Gray jurors deadlocked in Porter’s trial
Judge asks them to keep deliberating in first officer’s trial.
BALTIMORE — Deadlocked in the case of a Baltimore police officer charged with manslaughter and other counts in the death of a prisoner, jurors went home for the night Tuesday after being instructed by the judge to continue deliberating.
The jury reported its failure to agree in a note to Baltimore Circuit Judge Barry Williams after about nine hours of discussions over two days. It wasn’t clear if they were stuck on one or more of the four charges, including manslaughter, Officer William Porter faces. He is the first of six officers to stand trial in the death of Freddie Gray, who suffered a broken neck while being transported in a police van.
Gray’s death April 19 sparked riots, and armored vehicles and police were stationed around the city Tuesday.
The jurors requested highlighters, an easel and sticky notes, suggesting a businesslike approach to assessing Porter’s role in Gray’s arrest and death. They also received speakers to improve the sound quality of recordings that included Porter’s interview with Baltimore police detectives, police radio transmissions on the day Gray was arrested and cellphone videos made at two of the police van’s six stops as it carried Gray on a roundabout trip to a police station.
In all, the jury heard from more than two dozen witnesses and received about 100 pieces of evidence in the trial, which began Nov. 30. They also took a trip to see the police van where Gray had been left facefirst on the floor, with his wrists tied behind his back and his ankles shackled, instead of being buckled with a seat belt on a bench, as required by police regulations.
An autopsy concluded that Gray probably suffered fatal injuries when he was slammed against the van’s walls as the van cornered and braked.
A manslaughter conviction is punishable by up to 10 years in prison. Porter also faces charges of assault, reckless endangerment and misconduct.
The judge denied defense requests to declare a mistrial or try Porter outside of Baltimore. Porter’s lawyers sought to ask jurors if they’d seen a letter the city schools chief sent home with children Monday, warning against violent responses to a verdict.
The judge said asking jurors about the letter would not be appropriate. The jurors have not been sequestered, but they have been warned not to read news articles about the case or talk about it with anyone other than fellow jurors.
Prosecutors concluded that Porter could have saved Gray’s life by securing him with a seat belt and summoning medical when it became clear Gray needed it. Instead, they said, Porter’s indifference makes him criminally responsible for Gray’s injury.
The defense characterized Porter as a conscientious officer who told supervisors to take Gray to the hospital, even though he testified that the detainee showed no signs of pain or distress before he arrived at the police station critically injured.