A grand jury in Baltimore has indicted six officers in the death of Freddie Gray, the city's top prosecutor said Thursday.
In a hasty early-evening news conference, State's Attorney Marilyn Mosby reeled off the charges handed down by the grand jury against the officers: Caesar Goodson Jr., William Porter, Brian Rice, Edward Nero, Garrett Miller and Alicia White.
The grand jury's charges differed slightly from those filed by Mosby on May 1, when she announced the results of her office's independent investigation of Gray's death. Some original charges, including false imprisonment and assault, were dropped in the cases of some of the officers, and new charges, including reckless endangerment, were added against all of them.
Mosby did not explain why that had happened, other than to say that "additional information was discovered, and, as is often the case during an ongoing investigation, charges can and should be revised based on the evidence."
She did not take questions from reporters.
Gray sustained neck injuries following an April 12 foot chase with police which ended with his being charged with possession of a switchblade and placed into a police van. He sustained neck injuries while riding in the van, and died a week later.
The death triggered days of unrest in Baltimore, including a night of rioting and looting.
When Mosby announced the charges on May 1, she said Gray had been wrongly arrested, because the knife found on him was not illegal. At least one of the officers has since argued that the knife was illegal.
The dropped false imprisonment charges could reflect new evidence in that regard.
Lawyers representing the officers have asked the original charges to be dismissed or that Mosby recuse herself from the case, arguing that she filed the charges amid civil unrest and that she has personal relationships with many people involved. She is married to the city council member from the district where the arrest took place.
U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch has opened her own investigation of the Baltimore Police Department, to determine whether the force had engaged in a pattern of civil rights violations.
The grand jury indicted Goodson, the van's driver, with second degree depraved heart murder; involuntary manslaughter; second degree assault; manslaughter by vehicle, gross negligence; manslaughter by vehicle, criminal negligence; misconduct in office and reckless endangerment.
Porter, who rode in the van with Gray and other officers, was indicted for involuntary manslaughter, second degree assault, misconduct in office and reckless endangerment.
Rice, a lieutenant who initiated a chase with Gray, was charged with involuntary manslaughter, second degree assault, two counts of misconduct in office, and reckless endangerment.
Nero, one of two officers who helped Rice in the chase and arrest of Gray, was charged with second degree assault, two counts of misconduct in office and reckless endangerment.
Miller, the other officer who backed up Rice, was charged with second degree assault, two counts of misconduct in office and reckless endangerment.
White, a sergeant who looked in on Gray during one of the van's stops, was charged with involuntary manslaughter, second degree assault, misconduct in office and reckless endangerment.
IN-DEPTH
- Freddie Gray Case: Lawyers for Cops Charged Want Prosecutor Off Case
- Freddie Gray Investigation: Six Cops Charged in His Death
