Baltimore police trial heads into second day of testimony

[December 03, 2015]  By Ian Simpson
 
 BALTIMORE (Reuters) - The trial of a Baltimore police officer for the death of a black man from an injury while in custody heads into a second day of testimony on Thursday, with prosecutors saying the officer ignored the man's pleas for medical aid.

Officer William Porter is the first of six officers to go on trial in Baltimore City Circuit Court for the death in April of Freddie Gray. The death of the 25-year-old man triggered rioting and protests in the largely black city and added fuel to a U.S. debate on police tactics.

Gray died a week after he was taken into custody for fleeing an officer and possessing a knife. He suffered a spinal injury in the back of a police transport van that prosecutor Michael Schatzow likened to that suffered by a diver going headfirst into a shallow pool.
 

During opening statements on Wednesday, prosecutor Michael Schatzow said Porter, 26, had ignored Gray's complaints that he could not breathe. Porter also failed to secure Gray in the van while he was shackled and handcuffed, he said.

But defense lawyer Gary Proctor contended that Porter had no responsibility to strap in Gray and that Gray showed no signs of being ill or injured.

Porter, 26, faces charges that include manslaughter, second-degree assault and misconduct. Testimony on Wednesday centered on Gray's training at the Baltimore Police Academy.

Porter is the first of six officers to go on trial and one of three black officers charged in the case. Charges against the other five officers range from misconduct to second-degree murder.

The Baltimore trials mark a rare case of the prosecution of police for misconduct. Legal experts have said the outcome could influence U.S. prosecutors in bringing charges in cases of alleged police brutality.

(Reporting by Ian Simpson and Donna Owens; Editing by Jonathan Oatis)

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