Balt Freddie Judge Making it up

[Manonthestreet]

Look at me I change laws like Obama

(Via Baltimore Sun ) Baltimore Judge Barry G. Williams ordered that Officer William Porter be compelled to testify at the upcoming trial of a fellow Baltimore Police officer charged in the death of Freddie Gray, a ruling Porter’s defense attorneys said they would immediately seek an injunction to block. Gobsmacking - Baltimore Judge Orders Officer Porter To Testify Against Fellow Officers....

 

[waltky]

Will Baltimore riot?...

Tensions High After Acquittal of Baltimore Police Officer in Death
May 23, 2016 - Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake vowed to protect the city from any unrest following the verdict.

Baltimore Circuit Judge Barry Williams on Monday acquitted Officer Edward Nero of all counts for his role in the arrest and death of Freddie Gray. The judgment, following a five-day bench trial, is the first in the closely-watched case. Nero, 30, faced four misdemeanor charges of second-degree assault, reckless endangerment and two counts of misconduct in office.

Prosecutors had argued that Nero committed an assault by detaining Gray without justification, while the reckless endangerment charge related to Nero's role in putting Gray into an arrest wagon without buckling a seat belt. In closing arguments Thursday, Williams had skeptically questioned prosecutors about their theory of assault, which legal experts said was unprecedented. Nero leaned forward after the verdict was read, and wiped his eyes. He hugged his attorneys.

Nero was the second of six city police officers charged in the case to stand trial. The first trial, of Officer William Porter, ended in a hung jury and mistrial last December. Nero, a former New Jersey volunteer firefighter who joined the Baltimore Police Department in 2012, is one of three officers who were on bike patrol when they chased and arrested Gray in West Baltimore. Gray, 25, suffered severe spinal cord injuries while in the back of a Baltimore police van, prosecutors say. He died a week later, touching off citywide protests. On the day of his funeral on April 27, rioting, looting and arson broke out, leading the mayor to institute a weeklong nightly curfew and the governor to call in the National Guard.

Nero's trial lasted six days, with the prosecution calling 14 witnesses and the defense calling seven before closing statements last Thursday. Nero's attorneys had sought to minimize his role in the arrest, saying that he had limited contact with Gray. They also argued that Nero followed his training. The next trial in the case will be that of Officer Caesar Goodson Jr, the driver of the van used to transport Gray. His trial is scheduled to begin June 6. His trial is to be followed by those of Lt. Brian Rice (July 5), Officer Garrett Miller (July 27), Officer William Porter (Sept. 6) and Sgt. Alicia White (Oct. 13).

Baltimore Police Officer Found Not Guilty in Death of Freddie Gray

 

[waltky]

State's Atty. sued for defamation and invasion of privacy in Freddie Gray case...

Two Baltimore Officers in Freddie Gray Case Sue Marilyn Mosby
May 25, 2016 - Sgt. Alicia White and Officer William Porter are suing Baltimore State's Attorney Marilyn Mosby for defamation and invasion of privacy.

Two officers charged in the death of Freddie Gray are suing Baltimore State's Attorney Marilyn Mosby for defamation and invasion of privacy. Sgt. Alicia White and Officer William Porter, who are facing charges of involuntary manslaughter in the 25-year-old's death last April, filed the lawsuit against Mosby, Baltimore sheriff's office Maj. Sam Cogen and the state of Maryland on May 2, according to Baltimore Circuit Court records made public Wednesday.

The officers claim that Mosby and Cogen knew the statement of charges filed against the officers and other statements made by Mosby at a May 1, 2015, news conference announcing the charges "were false." "These among other statements were made not for the purpose of prosecuting crimes that had allegedly been committed by White and Porter, but rather for purposes of quelling the riots in Baltimore," the suit alleges.

Baltimore State Attorney Marilyn Mosby answers questions at a press conference outside the War Memorial Building on May 1, 2015, talking about the arrests of police officers involved in the death of Freddie Gray in Baltimore, Md.​

The officers had asked that the lawsuit be sealed to "avoid any suggestion" that they were "not complying with the spirit of" a gag order issued in their criminal cases by Circuit Judge Barry G. Williams, and to "avoid any additional pretrial publicity in connection with their upcoming criminal trials." They said they had to file the lawsuit at this time because of statute of limitations concerns. Judge Althea Handy on Wednesday denied the motion to seal the case, saying the officers had "failed to provide a special and compelling reason to preclude or limit inspection of the case record sufficient to overcome the presumption of openness" under Maryland law.

The lawsuit lists the officers' attorney as Michael E. Glass, who could not be reached for comment. A spokeswoman for the state's attorney's office declined to comment, citing a gag order on the criminal prosecution, and the sheriff's office also declined to comment. Legal experts expressed doubt that the lawsuit would be successful. A. Dwight Pettit, who litigates civil cases in Baltimore but is not involved in this case, said prosecutors enjoy immunity from being sued "unless you can show some sort of malicious intent, which is a very steep burden." "It's very unusual," he said of the officers' lawsuit. "The allegations would have to border on intentional conduct to cause them irreparable injury."

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Baltimore Officer's Father: Year of Hell is Over
May 25, 2016 - The night after his son was acquitted in Baltimore court, the father of Officer Edward Nero said a very trying year for his family has finally ended.

"We never felt for a moment that our son has done anything wrong, and the court proved that," he said. Ed Nero Sr. appeared Monday night on Fox News with host Megyn Kelly. "Your reaction today?" Kelly asked. "Extremely happy," the father said. Baltimore Circuit Judge Barry Williams acquitted the 30-year-old officer on all counts for his role in the arrest of Freddie Gray.

Baltimore Police officer Edward Nero is greeted by a member of the Baltimore Sheriff's Department as he arrives for the verdict in his trial relating to the death of Freddie Gray on May 23 in Baltimore.​

The 25-year-old Gray died last year of injuries sustained while in police custody. Nero was charged with misdemeanors of second-degree assault, reckless endangerment and misconduct in office. He was the second officer tried in Gray's death. Ed Nero Sr. said little more in the interview that lasted a couple of minutes.

Kelly played footage of protesters shouting at the Nero family as they left the downtown courthouse. "They were shouting things that were uncalled for," Ed Nero Sr. said. "It was very fearful for my younger son. Apparently, they assumed he was my older son. ... It was difficult getting out."

Baltimore Officer's Father: Year of Hell is Over | Officer.com

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Baltimore Police to Begin Using PowerDMS
May 25, 2016 - The Baltimore Police Department will begin using PowerDMS to ensure that officers receive and read important information about policy changes and training.

The Baltimore Police Department is rolling out new software that it says will ensure that officers receive and read important information about policy changes and training. The department's announcement of the PowerDMS software, which it hopes to launch about July 1, came one day after a judge acquitted a Baltimore officer of four criminal charges in the arrest of Freddie Gray -- finding, in part, that prosecutors failed to prove that the officer had received proper training or updated policies on the transportation of detainees in police wagons.

During his trial, attorneys for Officer Edward M. Nero argued that he had never been trained on placing and seat-belting individuals in transport vans such as the one in which prosecutors say Gray suffered fatal spinal cord injuries. Defense attorneys also said Nero had never opened a department email sent to him just days before Gray's arrest that contained a revised policy mandating seat belts for detainees. In clearing Nero of the charges, Circuit Judge Barry G. Williams agreed with Nero's attorneys that without that training or knowledge of the policy, his actions were reasonable -- a key standard in the charges against him.

On Tuesday, Police Commissioner Kevin Davis said the new software will remove any such confusion. "It ensures consistent and timely distribution of policies with an accountability and tracking mechanism, which is very important to ensure our police officers know and can act upon the expectations that are placed upon them by leadership," Davis said. The software, which cost the department about $60,000 for its first year of use, prompts officers with alerts whenever they have been sent a new policy, a new piece of training or other important information. Officers will have to acknowledge receiving the information.

The software can quiz officers on information they have received, and will alert supervisors if the officers have not signed off on the information after two weeks. The software can be accessed via computer, tablet or smartphone. The software is geared toward in-service training and policy updates for active officers, and is not designed to track whether recruits receive complete training at the police academy, an issue that arose in Nero's trial. Davis said he has used PowerDMS during previous stints in the police departments of Prince George's and Anne Arundel counties, and first asked about Baltimore adopting it before Gray's arrest last year.

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