US: Ranking officer found not guilty in Gray's death

By Esra Kaymak Avci

WASHINGTON

The highest-ranking officer in the case of a black man who died in police custody after suffering a spinal injury was found not guilty on all charges in a bench trial Monday, according to media reports.

Lt. Brian Rice, 42, was cleared of involuntary manslaughter, reckless endangerment and misconduct in office in connection with Freddie Gray's arrest and death last year in Baltimore, Maryland.

Previously, the prosecutors dropped a second misconduct charge against Rice at the beginning of the trial and Judge Barry Williams threw out the second-degree assault charge.

The assault charge stemmed from the fact that Rice used the van in which Gray was transported and subsequently suffered a severed spine that lead to his death.

However, Williams ruled that because Rice didn't drive the van, prosecutors had no evidence.

Shortly after the verdict was announced, the White House said it expects individuals who might have concerns with the court's decision to "register those concerns peacefully”, apparently attempting to mitigate any potentially violent reactions to the verdict as tensions run high from a string of police killings of black men by police officers.

The acquittal is the forth for officers charged in the case. In total, six officers -- three white and three black -- were charged in the case. Three previous trials have resulted in two acquittals and a mistrial.

Two officers filed motions to dismiss their cases last month. One is scheduled to begin at the end of the month and another in October.

Gray was arrested April 12, 2015 for carrying what police said was an illegal switchblade and placed in the back of a police transport van. He fell into a coma a short while after and taken to a hospital where he died one week later.

Witnesses say Gray was subjected to unnecessary force by police during his arrest and some have suggested he may have been given a “rough ride” in which police place a suspect into a van without a seatbelt and then drive erratically to cause injury.

A medical examiner ruled Gray’s death a homicide, sparking nationwide protest against police brutality and riots in Baltimore.

*Anadolu Agency Correspondent Michael Hernandez contributed to this report from Washington