3rd officer acquitted in black man's police custody death

BALTIMORE (AP) - A judge further hollowed out the case against six police officers charged in the death of a young black man, delivering a third consecutive acquittal and ruling once again prosecutors failed to prove officers intentionally hurt Freddie Gray.
In acquitting Lt. Brian Rice, the highest ranking officer charged, Baltimore Circuit Judge Barry Williams was unequivocal in his ruling Monday. He told prosecutors they failed to establish Rice was aware of his duty to buckle Gray into a seat belt, and more importantly, he deliberately breached his duty in order to put Gray in danger.
"There are a number of possibilities this court could entertain, some that are innocent and some that are not," Williams said. "However, the burden of proof rests with the state, and the court's imaginings do not serve as a substitute for evidence."
Gray was arrested in April 2015 when he ran from police in a high-crime area. He was handcuffed and shackled but left unbuckled in the back of a police van and suffered a critical neck injury. Gray's name became a rallying cry for the Black Lives Matter movement, fueling outrage nationwide over the treatment of black people by the criminal justice system and prompting the worst rioting in the city in decades.
The U.S. Justice Department launched a patterns and practice investigation into allegations of widespread abuse and unlawful arrests by the Baltimore Police Department.
Rice was cleared of manslaughter, reckless endangerment and misconduct in office. Earlier this year, officers Edward Nero and Caesar Goodson, the van driver who was facing a murder charge, were also found not guilty. Officer William Porter's trial ended in a hung jury in December, and his retrial is scheduled for September. The last two officers have trials this month and in October.
Gray died April 19, 2015, a week after he suffered a critical spinal injury in the back of Goodson's police wagon. Prosecutors said the officers were criminally negligent when they failed to buckle Gray into a seat belt or provide medical attention after he indicated he wanted to go to a hospital.
With no courtroom victories, activists are focusing on protests and police department reforms. A protest Saturday that blocked the interstate through downtown resulted in more than 60 arrests. Activists said they were demonstrating in support of having civilians sit on boards that review police misconduct cases and spending more public money on community programs instead of policing.
"I'm disgusted, as usual, and they're sending a daily message all across the world that our lives don't matter, and that's sad," said Tawanda Jones outside the courthouse Monday. She was there marking the third anniversary of her brother's death in a separate case involving Baltimore police.
"We're more than hashtags and body bags," she added.
The Gray case hasn't fit quite so neatly into the narrative of white authorities imposing unfair justice on minorities.
Three of the officers charged are white, and three are black. The victim, judge, top prosecutor and mayor are African-American. At the time of Gray's death, so was the police chief.
In his verdict, Williams said the failure to seat belt a detainee in a transport wagon is not inherently a crime.