Baltimore: judge rejects bid to drop charges against police officers over Freddie Gray death
A judge in the US has rejected a defence bid to drop charges against six police officers, accused over the death of a black man. Freddie Gray died in April, a week after suffering a critical spinal injury while in custody. It led to protests and a riot in Baltimore. The case has become part of a national debate in America on police treatment of minorities. The six officers face charges ranging from second-degree murder to manslaughter, second-degree assault and misconduct. Judge Barry Williams has also thrown out a request to remove the State’s Attorney and other prosecutors from the case. Judge Barry Williams rejected the defence contention that the attorney violated her obligation to assure a fair trial when she announced the charges at a news conference as the largely black city of Baltimore of 620,000 people was in turmoil. Williams said that point would best be settled in a misconduct proceeding, not in his courtroom. He said the attorney’s comments did not warrant dropping charges.
