gray’s death, state lawmakers opened police disciplinary hearings to the public, hoping to improve transparency when departments seek to hold officers accountable.
The city of Baltimore reached a $6.4 million settlement with Gray’s parents to avoid litigation, but Police Commissioner Kevin Davis said his department remains committed to broader reforms, including this administrative process, with hearings pending for two more officers involved in Gray’s arrest.
“Freddie Gray died in police custody,” Davis said in a statement after the verdict. “My thoughts and prayers remain with the Gray family. We will continue to make improvements within our organization to meet the expectations of constitutional policing demanded by our community.”