2 Baltimore Officers Face Internal Discipline in Freddie Gray’s Death

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/10/us/baltimore-police-officers-freddie-gray.html

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Two police officers involved in the fatal arrest of Freddie Gray have agreed to face modest internal discipline, bringing a quiet end to the proceedings against them two and a half years after Mr. Gray’s death in police custody prompted violent protests in Baltimore and fueled a national debate over the way the police treat minorities.

Officers Garrett E. Miller and Edward M. Nero agreed to face “minor disciplinary action,” according to Michael Davey, a lawyer for their police union, who would specify neither their punishment nor the allegations they faced. He said the move ensures they can “continue their careers with the Baltimore Police Department.”

Mr. Gray, a 25-year-old black man, died of a spinal cord injury after he was arrested, handcuffed and placed in a police wagon without a seatbelt, leading to nights of rioting, looting and arson in a city with a long-simmering distrust of the police. Prosecutors in Baltimore charged six officers in the arrest and death of Mr. Gray, which was seen as a watershed moment for activists demanding greater accountability from the police.

But criminal convictions proved elusive. After one mistrial and three acquittals in the first four officers’ trials, prosecutors dropped the remaining cases. Last month, the Justice Department announced it would not file federal charges against the police officers, saying the “evidence is insufficient” to show that they violated Mr. Gray’s civil rights.

Five of the officers were set to appear publicly before trial boards to face internal disciplinary proceedings, which experts say have a lower standard of evidence than criminal cases. The decision by Officers Miller and Nero, who faced up to a five-day suspension, according to The Baltimore Sun, means they will no longer need to appear for the public proceeding.

T. J. Smith, a spokesman for the Baltimore Police Department, and Anthony McCarthy, a spokesman for Mayor Catherine Pugh, declined to comment on the agreement.

But Billy Murphy, a Baltimore lawyer who represents the family of Mr. Gray, called it a “secret deal.”

“Nobody can determine whether the disciplinary action against the police was fair,” Mr. Murphy said, adding, “It’s impossible for the public to know whether the post-trial proceedings constituted a just result.”

Mr. Gray was walking in the Sandtown neighborhood on an April morning in 2015 when he made eye contact with a police officer and fled on foot. After officers pursued Mr. Gray, he was then arrested and loaded into a police van, in handcuffs and without a seatbelt, and driven through the neighborhood. He was later found unresponsive and not breathing in the back of the van, and died of a spinal cord injury.

The driver of the van, Caesar R. Goodson Jr., was acquitted of second-degree murder charges in June 2016. Officer Nero, who faced charges including second-degree assault and reckless endangerment, was acquitted earlier that year, and Officer Miller was never tried.

Prosecutors said that Officers Nero and Miller conducted an unlawful arrest of Mr. Gray, and that they and other officers broke department rules by failing to buckle Mr. Gray into the van.

“There were policies that were broken,” said David Jaros, an associate professor of law at the University of Baltimore who followed the cases. “While failure to enact policy may not give rise to criminal convictions, it may well be grounds for some kind of discipline at an administrative level.”

Three more officers, including Officer Goodson, are scheduled to go before trial boards and, according to The Sun, could be fired from the department.