Police advocates say Baltimore’s settlement jeopardizes officers’ rights to an unbiased trial
Prosecutors received a slight win yesterday as the judge presiding over the Freddie Gray case has denied the defense’s request to bar officers’ statements.
On Tuesday, the six officers charged in the Gray case attended a pre-trial hearing in front of Judge Barry Williams. Defense attorneys were hoping that Judge Williams would withhold the statements the officers had given during an internal investigation examining the death of Gray which attracted national protests. Their motion was completely denied.
The six officers are being charged separately with charges ranging from assault, reckless endangerment and manslaughter. Baltimore recently approved a 6.4 million dollar statement to Gray’s family on September 9th. Despite this, the city maintains that the settlement does not constitute to an admission of liability in Gray’s death.
Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake said that the decision to settle the civil claims was “completely unrelated to the criminal case the six officers currently face.
“The city’s decision to settle the civil case should not be interpreted as passing any judgement on guilt or innocence of the officers. This settlement is about making the right fiscal decision for the city of Baltimore.”
The police officer’s union stated that the city’s decision to award the payout jeopardizes the officer’s rights to an unbiased trial.
-Abesi Manyando(@abesipr)
