As most anticipated Officer Edward Nero has been acquitted by Judge Wiliams during a bench trial determination.  The arrest and charges were political decisions intended entirely to appease the racial grievance community…

mosby going to courtEdward Nero mugshotjudge barry williams

(Baltimore Maryland) Baltimore Circuit Judge Barry Williams on Monday rejected the state’s case against Officer Edward Nero, acquitting him on all counts for his role in the arrest and death of Freddie Gray.
The judgment, which followed a five-day bench trial, is the first in the closely-watched case. Nero, 30, had faced four misdemeanor charges of second-degree assault, reckless endangerment and two counts of misconduct in office.

Prosecutors argued that Nero committed an assault by detaining Gray without justification, while the reckless endangerment charge related to Nero’s role in putting Gray into an arrest wagon without buckling a seat belt. In closing arguments Thursday, Williams had skeptically questioned prosecutors about their theory of assault, which legal experts said was unprecedented.
Williams on Monday said there were “no credible facts” to show that Nero was directly involved in Gray’s arrest, and said testimony showed Nero’s role in putting Gray in the van was minimized by the actions of others and not unreasonable given his training.
Nero leaned forward after the verdict was read and wiped his eyes. He hugged his attorneys.
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[…] “The State’s Attorney for Baltimore City rushed to charge him, as well as the other five officers, completely disregarding the facts of the case and the applicable law,” the attorneys said in a statement. “His hope is that the State’s Attorney will re-evaluate the remaining five officers’ cases and dismiss their charges. Like Officer Nero, these officers have done nothing wrong.”
Prosecutors remain bound by a gag order and did not comment. State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby did not attend the reading of the verdict, and a spokesperson did not respond to questions about her absence.
[…] Williams said “Miller stated unequivocally” that he had detained Gray, and noted that Brandon Ross, one of Gray’s friends, also backed the account in his testimony. Prosecutors alleged Miller had twisted his story to help his “buddy” Nero, but Williams noted Ross had no such incentive to lie. Williams also said he believed that Miller and Nero had said “we” to describe their collective actions — but not assign joint responsibility.
Prosecutors also argued Nero could be convicted on under a theory of “accessory liability,” which Williams said would require showing Nero knew a crime was being committed and either participated or deliberately allowed it to continue. Bledsoe had argued while there was no case law to support the argument, there was also none prohibiting it.
Williams said it was “not an appropriate application of the law.”(read more)
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