RadioOnFire.com - Closing arguments are complete, and Baltimore City Circuit Court Judge Barry Williams says he will hand down a verdict on Monday morning in the manslaughter trial of Baltimore City Police Lt. Brian Rice.
Rice, 42, is the highest ranking officer charged in the death of Freddie Gray. He is charged with manslaughter, misconduct in office and reckless endangerment.
Today's court proceedings lasted more than two hours.
Assistant State’s Attorney Janice Bledsoe in her closing arguments said Lt. Brian Rice "initiated a chain of events that led to the death of Freddie Gray," by chasing Gray in West Baltimore on the morning of April 12, 2015.
A good portion of her closing argument focused not on Rice’s conduct towards Gray, but his conduct towards Brandon Ross, Freddie Gray’s friend who complained to Ross about Gray’s treatment by police, and who took video of Gray being loaded back into the van by Lt. Rice.
Bledsoe played enhanced audio from part of Ross’s video that had NOT been played in court before.
On the audio, Bledsoe says it is Lt. Rice who is heard saying “jail, jail, jail” to Ross and a group of people who were at the van’s second stop, at Mount and Baker Streets.
No objections were raised by the defense, but the judge did order attorneys to the bench for a ten minute conference.
Bledsoe continued her closing, saying to Judge Williams “If you believe the accounts of the two citizens who testified, you will find Lt. Rice guilty.”
In his closing argument Defense attorney Michael Belsky said Freddie Gray was uncooperative, and Brandon Ross and others at the scene were threatening.
He said Lt. Rice had to make a series of "split second decision,", and that’s why he loaded Gray into a van without a seat belt.
Belsky argued that Rice's decision were based in part on Officer Garrett Miller's radio call that "Gilmor Homes were emptying out."
On a number of occasions in his closing statements, Belsky referred to the people in the small crowd as "these people," who were growing more hostile.
Belsky said several times during the morning of April 12, "my client had to make an assessment," based on what was going on around him.
"Brandon Ross was screaming and yelling, and even though the crowd was about 7 or 8 people, officers were outnumbered," Belsky said.
Belsky noted that prosecutors have "not provided an answer" on what should have been done to Gray.
In his rebuttal argument, Chief Deputy Assistant State's Attorney Michael Schatzow took issue to Belsky referring to Ross and others at the scene as "these people."
Schatzow noted those in the crowd who had a right to observe what police were doing, and to complain about it if necessary.
Two other officers accused in Gray's death were in the courtroom sitting behind the defense table watching the proceedings. They were Officer Edward Nero, who was acquitted of all charges in May, and was required to testify for the prosecution, and Officer Garrett Miller, whose own trial is scheduled to begin July 27.
Judge Williams decision wait until Monday before announcing a verdict, is similar to what he did in Nero's trial, and Officer Caesar Goodson's trial last month. Both were bench trials and the judge took at least two days to review the evidence and write a verdict.
That verdict will be announced Monday morning at 10 a.m., when court resumes.
Source WBAL
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