Police officer found NOT GUILTY in trial over black man’s death that sparked anti-racism riots in 2015
Edward Nero acquitted of charges after death of Freddie Gray following his arrest in Baltimore, US, in April of last year
A COP has been acquitted after standing trial over the death of a black man in Baltimore USA last year.
Edward Nero, 30, was found not guilty of assault and other charges – which carried a penalty of up to 15 years in prison – relating to the death of Freddie Gray in April 2015.
Gray, 25, died from serious spinal injuries sustained after being arrested for carrying what was suspected to be an illegal knife.
A post-mortem found that he suffered a fatal blow when he slammed into the wall of the police van as it was moving.
Gray, who was not wearing a seatbelt at the time, fell into a coma and died a week later on 21 April.
The judge found that Nero “acted as any reasonable officer would” during the arrest, agreeing with the officer’s defence team who claimed he didn’t touch Gray until he was already in handcuffs.
According to Reuters, Circuit Judge Barry Williams said: “[Nero’s colleague] Miller stated unequivocally that he was the one who detained and handcuffed Mr Gray.”
He helped to load the detainee into the back of the police van, but the judge concluded there was no evidence to prove the prosecution’s theory of “recklessness and negligence”.
Nero, whose lawyer said he was “elated that this nightmare is finally over”, was the second of six police officers to be charged over the incident.
His colleague William Porter escaped conviction on manslaughter charges earlier this year after a jury was unable to reach a verdict.
Freddie Gray’s death sparked days of protests against police brutality and racism – including a day of rioting in Baltimore which saw almost 400 buildings damaged or destroyed.
The mayor of the majority black city, Stephanie Rawlings-Blake, appealed for calm after the verdict against Nero, asking for “citizens to be patient and to allow the entire process to come to a conclusion”.
She said: “This is our American system of justice and police officers must be afforded the same justice system as every other citizen in this city, state, and country.”
Four more Baltimore officers are still waiting to be tried on charges that vary from misconduct to second-degree murder.
The officer facing the most serious charges, police van driver Caesar Goodson Jr., is set to go to trial 6 June.
Gene Ryan, president of the local police union, slammed the charges as “baseless”, saying: “None of these officers did anything wrong.”
According to BBC, he said: “The state attorney’s office responded to the riots and violence in Baltimore by rushing to charge these officers rashly and without any meaningful investigation.”
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