A new trial date of 13 June 2016 was announced Monday in the case of officer William Porter, the first of six Baltimore police officers to be tried in connection with the death of Freddie Gray in police custody in April.
Porter’s trial, which ended last week with a hung jury, was scheduled first because the prosecution expected to use Porter as a material witness against other officers, including officer Caesar Goodson, the driver of the van in which Gray sustained his fatal spinal injury injury, and Sergeant Alicia White, Porter’s commanding officer that day. Jury selection for Goodson’s trial is expected to begin on 6 January, followed by White’s on 25 January.
Some court-watchers have considered Porter’s testimony crucial to a conviction of Goodson, who is facing the most serious charges in the case.
Legal experts said it remains unclear whether Porter will be called to testify in the other cases, now that he will face the risk of incriminating himself if he were to testify in the Goodson and White trials before his own.
“The interesting issue that is on everyone’s mind that is not public is: what if anything will the state do to compel his testimony?” said Jeremy Eldridge, a defense attorney and former prosecutor. “The question then becomes would the state consider some sort of strange option that would attempt to give him transactional immunity?”
“I certainly wouldn’t be surprised if Porter becomes a witness for the state,” said Doug Colbert, a law professor at the University of Maryland. “If the prosecution is allowing Porter to be the last to be tried and they want his testimony, then there had to be an offer [of immunity].”
At Porter’s first trial, prosecutors argued that Porter had several opportunities to prevent Gray’s death as he was transported without a seatbelt in the back of a police van, and failed to do so. Porter’s defense team repeatedly declared that the responsibility for a prisoner’s safety lies with the driver of the van. Porter also testified that he informed his superior officer, White, that Gray needed to go to the hospital, thus fulfilling his responsibility.
Immediately after Porter’s trial, a group of protesters gathered outside the courthouse chanting, “all night, all day, we will fight for Freddie Gray”, as racial justice organizations called for a second trial.
“This is not over. Freddie Gray was treated as less than human and killed in police custody,” Michaela Brown, communications coordinator of Baltimore Bloc, said in a statement at the time.
Porter faces charges of manslaughter, assault, reckless endangerment and misconduct in office.
The date of Porter’s new trial will be officially read into the court record on Tuesday.
