Maryland High Court was urged by the state prosecutors on Thursday to force one of the Baltimore police officers to testify against the other remaining officers over Freddie Gray's death case trial. The case involves the black man, Freddie Gray, who died on a fatal injury while in police custody.
The Yahoo News reported, Assistant Attorney General, Carrie Williams said to the seven judges, Officer William Porter would have a "limited immunity", preventing state prosecutors from using his words against him during his scheduled retrial in June.The panel with seven judges on the Court of Appeals will consider whether officer William Porter, whose criminal trial ended with a hung jury in December, can be compelled to testify against his fellow officers despite awaiting his retrial.
Porter's defense lawyer, Gary Proctor said "The only way to effectively ensure that Officer Porter's rights are protected is to keep him off the stand when he has a pending manslaughter case," he said. However, Judge Clayton Green asked, there's no harm if Officer Porter tells his story again at multiple hearings, ABC News reported. Proctor argued, his client is subjecting himself to a perjury charge every time he goes on the stand. "Only if he elects to lie," Chief Judge Mary Ellen Barbera responded.
Six police officers face a different charges regarding the death of Freddie Gray, 25 years old, who was arrested on April 12 in West Baltimore. Gray suffered a fatal neck injury while being transported in a police van and died one week later, sparking a protests and later rioting on the day of his funeral, according to Reuters.
Baltimore City Circuit Court Judge Barry Williams previously ruled that Porter, 26, must testify against both Officer Caesar Goodson, who was driving the van and faces second-degree murder charges, and Sergeant Alicia White, one of his superiors. Williams had granted Porter a type of immunity intended to prevent his testimony in the Goodson and White cases from being used against him at his retrial.
However, the judge dismissed the state's motion to force Porter to testify against the other three officers, Lieutenant Brian Rice and Officers Garrett Miller and Edward Nero, saying prosecutors were trying to stall those trials.
