Off the wire
• Slovenia says razor fence possible at any section of border  • New Argentinean government announces decision to scrap foreign currency controls  • Chicago corn, wheat, soybeans lower on expectation of demand reduction  • Roundup: U.S. stocks surge after Fed rate hike  • Roundup: Senior UN official calls for "unprecedented vision" to stop bloodshed between Israelis, Palestinians  • 1st LD Writethru: Gold up ahead of U.S. Fed's rate hike announcement  • UN refugee chief stresses need to address root causes of global displacement  • Albania, Georgia sign MOU on defense  • Good night for top-flight clubs in Spanish King's Cup  • French League Cup results  
You are here: 　 Home

Mistrial declared in case associated with black young man Freddie Gray's death

Xinhua, December 17, 2015 Adjust font size:

A judge on Wednesday declared a mistrial in the case of Officer William Porter, who was the first of the six police officers to be tried in the death of black young man Freddie Gray in Baltimore, Maryland.

The declaration was made by Judge Barry Williams after the jury of seven women and five men failed to reach an agreement on any charges against Porter despite about 16 hours of deliberations.

The jury had earlier on indicated to the judge that they were deadlocked, but were told by the judge to keep working on. On Wednesday, the third day of deliberations, Judge Williams finally dismissed the jurors.

The date for a new trial was expected to be set on Thursday. It remains unknown how the mistrial would affect the future trials of Porter and five other police officers.

Gray, 25, died on April 19, one week after being fatally injured during his detainment. In a highly unexpected announcement on May 1, Maryland state prosecutor Marilyn Mosby called the arrest of Gray "illegal" and said that the state medical examiner ruled Gray's death a homicide.

Prosecutors in Porter's trial alleged that Porter ignored a policy of the Baltimore Police Department which requires officers to secure any person in police custody by a seatbelt during transportation.

Porter also failed to call for an ambulance immediately after Gray indicated he needed medical help, alleged the prosecutors.

According to prosecutors, Gray's deadly spinal cord injury occurred during his riding in the police van, during which he was handcuffed, shackled by his feet and unrestrained inside of the Baltimore Police Department van.

Porter defended his action by saying that he did not believe Gray was seriously injured till the final stop of the police van.

The charges against the six officers, among whom three were blacks, ranged from a second-degree murder to misconduct. Porter, a black backup officer, was charged with involuntary manslaughter, second-degree assault, reckless endangerment and misconduct in office. Endit