The defense has rested its case in the trial of Officer William Porter.
The defense presented 12 witnesses over three days before resting its case just before 12:30 this afternoon.
Judge Barry Williams dismissed the jury of seven women and five men for the weekend.
After a one hour hearing with attorneys to discuss jury instructions recessed court until Monday at 9 a.m., when the jury will receive instructions and hear closing arguments.
If there are no further legal issues, the jury could begin deliberating as soon as Monday afternoon.
Today, the defense called four character witnesses including Porter’s Mother Helena, who called her someone "who likes to keep the peace and is a peacemaker."
The only non-character witness who testified was Baltimore police Capt. Justin Reynolds, who testified as an expert on city police training procedures. Reynolds said Officer Porter’s actions towards Freddie Gray went beyond what was expected for a backup officer.
The defense did not call Dontae Allen to the stand, the drug suspect loaded into the same van with Freddie Gray, at a stop on North Avenue. That was the fifth stop the police transport van made on April 12, before taking Gray to Western District police station.
Allen had initially told police that Gray banged his own head against the wall of the van, but he later denied telling the police that, in an interview with WBAL-TV's Jayne Miller in April. The defense requested Allen be brought to Baltimore from a Pennsylvania jail, where he is awaiting trial on theft and forgery charges. Sources say Allen was brought to Baltimore, but Allen never took the stand.
In testimony today, Baltimore City Police Captain Justin Reynolds, on medical leave from the department, spoke broadly about police procedures. He said that at the time of Freddie Gray's fateful arrest, the department had 1700 pages of general orders. New orders would be read at roll call over a five day period. The seat belt order, however, was also posted on precinct bulletin boards.
Furthermore, he said, as have other witnesses, that the primary responsibility for prisoner safety rests with the driver (in this case, Officer Caesar Goodson, charged with second-degree murder in Gray's death). He said there is a "reasonable expectation" that an officer would act on what another officer tells them.
That's relevant because Porter himself testified this week he would have needed to get to a precinct computer to access his work email and see the order emailed to all officers three days before Gray's arrest. He told an internal affairs detective who testified for the prosecution that he told Goodson at one point that Gray needed medical attention.
Porter is one of six officers accused in the April death of Gray, who died one week after suffering a broken neck in a police transport van after his arrest in West Baltimore.
Gray's death led to a week of protests, rioting, looting and a state of emergency in Baltimore City. Porter is charged with involuntary manslaughter,second degree assault, reckless endangerment and misconduct in office.
The defense did not introduce into evidence a statement Freddie Gray gave to police detectives in March in which he said he had a back injury. On Monday, defense attorneys told Judge Barry Williams they only learned about the statement last weekend, and accused the prosecution of withholding it. On Monday night, the defense asked Williams to declare a mistrial. He refused, but allowed the defense to use the statement and said prosecutors violated discovery rules which requires attorneys to present their evidence and witness lists to opposing counsel.
Last week, at the start of jury selection, Judge Williams told potential jurors the case would be completed by this Thursday.
Two television news producers were removed from the courtroom after they reportedly tried to record video of Officer Porter in the courthouse.
WBAL NewsRadio 1090 has learned one of the journalists worked for ABC News, the other for NBC News.
Everyone except for lawyers are banned from using any kind of electronic devices inside the courtroom, or in the hallway outside.
A visibly angry Judge Barry Williams addressed the issue at the start of Friday's hearing on jury instructions.
The judge said one of the journalists tried to erase the video she took.
Williams said "sanctions will be imposed."
The judge that he respected the rights of reporters to be in the courtroom to represent the public, but he says the rules must be followed to insure a fair trial.
"There are some people who seem to think they are more important than the process," the judge said.
"Those who cannot will face sanctions."
Reporters or spectators whose phones have sounded in the courtroom had been banned from the courtroom for the day, though Thursday, after numerous incidents during the trial, a NBC producer was ejected from the courthouse when her phone went off during the proceedings.
NBC says it will replace one of its staff members covering the Freddie Gray trial and ABC News is apologizing to the court.
Court spokeswoman Terri Charles says courthouse surveillance cameras showed them apparently using their cellphones to photograph the defendant.
Circuit Judge Barry Williams says he'll decide later whether to hold either journalist in contempt or order sanctions for violating a prohibition on photography inside the courthouse.
ABC News spokesman Van Scott said the ABC employee is a digital journalist who "used her cellphone to film near the courthouse's main entrance. At the time, she did not understand that this area was prohibited by the judge's rules." Scott says, "We've reminded our staff of appropriate protocol to follow. We apologize to the court for the misstep."
NBC spokeswoman Ali Zelenko says the network will send another journalist to replace the one banned from the trial. She declined to comment otherwise.
Source WBAL
