Baltimore braces for key police verdict, protests today.. Update: ? judge says not guilty...

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stringer bell
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edited June 2016 in For The Grown & Sexy
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2016/06/23/baltimore-braces-key-police-verdict-protests-today/86278414/
Authorities in Baltimore hoped for the best but prepared for the worst in anticipation of a judge's verdict Thursday on the fate of the police officer facing the most serious charges stemming from the death of Freddie Gray.

Judge Barry Williams was scheduled to rule Thursday morning in the case of Officer Caesar Goodson Jr., who was charged with second-degree depraved-heart murder, manslaughter and other counts in the April 2015 death of Gray, a black man who died in police custody one week after his controversial arrest.

Gray's death set off a series of Black Lives Matter protests across the nation and sometimes violent protests in the majority-black city of more than 600,000 people. Stores were burned and looted, and clashes with police left dozens injured. Since the days following Gray's funeral, however, protests in the city have been mostly calm.

The activist group People's Power Assembly called for a demonstration at the courthouse Thursday. And Carl Dix, with the Revolutionary Communist Party in Baltimore, called for “powerful outpourings of protest, in Baltimore and all across the country” if Goodson is acquitted.

The Maryland National Guard spent several nights on city streets during last year's protests. Spokesman Col. Charles Kohler said the Guard is prepared in case Gov. Larry Hogan decides soldiers are needed again.

Kohler told USA TODAY that Guard leaders have reviewed tactics since those protests. He said the Guard is stressing communication with city and state police.

"We are asking our commanders to reach out to their people to make sure they are ready," Kohler said.

City police spokesman T.J. Smith said leave for city officers had been canceled "out of an abundance of caution," and Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake said the city was ready.

Gray was arrested by bicycle officers on April 12, 2015, after he caught their eye and ran. He was shackled and loaded into a van driven by Goodson but was not secured in a seat belt. Gray suffered a severe spinal injury, apparently en route to the police station, and died one week later.

Prosecutors claim Goodson, 46, intentionally gave Gray a rough ride. They say Goodson also was responsible for buckling Gray's seat belt and failed to get Gray medical attention despite his repeated requests. Goodson did not testify, but his lawyers say Gray was kicking and too volatile to buckle in — and that there is no evidence of a rough ride.

Goodson, who is black, is the third officer to stand trial in the case. The trial of Officer William Porter, who also is black, ended with a hung jury and will be retried. Officer Edward Nero, who is white, was acquitted of all charges by Williams, who is black, in a bench trial last month. The other three officers, one black and two white, face trials later this year.

In September, the city announced a $6.4 million settlement with Gray's family.


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