Officer Caesar Goodson Jr., center, exits the Circuit Court on the first day in the trial on June 9, 2016 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Bryan Woolston-Pool/Getty Images)
Another Baltimore police officer was acquitted today of charges connected to the arrest and death of Freddie Gray in police custody last April. Judge Barry Williams found Officer Caesar Goodson, Jr. not guilty of second-degree murder—the most serious charge facing six officers in Gray’s death.
Goodson was also found not guilty of three counts of manslaughter, second-degree assault, reckless endangerment and misconduct in office, the Baltimore Sun reports.
Officer Goodson drove the van that carried Gray after his arrest. Prosecutors argued that Goodson “was the direct cause of the injuries, driving the van in a reckless manner that threw the shackled black man around in the back of the van’s steel cage,” according to the Sun. In his defense, Goodson’s attorney said that other officers determined that Gray was not seriously injured, and Goodson “deferred to decisions of other officers not to put a seatbelt on Gray.”
This is the second verdict and acquittal involving Gray’s death. Last month, a judge found Officer Edward M. Nero not guilty of second-degree assault, reckless endangerment, and two counts of misconduct in office. A jury was unable to reach a verdict in an earlier trial of officer William Porter, and a judge declared a mistrial in December.
The 25-year-old Gray suffered a fatal spine injury after he was taken into police custody and died a week later. His death sparked a week of peaceful protests in Baltimore, followed by riots that resulted in Governor Larry Hogan declaring a state of emergency and calling in the National Guard.
The trial of Lt. Brian Rice is scheduled to begin July 7. He’s charged with manslaughter in the case.