Baltimore readies for trial in death of Freddie Gray
BALTIMORE— The stakes are high for the city of Baltimore as a trial begins Monday for an officer accused in the death of a black man who suffered a mysterious fatal injury in the back of a transport van.
Freddie Gray, 25, died April 19, inspiring thousands to take to the streets to protest what they believed was the mistreatment by police of another young black man. The narrative of Gray’s life and death instantly became a thread in the fabric of the Black Lives Matter movement that emerged across the U.S. in response to several police killings of African-Americans over the past year. Six police officers were indicted in Gray’s death. Jury selection in the first trial begins Monday. A verdict will likely set the tone for the midAtlantic port city: if Officer William Porter is acquitted, there could be protests and possibly more unrest, yet a conviction could send shock waves through the city’s troubled police department.
“Everything is at stake. The future of the city is at stake,” Police Commissioner Kevin Davis said.
The demonstrations after Gray’s death were mostly peaceful for several days, but on the day he was buried, looting and rioting started. Businesses were burned down and the unrest cost the city millions of dollars in property damage. The troubles forced an incumbent mayor in the throes of a re-election campaign to drop out of the race, and toppled the career of a reform-minded police chief who was unceremoniously fired. The homicide rate soared and the blood continues to spill on Baltimore’s streets at a pace unseen in decades.
Porter faces charges of assault, manslaughter, reckless endangerment and misconduct in office. He is accused of failing to get medical assitance for Gray during several stops the van made during its 45-minute trip from the site of Gray’s arrest to a police station house, where officers found Gray unresponsive and he was taken to a hospital. He died a week later. Gray was initially handcuffed. Later during the van ride, his legs were shackled and he was placed back in the van without a seatbelt, a violation of department policy, prosecutors have said.
Porter is black. Two other officers are black and the three others are white. They will be tried separately beginning in January; their trials are expected to last until the spring.
The trials, much like Gray’s death, are a microcosm of larger, systemic issues within the city.