Freddie Gray verdict: Most senior Baltimore cop charged in case found not guiilty

Lt Brian Rice is the fourth officer to stand trial

AP

The highest ranking Baltimore police officer charged in the death of Freddie Gray was found not guilty of manslaughter.

Lieutenant Brian Rice, 42, was charged after giving two bicycle patrol officers the go ahead to arrest 25-year-old Gray on 12 April 2015. Baltimore City Circuit Judge Barry Williams acquitted Rice, who opted for a bench trial instead of facing a jury. ​

Mr Gray subsequently suffered catastrophic spinal damage after police handcuffed him and shackled him at the feet and placed him inside of a police transport unrestrained – going against official police protocol. Prosecutors accuse Rice of negligence in how Mr Gray was handled by police, according to Reuters.

Rice is the fourth of six officers involved in Mr Gray’s death to face trial in a case that has yet to deliver a conviction to prosecutors.

Defence says that the decision whether or not to buckle Mr Gray’s safety belt was based on the discretion of Rice. They say Mr Gray was being combative and Rice did not have to enter the back of the vehicle to secure him to his seat.

Judge Williams previously acquitted officers Edward Nero and Caesar Goodson Jr – the latter faced the most serious charge of “depraved heart” murder.

William Porter, the first officer tried in the case, is scheduled for a retrial in September after a jury deadlocked while deliberating.

Mr Gray died a week after police arrested him. His death sparked massive protests in Baltimore and further galvanised the national debate about police violence in black communities.