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Lieutenant Brian
Rice, 42, is the fourth of six officers to be tried for Gray's
death in April 2015 from a broken neck suffered in a police van.
Prosecutors have yet to secure a conviction in the high-profile
case.
Gray's death triggered protests and rioting in the mainly black
city and stoked a national debate about how police treat
minorities. That debate flared anew this month with the deaths
of African-American men at the hands of police in Minnesota and
Louisiana.
Baltimore City Circuit Court Judge Barry Williams has said he
will announce his verdict at 10 a.m. EDT. He is hearing the case
in a bench trial after Rice waived his right to a jury trial.
Rice, who is white, ordered two bicycle officers to chase Gray,
25, when he fled unprovoked in a high-crime area. The officer
helped put Gray, who was shackled and handcuffed, into the
police wagon face down on its floor.
Prosecutors said Rice was negligent in shackling Gray's legs and
not securing him in a seat belt, as required by department
protocol.
But defense lawyers have said Rice was allowed leeway on whether
to get inside a van to secure a prisoner. The officer made a
correct decision in a few seconds while Gray was being combative
and a hostile crowd was looking on, they said.
Rice is charged with involuntary manslaughter, misconduct in
office and reckless endangerment. He could face at least 15
years in prison if convicted on all charges.
Williams has acquitted Officers Edward Nero and Caesar Goodson
Jr., the van's driver. A third officer, William Porter, faces a
retrial after a jury deadlocked.
(Writing by Ian Simpson in Washington; Editing by Alistair Bell
and Lisa Von Ahn)
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