Trove of evidence turned over in case of Freddie Gray death

By JULIET LINDERMAN
Associated Press

State's Attorney Marilyn Mosby filed a list last week detailing what evidence has been turned over to the defense. Those materials will not be made public before the trial, slated for October.

Among the documents are recorded statements from all six officers, including two statements each from Sgt. Alicia White and Officer Caesar Goodson, who are both charged with manslaughter. Goodson is also charged with "depraved-heart" murder. Goodson was driving the transport van in the back of which Gray suffered a fatal spinal injury. All six officers are charged with second-degree assault, misconduct in office and reckless endangerment.

Lt. Brian Rice and Officer William Porter also face manslaughter charges. Officers Edward Nero and Garrett Miller face only misdemeanors. Each made just one statement to investigators.

The index lists 44 closed circuit television videos, roughly 8,000 pages of emails from the officers' accounts and more than 1,000 photographs, including images of suspected blood inside the transport wagon, and of the knife found on Gray when he was arrested. The knife has been a point of contention between the state's attorney's office and attorneys representing the officers, with Mosby maintaining that the knife is legal under city and state law, and the defense insisting that the knife is an illegal switchblade.

Another piece of evidence notes an agreement with Officer Zachary Novak, who was the only officer present during the incident who was not charged with a crime. There is no explanation of what the agreement says.

The discovery also includes cellphone data and records, and statements from 32 witnesses, many of whom are police officers. Among the state's civilian witnesses is Kevin Moore, who recorded the cellphone video of Gray's arrest that first attracted media attention.

Gray died April 19, one week after he suffered the neck injury. Gray's death inspired near-daily peaceful protests that at times gave way to violence and property damage. In the weeks following, the U.S. Justice Department launched a civil rights investigation into the Baltimore Police Department to determine whether it participates in discriminatory policing practices that include excessive force and unwarranted arrests.

Gray's death has raised awareness of deep-seated dysfunction within the city's police department and further stoked the debate over how police in the U.S. treat black men. But apart from an autopsy report leaked to the Baltimore Sun that revealed that Gray died of a high-impact injury as a result of not being secured in the back of the transport van, few details have emerged about the contents of the voluminous discovery on which the state is building its case.

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