Seven months after his death in the back of a police transport van, the first trial for charges related to the arrest and death of Freddie Gray have begun in Baltimore. Officer William Porter, the first of six officers who will be tried, is due to attend court today, according to CBS News.
Gray, 25, died in hospital just a week after his arrest at the hands of Porter and five other officers on April 12, suffering a fatal spinal cord injury while held in police custody, according to CNN News. The circumstances of his death caught the attention of a public and the media alike, with demonstrations and protests escalating to riots after Gray's burial, leading to the destruction of several commercial structures and the presence of the Maryland National Guard, as reported by CNN.
Porter is just the first officer to be tried in this case, and is currently facing charges of one count of involuntary manslaughter, second-degree assault, misconduct in office and reckless endangerment, according to ABC News. He is accused of failing to secure medical help for Gray during the 45-minute journey that resulted in Gray's death and is claimed by charging documents to have been present when Gray said that he couldn't breathe, as reported by NPR.
The initial few days of this trial will be focused on putting together a jury, a process that Judge Barry Williams said must remain anonymous, according to CBS News, stating "it is very important that jurors not bring their preconceived ideas to this case." The decision to try Porter before the other officers comes in part because of prosecutors wanting to use him as a witness in the trials of his fellow officers, according to ABC.
Stephanie Rawlings-Blake, the mayor of Baltimore who faced criticism for her handling of protests following Gray's death, told the Associated Press that she was hopeful that justice would prevail and that "the officers will be given a fair trial by a fair and impartial jury, and that the citizens of Baltimore and the police can respect the decision."
