The Latest: Officer In Freddie Gray Case Requests Bench Trial

By AP
Posted on 05/10/16 | News Source: WBAL

BALTIMORE (AP) -- The Latest on the trial of an officer who arrested Freddie Gray about a year ago (all times local):

10:30 a.m.

A Baltimore police officer charged in the Freddie Gray case has chosen a trial before a judge rather than a jury.

Officer Edward Nero faces assault, reckless endangerment and misconduct in office charges in Gray's arrest in 2015. Gray was a 25-year-old black man who died after he was injured in a police van.

Nero's trial is scheduled to begin Thursday and is expected to last about five days.

Nero's decision means Circuit Judge Barry Williams will hear the case. Nero is the second officer to stand trial. Late last year, the judge declared a mistrial in the case against Officer William Porter after a jury was unable to reach a unanimous decision.

The judge also ruled on several motions, saying attorneys can't talk about the legality of the knife that Gray had on him when he was arrested or about Gray's troubled past. The judge also put limits on how much the attorneys can talk about Gray's injuries.

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3:30 a.m.

A Baltimore judge will rule on several motions ahead of the trial for one of the police officers charged in the death of Freddie Gray.

Baltimore Circuit Judge Barry Williams will hold a hearing Tuesday on several crucial motions that will influence the scope of the proceedings for Officer Edward Nero, and could significantly limit what information about Gray's arrest will be available during the trial, scheduled to begin Wednesday. Prosecutors have asked to push the trial back to Thursday.

Nero faces assault, reckless endangerment and misconduct in office. Gray died April 19, 2015, a week after suffering a critical spinal injury in the back of a police van. Six officers including Nero face charges stemming from his arrest, injury and death.