*A mistrial has been declared in the trial of William Porter, one of six police officers charged in the death of 25-year-old Freddie Gray.
The jury is hung on all charges, according to local reports. Prosecutors have the right to bring the case to trial again, with another jury.
Porter was charged with manslaughter, second-degree assault, reckless endangerment and misconduct in office in the April 19 death of Gray, who died a week after his neck was broken during a ride in the back of a police van.
Prosecutors claimed Porter was criminally negligent for ignoring a policy requiring officers to strap prisoners in with a seat belt, and for not calling an ambulance immediately after Gray indicated he needed medical aid.
The defense said the prosecution’s case was based on speculation and called Gray’s death a “horrific tragedy.”
“There is literally no evidence” that Porter’s actions in any way caused it, the defense argued.
Tuesday afternoon, the jury informed Judge Barry Williams that they were deadlocked. The judge told the jury it was their responsibility to reach a verdict, and asked them to continue deliberating. The jury resumed work and left for the day without a verdict.
Porter is in the first of six police officers charged in Gray’s death.
Earlier this week, Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake called for people to respect the jury’s decision. She also announced the opening of an emergency operations center as a precaution so that authorities can coordinate any necessary response.
At the White House, a reporter asked spokesman Josh Earnest at a Monday briefing whether there was a message from the White House to people in Baltimore. Earnest said President Barack Obama’s comments after Chicago police recently released video of the fatal shooting of 17-year-old Laquan McDonald were relevant. Earnest says the president was proud of how the community responded with a “forceful but peaceful display of concern.”
Earnest says the administration is “hopeful that as activists and individuals in other communities have similar concerns to express, that they do so peacefully.”
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