What Could Jury Demographic Mean For Officer William Porter?
BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- Major new developments in the trial of Officer William Porter, one of six officers charged in connection with the death of Freddie Gray back in April.
Porter is the first of the officers to go on trial. He faces charges of manslaughter, assault and misconduct in office.
Marcus Washington has an inside look at the jury members hearing the case.
For two days, people waited to see the make-up of the jury in Officer William Porter's trial, one of six officers charged with the death of Freddie Gray.
Out of the 12 jurors chosen, eight are women, four are men; five are African American women, three are African American men, three are white women and one is a white man.
"It sounds like a typical Baltimore City jury, which would be a jury that is racially mixed, not exactly balanced, but certainly reflects the diversity of the city," said Jose F. Anderson, University of Baltimore School of Law.
Some jury candidates who were not chosen had something to say.
"One of the things the judge asked about was whether I was aware of the impact on the city and if I had a concern about what the impact of a verdict, guilty or not guilty, might be on the city. I did say that, yes, I understood there could be an impact and it would be a concern to me," said one candidate.
"I wanted to serve, but to be honest, I'm glad I didn't," another said.
Washington: "How hard is it to convict a police officer, when, through history, most people are taught police officers are there for good?"
Anderson: "The public tends to give the benefit of the doubt to police until they absolutely find no way that they can. On the other hand, perhaps we'll see more cases where police are brought to accountability with the advent of cell phone cameras and body cams as many legislatures are considering those tools as standard part of police equipment."
Stay with WJZ for complete coverage. We will continue to bring you the latest from the courthouse as prosecution witnesses continue to get called to the stand in the Officer Porter case.
