Officer William Porter trial: Freddie Gray case live coverage
Thanks for following our coverage of the trial of William Porter. We'll resume coverage on this live blog when new developments in the case occur.
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Prosecution on Freddie Gray's injuries
Freddie Gray suffered a high impact injury to his neck as the van continued. Prosecutors were not able to pinpoint that moment, but said he was likely standing or kneeling when he hit his head with the impact akin to diving into a shallow pool. That injury to his spine caused nerve damage that affected his ability to breathe. -
Prosecutors detail route of van
By the time the van stopped at the corner of Druid Hill Avenue and Dolphin Street, Officer William Porter opened the doors and heard Freddie Gray say, “Help” and that he couldn’t breathe. At that point, Porter picked Gray up off the floor of the van, but again did not place him in a seat belt.Police protocols, in place since 1997 and updated just days before Gray’s arrest, require that detainees be seatbelted. An exception is made when the prisoner is combative. But Chief Deputy State's Attorney Michael Schatzow said that Gray wasn’t fighting the officer and posed no such danger.
“When those van doors closed, Mr. Gray was in a lot of trouble,” Schatzow said.
Gray suffered a high impact injury to his neck as the van continued. When the van made a fifth stop, Porter peered into the back and Gray was on his knees, slumped over. Porter described Gray to investigators as “limp,” and responding in the affirmative when asked if he needed to go to the hospital.
Police picked up a second arrestee, Donta Allen, and returned to the Western District police station. Allen was unloaded first, and when police looked in on Gray, he was in the same position as he had been at the fifth stop, Schatzow said.
“Now, Mr. Gray is unconscious. Now, Mr. Gray is not breathing. Now, Mr. Gray’s heart is not beating,” Schatzow said.
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Prosecutors: “...when Mr. Gray went into the van, there was nothing wrong with his spine"
Freddie Gray’s arrest went viral after citizen cell phone video showed him wailing as he was being dragged by officers and placed into the van. Chief Deputy State's Attorney Michael Schatzow emphasized that Gray was not seriously injured at that time, saying video shows him lifting his head as he is on the ground handcuffed, and bearing weight as he climbed into the van.
Schatzow said Gray also was banging around the back of the van, so much so that is caused the van to rock back and forth.
“This is evidence of the fact that when Mr. Gray went into the van, there was nothing wrong with his spine,” Schatzow said.
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Porter had been trained and had a duty to seatbelt Gray and to call for help when he said he was hurt. "Didn't care," Schatzow saysby Justin Fenton via twitter 12/2/2015 6:19:32 PM -
Prosecutiors: Porter is accused not of police brutality, but indifference
Chief Deputy State's Attorney Michael Schatzow told the jurors that Porter ignored several chances to help Gray, being involved at five of six stops the transport van made on its way to Central Booking.Schatzow said Porter was “on trial for what he did, and more important what he didn’t do.”
The prosecution’s opening statement last about 45 minutes, and came after a jury of 12 people and four alternates were selected. The defense will make its opening statement after 1:45 p.m.
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State stressed that they do not believe Gray was seriously hurt prior to going into van; a case of police indifference, not brutalityby Justin Fenton via twitter 12/2/2015 6:18:40 PM
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Prosecutors: “There was no reason not to put him in a seatbelt, unless you simply didn’t care"
Prosecutors told jurors at the opening for the first trial in the death of Freddie Gray that Officer William Porter “criminally neglected his duty” to help Gray by failing to seatbelt him or call for help when it was clear Gray was seriously hurt.
Deputy State’s Attorney Michael Schatzow told jurors that Porter had been trained to seat belt arrestees inside of the back of police transport vans, but loaded Gray inside without using any of five available seatbelts.
“There was no reason not to put him in a seatbelt, unless you simply didn’t care,” Schatzow said.
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State's opening: Officer Porter "criminally neglected his duty" by not seatbelting Freddie Gray or calling for help. bsun.md/1XHpRaU -
Prosecutors: “The defendant alone is on trial for what he did, or more importantly, what he did not do"Prosecutor Michael Schatzow began his opening statement by recounting the day that Freddie Gray was arrested last April.Prosecutors say Officer William Porter failed to render aid to Gray, who repeatedly asked for medical assistance.Schatzow said Gray's injury occurred in a section of the spinal cord where the nerves control the chest and the diaphragm. He said such an injury would have impacted Gray's ability to breathe.He says evidence will show that Porter “criminally neglected” his duty to keep Gray safe.Prosecutor Michael Schatzow said during opening statements Wednesday that Officer William Porter was present at five of six stops a transport van made after arresting Gray and could have easily pushed a button on his uniform to call for help.Prosecutors say at one point, Porter asked Gray if he needed a medic, and Gray replied that he could not breathe and could not move from the floor of the van, where he had been placed head-first and in plastic handcuffs and leg shackles.
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Schatzow argued on behalf of the prosecution at the initial motions hearing in the case, when a judge ruled against motions to dismiss the charges and recuse Mosby and others prosecutors from the case. The judge also ruled that the defendants would be tried separately.
Part of a cast of prosecutors under Mosby, Schatzow is a senior official in the department, overseeing other prosecutors and reporting to Mosby.
He is a former assistant U.S. District Court attorney and is retired from Venable LLP, where he was a partner. Schatzow has worked in the legal field for 42 years, including on federal organized crime and espionage cases, according to the State's Attorney's Office.
Schatzow earned law degrees from the University of Chicago and Georgetown University, and his undergraduate degree at Case Western University in Cleveland.
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A number of people will play a role in what happens in court, including...
The officers:
Officer Caesar R. Goodson Jr. -- the driver of the police van in which Freddie Gray was injured -- is charged with second-degree depraved-heart murder. Sgt. Alicia D. White, Lt. Brian W. Rice and Officer William G. Porter are charged with manslaughter. Officers Edward M. Nero and Garrett E. Miller face lesser charges, including second-degree assault.
The defense attorneys:Officer Goodson: Matthew Fraling, Sean Malone, Andrew Graham
Officer Miller: Catherine Flynn
Officer Nero: Marc Zayon
Officer Porter: Joseph Murtha, Gary Proctor
Lt. Rice: Michael Belsky, Chaz Ball
Sgt. Alicia White: Ivan Bates, Tony Garcia
The prosecutors:Chief Deputy State's Attorney Michael Schatzow
Deputy State's Attorney Janice Bledsoe
Deputy State's Attorney Antonio Gioia
Assistant State's Attorney Matthew Pillion
Assistant State's Attorney Lisa Goldberg
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Also, remember, every juror indicated they were already familiar with the case. Both sides were cognizant of that coming in today.by Kevin Rector via twitter 12/2/2015 6:13:26 PM -
I saw Joe Murtha, Porter's attorney, with map boards, too. He could take the same approach.by Kevin Rector via twitter 12/2/2015 6:11:28 PM
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Opening statements always meant to be road map of the crime for jurors. Schatzow used actual map of van route to give structure to argument.by Kevin Rector via twitter 12/2/2015 6:10:06 PM
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Recent Sun in-depth stories on Freddie Gray and the Baltimore unrest: -
One min this AM, jurors were unsure if they'd be picked. The next they were being thrown straight into the depths of this very complex case.by Kevin Rector via twitter 12/2/2015 6:02:08 PM
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After months of focus on all 6 officers, focus has narrowed since separation of trials. Today, Schatzow stressed, it's all about Porter.by Kevin Rector via twitter 12/2/2015 5:57:21 PM
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Opening statements
Prosecutors told jurors at the opening for the first trial in the death of Freddie Gray that Officer William Porter “criminally neglected his duty” to help Gray by failing to seatbelt him or call for help when it was clear Gray was seriously hurt.
Deputy State’s Attorney Michael Schatzow told jurors that Porter had been trained to seat belt arrestees inside of the back of police transport vans, but loaded Gray inside without using any of five available seatbelts.
“There was no reason not to put him in a seatbelt, unless you simply didn’t care,” Schatzow said.
He said Porter was “on trial for what he did, and more important what he didn’t do.”
The prosecution’s opening statement last about 45 minutes, and came after a jury of 12 people and four alternates were selected. The defense will make its opening statement after 1:45 p.m. -- Justin Fenton -
Schatzow: Officer William Porter was present at 5 of the 6 van stops.by Kevin Rector via twitter 12/2/2015 5:54:16 PM
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Schatzow: BPD order requiring seatbelts updated April 9, 3 days prior to Gray's arrest, but in effect for non-dangerous detainees since 1997by Kevin Rector via twitter 12/2/2015 5:52:09 PM
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Schatzow: Van was at Western district station for full 6 minutes before medic was called for Gray. Officers dealt with Donta Allen first.by Kevin Rector via twitter 12/2/2015 5:45:21 PM
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We have broken for lunch. Defense opening statements will come after lunch.by Kevin Rector via twitter 12/2/2015 5:43:45 PM
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Schatzow: Porter later said Gray in same position when taken out of van not breathing at Western: kneeling, shoulder & head slumped on benchby Kevin Rector via twitter 12/2/2015 5:41:03 PM
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Schatzow: Defense may claim Gray was heard by Donta Allen, other detainee, banging around in van after that stop on way to Western, but no..by Kevin Rector via twitter 12/2/2015 5:38:39 PM
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Schatzow: Gray is on his knees, facing inside of van, slumped with shoulder and arm on bench. No medic called for.by Kevin Rector via twitter 12/2/2015 5:37:37 PM
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State's opening statement has wrapped; defense will go after lunch. I'm writing a full update nowby Justin Fenton via twitter 12/2/2015 5:37:31 PM
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Schatzow: Porter follows van then to pick up another man back at Penn North. Gray looks "limp," asks again for medic.by Kevin Rector via twitter 12/2/2015 5:34:55 PM
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Schatzow: "Want to know how hard it is to call for a medic? You have to press a button." Would take 6 secs, he said. But no call.by Kevin Rector via twitter 12/2/2015 5:33:03 PM
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Schatzow: "There was no reason not to put him in a seat belt, unless you simply didn't care."by Kevin Rector via twitter 12/2/2015 5:20:35 PM
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Schatzow: Porter then picks #FreddieGray up and puts him on bench with five seat belts, but doesn't buckle him in.by Kevin Rector via twitter 12/2/2015 5:19:22 PM
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Schatzow: "Do you need to go to the hospital?" Porter asks. "Yes" says Gray. "Help me off of the floor. I can't get off the floor" Gray saysby Kevin Rector via twitter 12/2/2015 5:18:14 PM
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Schatzow: "I can't breathe," Gray says. "Do you want a medic?" Porter asks. "Yes," Gray says.by Kevin Rector via twitter 12/2/2015 5:16:48 PM
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Schatzow: At Dolphin stop, Porter opens door, Gray on ground. "Help," Gray says. Porter recognizes him. "What's wrong?" he asks.by Kevin Rector via twitter 12/2/2015 5:15:34 PM
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"That's what the defendant knew when he was walking up to the back of the van" at Dolphin St stop, Schatzow said.by Kevin Rector via twitter 12/2/2015 5:14:18 PM
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Schatzow says Porter knew of general orders to seatbelt detainees and provide medic at request.by Kevin Rector via twitter 12/2/2015 5:13:16 PM
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Schatzow says video also proves that when #FreddieGray first put in van after arrest "there is nothing wrong with his spine."by Kevin Rector via twitter 12/2/2015 5:02:14 PM
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Schatzow says Porter was so close to van when other officers put Gray face down in van that he had to back up for other officer to climb outby Kevin Rector via twitter 12/2/2015 5:00:45 PM
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Schatzow says Porter told investigators he wasn't close enough to see what was going on at Mount, but video shows otherwise.by Kevin Rector via twitter 12/2/2015 4:59:24 PM
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Schatzow says Porter was also at 2nd stop, at Mount (where Gray further shackled).by Kevin Rector via twitter 12/2/2015 4:58:48 PM
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Schatzow says Porter was at 1st stop (Gray's arrest) doing "crowd control."by Kevin Rector via twitter 12/2/2015 4:58:04 PM
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Schatzow starts state's opening, stressing Porter alone is on trial here. "Mr Gray is not on trial, other officers are not on trial" he saidby Kevin Rector via twitter 12/2/2015 4:46:02 PM
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Just went through jury instructions. Now state opening statements before lunch, will return after lunch for defense opening statements.by Kevin Rector via twitter 12/2/2015 4:44:11 PM
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Get a digest of the day's developments in our Freddie Gray case newsletter. See the breaking newsletter for alerts. baltimoresun.com/newslettersby stephencearley via twitter 12/2/2015 4:42:49 PM -
Maryland's laws prohibit cameras and recording devices from court rooms
Audio or video recording or transmitting equipment are also not permitted and electronic devices including cell phones, laptops and tablets, must be turned off inside the courtroom and court overflow room. Cell phones can't be used in the lobby outside of the courtroom. Reporters are only allowed to send updates during breaks, or if they are in a media room. -
I'll be in the courtroom; also follow @RectorSun who will have more flexibility to tweetby Justin Fenton via twitter 12/2/2015 4:21:55 PM