A Baltimore court has acquitted the highest-ranking officer charged in the death of Freddie Gray on all charges, reports confirm.
Lt. Brian Rice was acquitted on all charges he faced including involuntary manslaughter, reckless endangerment and misconduct in office. A second-degree assault charge and a second misconduct charge were dropped against the 42-year-old officer earlier this month. Rice is the fourth officer out of six involved in the case who has been acquitted on all charges they’ve faced. Rice was the officer who handcuffed Gray to the floor of the police van while onlookers watched.
“The prosecution did not show Rice acted in a “grossly negligent manner,” required of manslaughter,” says Judge Barry G. Williams, as reported by the Baltimore Sun. “It did not show that Rice acted in an unreasonable way or ignored the substantial risk in placing Gray in a police van without a seat belt, required for reckless endangerment, he said. And, it did not show Rice acted “corruptly,” which is required for misconduct in office.”
Rice, like acquitted officer Caesar Goodson, is likely to receive back pay for the time he spent without a paycheck.
Yet another officer found not guilty in the death of #FreddieGray. The whole thing is a huge debacle.
— Shaun King (@ShaunKing) July 18, 2016
The officers that killed #FreddieGray aren’t being charged, yet the case is still ruled as a homicide,??? How,,??? Who killed him then??? — ??CityBoySizzle?? (@whoissizzIe) July 18, 2016
Not a single officer is responsible for the homicide of #FreddieGray ? Wow. The system has failed us forever. #BlackLivesMatters
— Teezy (@TeezyKnows) July 18, 2016