All Statements By Officers In Freddie Gray Trial Admissible
BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- All six officers charged in the Freddie Gray case appear in court for another round of critical pretrial motions hearings, with the judge already making several key rulings.
WJZ Investigator Mike Hellgren breaks down those rulings and what they mean for the case.
It is certainly a setback for the officers after a judge ruled against two of them. The rest withdrew their motions to suppress their statements. And we have new video, the first video, of the officers at the courthouse.
The six officers all quickly left court in a black Mercedes van after a bad day there.
Jurors will be allowed to hear all of the officers' statements to police investigators about what happened to Freddie Gray, including conflicting accounts over whether he asked for medical help.
The first ruling devastated the defense.
The judge decided Sergeant Alicia White's two videotaped statements are admissible, despite her lawyer's arguments police never read her her rights before making the first one and claims they tricked her into signing her rights away before making the second statement.
"At the end of the day, Judge Williams determined that these statements were given voluntarily free of any coercion or duress," said Warren Alperstein, legal analyst.
All six officers sat together, shoulder to shoulder in the same row, paying close attention to every moment.
The statements could crack that united front, with Officer William Porter, the first to stand trial, reportedly saying Gray asked for help. That could be used against other officers.
The judge ruled Porter, too, will have his statements admitted at trial.
"The statements are inconsistent, likely, with each other. And the reason why we can conclude that is because the state very much wants to introduce those statements and the defense wants to keep the statements out," said Alperstein.
The only officer who has yet to say anything is Caesar Goodson, the driver of the van.
The other officers withdrew their motions to suppress statements--for now.
